Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

The story of Cory Maye encapsulates the worst of our drug war- racism, injustice, loss of civil liberties, and needless death. Drew Carey produces another must see Reason.TV episode.

DEA managed to bust some San Diego State students who were allegedly selling drugs. Since when does the SDSU party scene warrant federal intervention? The investigation started when SDSU lost a student to an overdose. The DEA loves piggybacking on tragedy to try and legitimize their existence.

From the DEA-

“Our children are our biggest asset and absent a safe, drug free learning environment, their chances of succeeding are greatly diminished. The San Diego State University Police and SDSU administration are to be commended for their swift actions in confronting the drug use problem on campus,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Ralph W. Partridge. “This investigation spotlights two tragedies. The tragic drug overdose deaths of two college students and secondly, the shattered futures of those students who choose to continue to engage in the illicit sale and usage of a myriad of controlled substances. A drug free learning environment for our children should be the norm, not the exception.”

Notice the instant invocation of "the children." Drug warriors love to talk about children. One of the easiest way to influence an argument is to use fear. It's a cheap motivator, yet highly effective.

Pathos aside, college students are not children. College is the time when young adults learn to operate in the real world- a world that is not drug free. The last thing college students need is to be arrested by the same DEA flunkies whose propaganda they have rejected.

DEA agent Patridge talks about the "two tragedies" of this investigation. Self awareness is in critical supply at the DEA. Prohibition causes overdose deaths and the DEA chose to shatter these futures.

Barack Obama and George W Bush were fortunate that the DEA did not decide to shatter their future. Obama and Bush both experimented with drugs as young adults and went on to live productive lives. Why do these students deserve any less?

A great quote to finish on.

"Cocaine was banned in 1914, and marijuana in 1937," said David Borden, executive director of StoptheDrugWar.org, "and yet these drugs are so widely available almost a century later that college students can be hauled away 75 at a time for them. That is the very definition of policy failure.. Instead of throwing away money and law enforcement time on a policy that doesn't work, ruining lives in the process, Congress should repeal drug prohibition and allow states to create sensible regulations to govern drugs' lawful distribution and use. At a minimum, the focus should be taken off enforcement," said Borden.

I've just finished the John Stuart Mill classic On Liberty. JSM was a 19th century philosopher and political economist. Inter alia, JSM is famous for his refinement of the harm principle. The harm principle is a foundation of modern libertarian (or classical liberal) thought. The HP as explained by JSM-

The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not sufficient warrant... The only part of the conduct of anyone, for which he is amenable to society, is that which concerns others. In the part which merely concerns himself, his independence is, of right, absolute. Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign.

Well, what about drug abuse? People do bad things on drugs. Shouldn't we just ban drugs so people won't harm others while high? JSM offers a radically simple solution. Instead of banning substances, we should only hold men responsible for actions that harm others. JSM explains-

In the frequent case of a man who causes grief to his family by addiction to bad habits he deserves reproach for his unkindness... but so may he [with] habits not in themselves considered vicious. No person ought to punished for being drunk; but a soldier or policeman should be punished for being drunk on duty. With regard to the merely contingent or... constructive injury which a person causes to society, by conduct which neither violates any specific duty to the public... or to any individual except himself, the inconvenience is one society can afford to bear for the sake of the greater good of human freedom.

Compare Mill's view with these Prohibition apologetics by John McCain. Mr. McCain believes that drugs always cause intoxication and must be outlawed. The fact that we have hundreds of criminal laws that forbid every bad thing an intoxicated (or sober) individual could do does not matter.

Unlike Mr. Mill, John McCain does not believe that individuals are sovereign over their body and mind. The GOP presidential nominee believes that your sobriety, mind, and body are merely property of the federal government. (McCain also ignoresthe obvious hypocrisy of his wife's criminal acts as a drug addict).

