Attorney Margeaux Cigainero, Esq. is the newest member of ThePhillyLawyers. Ms. Cigainero specializes in criminal defense litigation as well as criminal appellate work, and has defended individuals facing criminal charges for nearly ten years. Margeaux will be working in the criminal defense department of ThePhillyLawyers team.
Margeaux Cigainero was formerly a principal at a center city law firm where she focused on litigation, appeals, and PCRAs (Post Conviction Relief Act) for various criminal matters. It was in this firm where she earned her reputation as a tireless leader and fierce advocate within the Pennsylvania criminal justice system.
Prior to this, Ms. Cigainero was a senior associate attorney at a center city criminal litigation firm that specialized in criminal appellate advocacy. While daily working on appeals and PCRAs, she refined and sharpened this skill set.
In addition, she recently teamed up with Prevention Point Philadelphia to organize an ongoing project that provides legal procedural information for indigent people to more easily navigate the Philadelphia judicial system. Volunteering and outreach is also an important part of Ms. Cigainero’s work in Philadelphia.
Upon joining ThePhillyLawyers, Attorney Cigainero said:
“I am excited for this new chapter in my career and excited it begins with such a diligent, hard-working, and well-respected group.”
Attorney Cigainero is licensed to practice law throughout the state of Pennsylvania and is also Federally licensed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
The difference between actual possession and constructive possession, and why it matters.
Actual possession: This occurs when the police find contraband (drugs, weapons, etc.) on your person and no one had equal access to the contraband found.
Constructive possession: This occurs when police find contraband, but it is not located on a person. For example, the police pull over a car with multiple people inside and a search reveals contraband in a backpack on the passenger floorboard. Now, police have to construct who possessed this contraband.
To convict you of constructive possession, the state must prove that you had knowledge of the presence of the contraband and executed or planned to execute dominion and control over the contraband. Also, just being near contraband is not enough to convict someone in a constructive possession case.
Defending a constructive possession case: The Commonwealth must prove the defendant’s knowledge of the illegal item and show that the defendant had control over, or the defendant intended to control the illegal item. It can often be difficult to prove constructive possession when:
These are not all the factors involved in proving constructive possession, but these factors show why you need strong representation to point out weaknesses in any constructive possession case.
