National District Attorneys Association. Newsclips. August 20, 2012

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1 National District Attorneys Association Newsclips August 20, 2012 Today s Clip Headlines Many criticize life sentences for juveniles Colorado court ruling says medical marijuana trumped by federal law Pill mill indictments connect Kentucky, Texas, Florida Pill pain: Some doctors see law targeting abuse as excessive and confusing New Minnesota database will help police, victims of abuse State says it can t reduce inmate total Policy shift by D.A. stirs controversy Reorganization of OJJDP In the Works Clip Synopses and Links The Tennessean Many criticize life sentences for juveniles On Thursday, the California Assembly passed a bill by the slimmest of margins that would give juvenile lifers in that state a shot at freedom. Nationwide, there are roughly 2,500 inmates who killed as juveniles who are serving life in prison without parole, including 309 California inmates serving such sentences, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Despite the legal rulings and the legislative activity, some survivors of people killed by juveniles are pushing back and arguing that a life sentence is appropriate punishment for juveniles who commit heinous murders. The bill moves back to the state Senate for final approval. Passage is expected. Criminal defense lawyer Daniel Horowitz, whose wife was murdered in 2005 by a 16- year-old now serving life without parole, largely sides with Elvey. Releasing most of the thousands of juvenile lifers would open the gates of hell, Horowitz said. We aren t trying to punish these young people, he said. We are trying to protect the public from this happening again.

2 Denver Post Colorado court ruling says medical marijuana trumped by federal law A state court ruling in a legal dispute between a medical-marijuana grower and a dispensary has laid bare an argument that could be the undoing of Colorado s medicalmarijuana system. Grower Quincy Haeberle sued Blue Sky Care Connection and its manager, Laura Lowden, after saying he delivered $40,000 worth of marijuana to the business and wasn t paid. The grower wanted a judge to tell Blue Sky Care Connection to pay up. But, in an order issued this month, Arapahoe County District Court Judge Charles Pratt found in favor of the dispensary. Because all marijuana sales are illegal under federal law, Pratt reasoned that the contract between grower and dispensary was void in line with longstanding legal precedent that contracts concerning illegal activities are invalid. Deeper into the ruling, Pratt made an even more significant conclusion: Colorado s entire medical-marijuana law is invalid because it is trumped by federal law. Courier-Journal Pill mill indictments connect Kentucky, Texas, Florida Newly unsealed federal indictments charge doctors, pain-clinic owners and others with participating in prescription drug conspiracies stretching from Eastern Kentucky to Texas and Florida. In one instance a Houston pain clinic owner allegedly prescribed 125,000 Oxycodone pills to residents of Pike County, Ky. Another pain clinic owner in Florida allegedly made $2 million illegally dispensing drugs to patients in Boyd, Greenup and Lawrence counties. Owners of a pain clinic in Johnson County are accused of conspiring with a doctor and illegally netting nearly $2 million in drug proceeds. 2

3 The indictments were announced Friday by the U.S. attorney s office for the Eastern District of Kentucky, the FBI, Kentucky State Police and other agencies. They involve five pain clinic owners and six doctors among 22 defendants. Courier-Journal Pill pain: Some doctors see law targeting abuse as excessive and confusing Some Kentucky doctors say the new law is so complex they ve decided to pack up their prescription pads Dr. Ralph Alvarado s medical practice has prescribed controlled substances to 1,800 patients in Central Kentucky over the past three years. But he and other doctors in the practice decided to put down their pens four weeks ago. That s because, he says, the standards imposed under a new Kentucky law designed to crack down on prescription drug abuse are so strict and complex that he would go bankrupt in a month or worse if he were to continue prescribing controlled substances. I m not going to be threatened with jail time or criminal charges and lose my career, the Winchester doctor said, instead referring patients to specialists to get pain-pill prescriptions. Proponents argue that the law, which took effect July 20, is intended only to root out pill mills and crooked doctors and should not hamper legitimate physicians or prevent patients from receiving needed drugs. But some doctors contend the legislation is excessive, confusing and time-consuming, and across Kentucky, many have been seeking advice from attorneys about following the law, and warning patients about potential cutbacks to common drugs for pain, anxiety and other conditions