Remember my Kaufman County Opportunity Costs story? Half of a felony court docket was there for possession drugs, the other half was there for violating the harm principle. Which group do you want to spend tax dollars to prosecute? Those who possess a substance, or those who harm others? On Liberty may be 150 years old, however it offers some fresh ideas for our tired drug war.
I look forward to the day when our country embraces the greater good of human freedom.

No one saves a drug search like our Supreme Court. It seems that few Constitutional protections apply if the police find drugs. . The latest example is Virginia vs. Moore.

SCOTUS in their own words

Held: The police did not violate the Fourth Amendment when they made an arrest that was based on probable cause but prohibited by state law, or when they performed a search incident to the arrest.

Here are the facts- Moore was pulled over and found to have a suspended license. Virginia law does not allow the police to make an arrest for this offense. Virginia police arrested Moore anyway. A search incident to the arrest produced 16 ounces of crack cocaine.

Moore filed a motion to suppress the search and the crack. Moore's Motion was denied and he was convicted. Moore appealed and claimed that the 4th Amendment protects the public from illegal police conduct. Put simply- Moore's argument was that when police break the law and search a citizen, the search is unreasonable.

Now we have what Drug Warriors have longed for, an end run around the pesky requirement of a warrant, probable cause, and/or actually viewing an arrestable offense to search for drugs.

The War on Drugs always leads to police corruption. Now it has led to a sanction for illegal police conduct. I never thought I would see the day that judges would ok illegal police activity. In hindsight, this decision is merely the cumulation of decades of bad decisions designed to save drug searches.

There are only two ways to advance Prohibition- More Cops/Jails or Less Freedom. We have more prisoners than any other country, and less 4th Amendment protections than ever. We are still losing the Drug War.

Is it too much to ask that police follow the law? Is 16 ounces of crack worth repealing the 4th Amendment?

Recently, the 6th Court of Appeals (Texarkana) released an opinion in.39 acres vs. the State of Texas . In Texas, asset forfeiture cases list the property as the defendant. For example, The State of Texas vs. Ford F-150, or The State of Texas vs. $24,762 are potential forfeiture case names.

.39 acres was actually about Henry Doke, the owner of the Dew Drop Inn in Marion County. The Dew Drop Inn was a commercial space rented out on a month to month basis.

A search warrant was issued for suspected drug activity at the DDI. The police show up and find cocaine and make a few arrests. The State moves to seize the DDI and the land (.39 acres).

Despite the search and arrests no evidence was found against Mr. Doke. Henry Doke was never convicted of any crime. Henry Doke was never charged with any crime. Still the State moved to steal his property, claiming that the Dew Drop Inn had become "contraband".

Prior to the raid Mr. Doke had been informed by a local NARC that there was drug activity at the DDI. Based on that, the trial court allowed the State to seize the DDI.

The Court of Appeals for the State finding that Mr. Doke "should have known" of the illegal drug activity. Mr. Doke raised a factual sufficiency review for appeal. Those are hard to win. However, the court of appeals in Texarkana is setting a precedent- private citizens have been drafted into the Drug War. Ignore NARCs at your own peril.

If you disagree with a NARC, if you don't believe a NARC, if you don't care to be an agent for law enforcement, or simply choose not to further the perpetual failure of Prohibition- the State can and will steal your property.

Own any property in Texas? Care to keep it? Congratulations, you are now a full time drug warrior.

DMN reports that Dallas County Criminal courts have a growing backlog of felony cases.. Even with the addition of two new felony courts in 2005 the number of pending cases is still growing each year. DMN estimates there are 24,126 pending felony cases in Dallas.

What could possibly cause such a huge growing backlog of felony cases? Hmmm.... DMN explores.

The reasons given for this vary, depending on whom you ask. The local criminal justice system has many parts, and defense lawyers and prosecutors can contribute to slow-moving cases. Some cases are more complex and difficult than others, and thus take longer to try. But judges play a big role, too – for example, in the speed with which they hear motions and make decisions.

All the statements in that paragraph are true. However, the real reason cases are backed up in Dallas is.... you guessed it- PROHIBITION!

