|
Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
|
|
US WI: Judges Push To Make Marijuana Possession A Citation
ccguide Thursday 21 Jun 2001 Pubdate: Mon, 18 Jun 2001 Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune (MN) Copyright: 2001 Star Tribune Contact: Website: http://www.startribune.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/266 Author: Associated Press JUDGES PUSH TO MAKE MARIJUANA POSSESSION A CITATION INSTEAD OF A CRIME LA CROSSE, Wis. -- County judges are locked in a dispute with the district attorney over whether first-offense marijuana possession should be reduced to a local ordinance violation. The La Crosse County Board and La Crosse Common Council will consider a request for the change from five circuit court judges. It would allow local police and sheriff's deputies to either issue a citation or arrest the suspect under state law for a first-time possession. La Crosse County District Attorney Scott Horne, who opposes the change, is pushing an alternative education and treatment program that would maintain existing misdemeanor marijuana laws. State law allows counties and municipalities to pass their own ordinances for some crimes and traffic violations, including first-offense possession of a gram or less of marijuana. Violators are prosecuted by a city or county lawyer rather than a district attorney. Attorney Steve Doyle said the penalties are similar whether they are for a state or local offense, but local government keeps the fines for ordinance violations rather than sending 90 percent of the fine to the state. Police in Onalaska have written tickets for first-time offenders for more than 10 years, but in other parts of La Crosse County, people caught with marijuana or marijuana paraphernalia for the first time are arrested and booked in jail. They usually are charged with misdemeanor possession, which carries a penalty of up to six months in jail for a first offense. First-time drunken driving is considered a local ordinance violation and marijuana possession should be, too, said Judge John Perlich, who is spearheading the proposal. "The punishment ought to fit the crime, and I don't think it does,'' he said. It could be months before the board and council decide on the proposal. - --- MAP posted-by: Andrew
After you have finished reading this article you can click here to go back.
|
This page was created by the Cannabis Campaigners' Guide.
Feel free to link to this page!