4 Star Tribune New Minnesota database will help police, victims of abuse A new computer database will put up-to-the-moment information about protective orders in the hands of police across Minnesota, a change officials hope will better protect domestic violence victims. The state is now using 14-year-old technology that only allows new or modified orders for protection (OFPs) to be disseminated twice a day on weekdays, which can mean hours -- or even a weekend -- can pass before police in the field can access them. It s an antiquated system, said Liz Richards, executive director of the Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women. Nobody even makes the replacement parts anymore, that s how old it is. Minnesota intends to replace the current system in the next six months or so, thanks largely to a $1 million federal grant. The new system will allow court staff to enter the information into a database even as the judge is issuing a protection order. In addition to being much more nimble, the system will provide officers with more information about a particular OFP and the suspect. San Francisco Chronicle State says it can t reduce inmate total California officials, under U.S. Supreme Court orders to lower the population of its crowded prisons by 33,000 to bring a shoddy health care system up to constitutional standards, say they can t comply and shouldn t have to. In a filing late Friday with a three-judge federal panel in San Francisco, the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said it can provide adequate medical care at higher population levels about 6,000 higher than the Supreme Court required in its May 2011 ruling. Department officials rejected the three-judge court s suggestion that the state could comply with the population standards by releasing some prisoners early without endangering the public. Those possibilities would include granting inmates greater sentence reductions for good behavior and expanding GovJerry Brown s realignment program, which has moved low-level felons from prisons to county jails. 4

5 Philadelphia Inquirer Policy shift by D.A. stirs controversy Inquirer Exclusive: Williams is pushing for deeper investigations, but bringing fewer cases to court. He says the result is stronger cases. But in these cases, and hundreds more over the last two years, Philadelphia prosecutors demanded more. More witnesses, more documents, more phone and video records, more searches. In sum, more evidence, and better evidence. That mandate, imposed by District Attorney Seth Williams when he became Philadelphia s first new district attorney in nearly two decades, is designed to make cases stronger in court. And so far, statistics show that a greater proportion of cases are advancing to trial. But Williams policy shift has also sown tension between prosecutors and police. Critics say the new system is frustrating at best, and at worst, risks permitting dangerous people to remain free and strike again. That s exactly what happened in one 2010 case. Short of getting caught with a smoking gun in your hand, it s tough to get them to arrest, said John McNesby, president of the Fraternal Order of Police local. They want a sure thing. And the overhaul of charging has been accompanied by another dramatic trend - Williams is filing far fewer cases. His office last year brought 17 percent fewer violent-crime cases than the number brought in 2009, the last year Lynne M. Abraham was in office as D.A. In an interview last week, Williams said the overhaul of how prosecutors file cases has been a huge success, paying off with improved cases and charges that better fit the crimes. Youth Today Reorganization of OJJDP In the Works The federal office responsible for supporting juvenile justice programs around the country is in the process of reorganizing its internal structure, with planned changes likely to address the role independent research should play in shaping federal policies and initiatives for improving the treatment of juveniles by states and territories. 5

6 The goal is to have the Office structure look like the work OJJDP does, that is prevention, community development, and innovation, Hanes told the committee members in the web meeting on April 20, according to the minutes. But it s the question of where researchers belong within the OJJDP that appears to have sparked talk of reorganization at all, according to documents available on the Office of Justice Programs website that detail internal discussions. Upcoming Courses To see a full list of our upcoming courses, their dates, summaries and registration forms, please visit Member Benefits New NDAA membership benefits available: Need Case Assistance? NDAA can help. Send a message to NDAA s prosecutor assistance address and we will get your request to one of our program specialists or out to prosecutors around the country. jhemphill@ndaa.org 6