From 1998 to 2001, Dallas County felony judges disposed of more cases than were filed. But that trend reversed in 2002, the same year former District Attorney Bill Hill's new policy began requiring testing of drug evidence before cases are filed.

Here is how the War on Drugs makes Dallas less safe.
1. First, Making Drugs Illegal Corrupts Law Enforcement. In 2001, Dallas Police were caught using fake drugs and snitches to convict the innocent. Ergo, now all drugs are tested in Dallas County. This testing takes substantial time and resources.
2. Second, Making Drugs Illegal Does Not Eliminate Demand. Despite years of "Just Say No" propaganda Dallasites still want to get high. Drug users are not very hard to arrest. Those arrests lead to hundreds of useless prosecutions annually.
3.Finally, Opportunity Costs Exist. Prosecutors working on possession cases can not work on murders, rapes, assault, theft, burglary of a residence etc.

The Result- Drug cases clog the criminal justice system while real crimes go without justice. Expanding capacity with more courts is not slowing the tide. The real tragedy is that not all felonies are created equal. Drug Possession/Distribution and Sexual Assault are both serious felony offenses in Texas. Both require substantial resources, tax dollars, and court time. Which do you want prosecuted in Dallas? Both? Then you better be prepared to wait for justice.

Here are some other posts on the Opportunity Costs of Prohibition-

Kaufman County Opportunity Costs-
Opportunity Costs and Crime Clearance

Opportunity Costs and Child Molesters

Yesterday, I had two cases on the docket in the 422nd District Court in Kaufman. I quickly browsed through the courts docket and noticed that around 15 criminal cases were set to be heard that afternoon. A quick glance at the State's file bucket showed that roughly 8 of those cases were for drugs.

Plea Negotiation Conferences
In the 422nd a common court setting is a Plea Negotiation Conference, or PNC. I had two of those today. I spent time talking to a prosecutor on the various aspects of my cases. Both cases were reset.

After my cases were reset I looked around the courtroom and noted the 4 prisoners, 2 sheriff's deputies, 5 defense lawyers, and 2 prosecutors and of course, the judge.

Opportunity Costs
Opportunity costs are a term I've used before. For those new to the blog Opportunity Costs put the cost of any choice as the value of forgone choices.

Again, 50% of the cases that day were for drugs. Possession of various controlled substances, in various amounts, all requiring the full attention of the criminal justice system.

Kaufman has some great felony prosecutors. The prosecutor I spoke to had years of experience and education. If my dead body is found in Kaufman County I would have little doubt these prosecutors would do a great job convicting my killer.

Besides the two prosecutors there were a half dozen others with law degrees, various law enforcement professionals with years of training, an elected judge, citizens fighting for their freedom and the family members who care about them, and finally the poor taxpayer funding this production. 50% of that courtroom was there for drugs. To keep people from getting high. To uphold Prohibition.

The amount of human potential we incarcerate for Prohibition is monumental. Not to mention the resources spent to train prosecutors, judges, defense lawyers, police etc. All the time, energy, and money we spend on Prohibition is staggering. It keeps a lot of people busy (myself included). However, it also keeps a lot of people from doing other productive work.

Without the War on Drugs the market would support less prosecutors and defense lawyers. These talents could be used to start businesses, become teachers, or fight other legal injustice (Patriot Act perhaps). The law enforcement agents in the room (bailiffs) could be out looking for real criminals. The inmates could be working to support their family or drug habit. The families wouldn't have to drive to Kaufman to watch their loved ones sit in chains. Finally the judge could focus on murder cases or other civil cases. Lawsuits would be resolved quicker, real criminals would face justice sooner.

I have to admit that when this Drug War is over the criminal market may dry up. However, I will gladly sacrifice this career fighting dope cases and do something else. Have you been injured in a car wreck?

One reason I prefer freedom over government is accountability. If a business does not provide the goods and services the public wants customers take their money elsewhere and the business fails.

