A routine traffic stop for speeding turned into a felony drug case for one of our Dane County clients. After the officer stopped our client, he observed a small amount of marijuana in an ashtray. The officer searched the vehicle and located approximately 1.5 lbs of marijuana in the car, as well as a significant amount of cash. The client was charged with possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver. Attorney Verhoff reviewed the case and recognized it would be particularly challenging because the police had executed the search by-the-book. As such, there was not a legal mechanism to challenge the evidence. Instead, Attorney Verhoff went into mitigation mode in an attempt to work out the best deal possible for the client. At first, the prosecutor and his immediate supervisor insisted that the client be convicted of the charge due to the significant weight of the seized drugs. Undeterred, Attorney Verhoff spent several months negotiating with the prosecution in an attempt to show why this particular client deserved a second chance. Ultimately, Attorney Verhoff was able to get the District Attorney's Office to agree to recommend a deferred prosecution, which means no formal conviction for our client and a dismissal of the charges. This was particularly important because a conviction would have presented problems for the client in obtaining federal student loans.