A recent poll indicates that Californians are heavily in favor of reducing penalties for drug possession from felonies to misdemeanors.  The poll was conducted by Lake Research Center.

The results of the poll, which were released in April, found that 75% of California voters prefer reducing the penalty for possession of small amount of drugs.  The poll suggests that Californians believe the current penalties for minor drug possession are far too severe.  Besides, 56% of respondents also believe that far many people are imprisoned in California. 

Also, 51% of the respondents believe that people who are found in possession of small amount of drugs should have lower penalties.  Twenty seven percent believe that possessing small amounts of drugs should not be penalized with more than three months in jail, while 24% of the respondents believe that such people should not be punished with jail time at all.

When it comes to categorizing these crimes, voters overwhelmingly believe that possession of small amounts of drugs should be misdemeanors.  Just 12% of California voters in the survey believe that possession of a small amount of drugs should constitute a felony.  Forty percent of respondents believe that possession of a small amount of illegal drugs should be considered an infraction, without prison time as a consequence. 

Currently, under California's laws, persons in possession of heroin or cocaine can spend between 16 months and three years in prison.

The results of the survey seem to cut across boundaries, with strong numbers of Republicans, Democrats and Independents voicing the same opinions.  Much of this opposition to heavy prison terms for small drug offenses is because of financial concerns.  Californians know that putting more people in prison for long periods of time for possession of small amount of drugs not only strains the state’s already stressed resources, but also leads to prison overcrowding.

And the celebrity justice saga continues with a surprising turn… On Monday morning, Paris Hilton pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors relating to her cocaine-related arrest from last month at the Wynn in Las Vegas. The two misdemeanors were: drug possession and obstructing an officer. Hilton admitted that she obstructed the officers in their investigation when she lied to then about the ownership of the purse.

Hilton was sentenced to one year probation, to participate in a drug rehabilitation program, to pay a $2,000 fine, and to complete 200 hours of community service. While on the surface, this seems like a lenient plea bargain, because the original charge was for felony cocaine possession, the Judge informed Hilton in no uncertain terms that if she violated the terms of her probation, in any respect, that he would sentence her to one year in county jail at the Clark County Detention Center.

As a defense attorney who handles drug crimes cases in Los Angeles, and the surrounding counties, if Hilton had been arrested for, and charged with felony cocaine possession, she likely would have been found eligible for a drug rehabilitation program such as Deferred Entry of Judgment (DEJ). Under DEJ probation terms, after 18 months, if Hilton successfully completed the once a week drug treatment program, and tested clean, then the entire case would have been dismissed. DEJ is a great alternatively sentencing program for those defendants who are serious about completing the drug program because it is one of the only mechanisms in California criminal law which clears the arrest and the conviction itself.

Only time will tell if Ms. Hilton can keep herself out of trouble for the next one year…

In yet another unfortunate run-in with law enforcement, and the criminal laws, Paris Hilton was arrested for felony cocaine possession in Las Vegas, Nevada. Paris Hilton and her new boyfriend, Cy Waits, were both arrested for alleged felony cocaine possession Friday in Las Vegas.

Allegedly, Las Vegas police observed a cloud of marijuana smoke being emitted from the windows of a black Cadillac Escalade which was driven by Mr. Waits around 11:30pm on Friday night. Accordingly, a police officer on a motorcycle stopped the SUV along Las Vegas Boulevard near the Wynn Hotel.

When a crowd began to gather around, Hilton was taken out of the Escalade and escorted to the hotel for safety reasons while the investigation took place in and around the vehicle. According to Officer Sheahan, while Hilton was being escorted back to the Wynn Hotel, she pulled lip balm out of her purse and a small bag, or bindle, of cocaine, fell out and into the officer’s plain view. Paris Hilton has subsequently claimed that neither the purse nor the cocaine belonged to her.

As a drug crimes defense attorney in Los Angeles, there appear to be several potential legal issues, including Fourth Amendment and search and seizure related issues with this alleged factual scenario. First of all, it seems more likely than not that the small amount cocaine may have become visible to the officer but did not actually fall out into the officer’s view as alleged. If the cocaine became visible to the officers but only because the officer glanced into her purse, or made a conscious effort to scan the contents of her purse, then It is debatable whether this qualifies as an illegal search or seizure or a plain view exception to the law.

Paris Hilton can thank her luck stars for at least one thing: that this felony cocaine possession charge came about after the termination of her probation period from her DUI arrest in 2006 in Los Angeles. Otherwise, this new drug crimes case would have qualified as both a felony possession of cocaine charge in addition to a violation of probation and could have landed her back in county jail for a significant period of time in Los Angeles.

If you, or a loved, one is fighting drug possession, sales, or transportation charges then contact an experienced drug crimes attorney at the Law Offices of Karen L. Goldstein: (888) 445-6313.

Not many people have heard of drug courts.  With just about 2,300 of these courts in the country, California DWI lawyers can’t blame people for not being aware of these courts that offer supervised confinement and addiction treatment in lieu of prison time for drunk driving offenders. 

There's been a great deal of focus on DUI over the past 12 months.  Much of this has been due to the fact that there has been an endless stream of celebrities caught driving under the influence.  This month, Lindsay Lohan walked into jail in a highly publicized case arising from her DUI probation violations.  It’s the right time to make people in California aware of the fact that prison is not the best way to treat offenders convicted of intoxicated driving.

Persons who have been convicted of DUI offenses or drug offenses, can also be sent to special drug courts.  In these courts, the offenders are kept in treatment and under close supervision.  These persons are required to remain under supervision for a minimum period of one year.  During this period, they are provided with addiction treatment, and are regularly and randomly tested for drug and alcohol abuse.  Throughout the program, they have to report to the court about whether they have been able to meet their obligations to their families, to the court and to themselves.  Persons under the program are expected to turn up in court frequently for review of their progress.  Persons may be either rewarded for good progress under the program, or may be sanctioned if they don't meet the targeted goals.

There are various kinds of drug court models, and the validity criteria for these courts vary.  Most of the courts in the US are adult criminal drug courts and DWI courts.  Researchers have found that these courts substantially reduce the incidence of crime, and prove to be more cost effective in the long run, even though they're slightly more expensive in the beginning.  The cost effectiveness comes from the fact that there is no need for tedious judicial case processing and substantial investment of law enforcement efforts.  Instead, the person gets the treatment he needs and goes out back out into the world again, with a much lower chance of driving under the influence again.