Government is the opposite. Failing programs see their budgets increased and almost never close. DARE is one such program. By all accounts DARE HAS BEEN A COMPLETE FAILURE. DARE has shown no efficacy in keeping kids from using drugs, alcohol, or cigarettes. Yet the government continues to waste over a billion dollars a year on DARE.

This week, President Bush issued a proclamation declaring DARE day. Do we really need a day to celebrate government propaganda? Really? Surprisingly,Pushingback.com is the only place I could find this moving declaration from our Commander in Chief.

I know that you don't want to read it. I'm pretty sure George didn't write it. In the interest of brevity I will post one paragraph from the DARE day speech. My links provide the truth to Bush's sad statist platitudes.

All Americans have a responsibility to encourage others to turn away from drug abuse and to make good choices in life. During National D.A.R.E Day, we renew our commitment to providing our youth the knowledge and encouragement they need to resist the pressures that can lead them to experiment with drugs and violent activities. By working together, we can help our children build lives of purpose and strengthen our communities, one heart and one soul at a time.

Happy DARE day!

Today's Expert is Chad Ridinger of Narconon Arrowhead. Chad is a substance abuse treatment specialist. This is a long interview, I didn't edit any of it. If you are an expert and would like to interviewed please send me an email. I did change the order of the questions and left the original numbers. I wanted the criminal defense attorney section to be more prominent.

1. Tell us about yourself and your program.
My name is Chad Ridinger and I am the Director of Referrals at Narconon Arrowhead located in Canadian, Oklahoma. I am also a graduate of the program. After I used drugs for 8 years, my life was in shambles and my family was distraught. After failing at traditional treatment, I enrolled at Narconon because I wanted a program that had a high success rate and a different approach to what I was used to so that I would have a better chance of staying clean. I’m happy to say that I’ve been clean for a year now! I feel great and my family is really proud of me.
2. How does the criminal justice system understand drug addiction?
The United States has the highest incarcerated population in the world of over 2 million people. According to national statistics, over 80% of arrests involve substance abuse issues either directly or indirectly. The national success rate of recovery is less than 10%. So the criminal justice system sees first hand that the rehabilitation industry as a whole is flawed and that the criminal justice system is bursting at the seams from unhandled addiction issues. That is why it is so important for the criminal justice system to know that there are alternative options like Narconon Arrowhead that exist that really do get high success rates and really can turn a person around and get them back to the point of being a productive citizen once again.
7. What should criminal defense lawyers know about substance abuse and treatment?
Substance abuse treatement is vital to rehabilitating criminals. And like I mentioned earlier, there are programs that work. Locking someone up and throwing away the key is not necessarily the solution in all cases to make our society and our planet a better place. We are seeing a dire need for additional steps in alternative sentencing measures. We are on the same team and together we need to voice this need and create and/or change legislation so that people are getting truly helped and truly rehabilitated.
8. Does prosecution help addicts?
I think that if a person doesn’t learn from his past transgressions, and still doesn’t recognize the harm he or she is doing to themselves and others than you need to instill justice on that person to protect them as well as society from being harmed by their actions. But again, prosecuting an addict could also entail effective rehabilitation so that the person does not continue to make the same mistakes.
9. Anything else. Narconon uses a unique approach to substance abuse treatment, and has over 70% success rate for graduates after 2 years . This is among the highest in the nation. If anyone out there wants some more information I’d be glad to send them an Information packet. Just email me at cridinger@stopaddiction.com
I appreciate you giving me the chance to get some things out to your community about such issues and to help clear up any misconceptions about addiction. If you or anyone you know needs help with either finding a facility right for them or just wants to talk don’t hesitate to give us a call at 1-800-468-6933, or you can visit our website at www.stopaddiction.com.

Continue reading "Substance Abuse Treatment Specialist Q&A- Narconon Arrowhead" »

Pushingback.com is the "blog" for ONDCP, the Office of National Drug Control Policy. They are a full time propaganda outlet for the War on Drugs. Unlike real blogs PB does not allow user comments. PB also rarely creates any original content. They mostly link and post to articles they see as supporting Prohibition.

I have a fairly low of opinion of Prohibition propagandists. They are humorless moral busybodies with a skill set that makes them only fit for government work.

PB reinforces my beliefs almost daily. Today's post is a classic. Here it is, verbatim

Not much is funny about drug abuse, but Stephen Colbert takes a shot:

PB then links to this Colbert Report video with the a spokeman from the Drug Policy Alliance.

Watch the video for yourself. Then marvel at how PB thinks Colbert supports their position. Irony and humor are completely lost among bureaucratic stooges.

It is said that life is a tragedy for those who feel, and a comedy for those who think. Prohibition would have to be included in that definition. Unfortunately for America ONDCP does neither well.

American Drug War is a briliant documentary now playing on Showtime. ADW exposes the history and hyprocrisy of the drug war. It is a much see for any drug war supporter, or opponent.

CIA/Cocaine
I have always taken CIA/Cocaine conspiracy theories with a grain of salt. I believe that government power is almost certain to be corrupted, and the drug war is morally bankrupt. However, the idea that the CIA would actually work with drug cartels struck me as impropable if not incredulous. ADW investigates this dark alliance. Here is a clip where former DEA chief Robert Bonner admits to CIA drug smuggling. From ADW.....

ADW implies that there was a pattern of CIA/drug cartel cooperation to fight communism, support friendly regimes in South America, and/or Iran-Contra. ">The CIA claimed they allowed one shipment of coke to be imported for the sole purpose of "intelligence gathering" on Columbian drug cartels.

Watch ADW and make up your own mind.

The Dallas Morning News Editorial board has a troubling history of drug war cheer leading. Today's editorial calls for supporting Bush's new Plan Meridia. Plan Meridia aims to fight the drug cartels in Mexcio by sending billions in cash and equipment to the Mexican government. Bush foreign policy combined with billions in federal giveaways- how could that not work?

Seriously, this editorial is such drivel that Pushingback.com has proudly linked to it. ( is there not a law that prevents federal agencies from lobbying for specific bills etc?)

Bush foreign policy combined with billions in federal giveaways- how could that not work?

Being a consistent Morning News reader I have discovered the DMN War on Drugs editorial formula.

1. State Problem caused by War on Drugs
2. Blame everything but War on Drugs for Problem
3. Call for more government to fix Problem

If DMN wants to write editorials about the War on Drugs they should take a little time to study the issue before shooting off poilcy recommendations. Until that happens we can expect more support for proposals designed to fail.

Let''s analyze the logic of Plan Meridia. The American government is going to send billions to Mexico to fight the drug cartels. Meanwhile American consumers send billions to drug cartels to supply drugs.

Before we begin another foreign policy disaster can we consider choosing a new supplier for drugs in America? Only legalizing drugs will put the drug cartels out of business.

A wonderful discovery by DrugWarRant. Just watch the video. I can not add anything to the thoughtful discussion.

My wife is sick, so no new material until tomorrow. Until then go to the FWST and comment on this story. It is a typical federal drug bust. ATF and the Arlington Police waste time busting drug dealers who are going to be instantly replace. One of the defendants gets a 17 year sentence. Great use of tax dollars. I guess the DEA couldn't find an medical marijuana patients or pain doctors to harass.

Make sure and comment below the story. There are some typical "tough on crime" knee jerk comments. Make your voice heard.

From the Economist- An amazing story from Texas on the Prison Entrepreneurship Program. PEP teachers prisoners how to be successful business leaders and entrepreneurs. The War on Drugs is a tragedy for many reasons. One is the incarceration of human potential for consensual crime.

Why would drug dealing felon convicts make good businessmen? Let's ask today's hero Catherine Rohr, a venture capitalist who founded PEP after visiting several Texas prisons. From the Economist

Ms. Rohr's premise is that criminals are intelligent people with good heads for business and healthy appetites for risk, and that these traits can be put to productive use. She is particularly interested in people who have already demonstrated these skills—for example by running a successful drug business or achieving a high rank in a gang

The rigorous program has a 50% dropout rate. The students in PEP meet MBA students and business leaders to develop business plans. 40 graduates already have businesses up and running. PEP also slashes recidivism (5% among graduates) and produces qualified applicants for employment.

Supplying illegal drugs is a business. The skills learned are fungible for legal commercial activity. Until we take drug dealing away from organized crime, we can at least take back some of the talent.

The Drug Free America Foundation is a non profit group that advocates for the War on Drugs. I actually support this group financially because they are a recipient of large annual grants from the federal government. It's not bad enough the feds arrest and incarcerate millions of Americans, they also waste tax dollars on redundant propaganda.

Survey Says- Drug Use Is Victimless
DFAF has an online survey on drug use. Here are the results

Question: Drug use is a victimless crime.

Agree. It only hurts the user.: 22.6% Disagree. Individual drug use affects society.: 6.2% Somewhat disagree. It may affect those closest to the user, but not society.: 8.1% Strongly agree. What a user chooses to do themselves is no one's business.: 43.1% Strongly disagree. A drug user endangers every person they come in contact with.: 20.0%

860 individuals have responded to poll.

It is wonderful to see that 2/3 of all readers agree that drug use is a victimless crime. Let's explore those who got the answer wrong.

6.2% chose Disagree- affects society. I guess this depends on your definition of society. However, by defining society so broadly there is really no activity that is victimless."

20% chose Strongly Disagree- A drug user endangers every person they come in contact with.

I guess 20% of the readers are 2nd graders who just finished a DARE class, or DFAF employees. A person smoking a joint is not a land mine. I would suggest those who chose this answer spend some time with a Medical Marijuana patient, or Willie Nelson. SWAT teamsnot drug users, endanger every person they come in contact with.

This poll is not scientific. But it shows that the anti-Prohibition message is getting out. Prohibition is a national disgrace. Take the time to vote and show the DFAF how you feel about their War on Drugs.

The President released the National Drug Control Strategy today. I don't have time to read 80 pages of garbage propaganda. Instead, let us focus on the intro by George W. Bush.

From George W's introduction-

My Administration published its first National Drug Control Strategy in 2002, inspired by a great moral imperative: we must reduce illegal drug use because, over time, drugs rob men, women, and children of their dignity and of their character.

When did dignity and character become property of the federal government? Those properties seem to be in short supply in DC. Is Mr. Bush really saying that we incarcerate thousands of Americans to help protect their "character."

Every flawed ideology starts off with a flawed premise. For the drug war, it's the idea that all drug use is morally wrong. Saying Yes has a great breakdown of the hypocrisy that follows all "morality" claims about drug/alcohol use. Most religions adopt the view that the substance is not evil, but the actions that arise from use. Substances, even drugs, are morally neutral. Only actions can destroy dignity and character.

Lie About Winning- More from W

Prevention programs are reaching Americans in their communities, schools, workplaces, and through the media, contributing to a 24 percent decline in youth drug use since 2001

What George doesn't tell you is that youth drug use is still 50% higher than in 1990. George does get propaganda points for mentioning children. Americans will suffer almost anything to "protect children." What is not mentioned is how many children have lost parents to prison. We incarcerate more people per capita than ANY country on Earth. Protecting children is great. But the fact that children exist does not require us to incarcerate thousands for consensual crime.

Mention Terrorists

We have seized unprecedented amounts of illegal drugs and have denied drug traffickers and terrorists the profits they need to conduct their deadly work.

If terrorists make money off of drugs, it is because of federal drug policy. I would like to see a drug cartel or terrorist group sell anything available at Wal Mart. They would be bankrupt. Do terrorists profit off of beer, digital cameras, or health insurance? Corporations would put drug cartels and terrorists out of the narcotics business if we only let them.

The National Drug Control Strategy is a tale told by a fool, full of the sound and fury, that signifies nothing.