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Invisiblejohnm214
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Registered: 05/31/07
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VT. Governor questions Windsor Cty St. Atty.'s decision to defer all felony pot cases to diversion
    #7807653 - 12/28/07 03:06 PM (16 years, 1 month ago)

Apparently the prosecutor feels pot should be legalised anyways. I wonder what the conflict is, though. THe foundation of the adversarial system of law is that the state attorney has discretion over which crimes to investigate and charge; which is why a selective prosecution defense is extraordinarily hard to sustain. We'll see how this shakes out, but the governor seems to wish he could override the people's choice in prosecutor. +1 for democracy


From: http://www.boston.com/news/local/vermont/articles/2007/12/08/governor_prosecutor_still_at_odds_over_pot_cases/


COLCHESTER, Vt.—Windsor County State's Attorney Robert Sand says Gov. Jim Douglas is mischaracterizing his policy for handling felony marijuana cases brought to his office.

Speaking on Vermont Public Radio's Vermont's Edition Friday, Douglas said Sand had a blanket policy of sending all marijuana cases to the court diversion program, which if successfully completed will result in no criminal record for the defendant.

"The essence of prosecutorial discretion is making a decision based on the facts of an individual case. But when you say I have a blanket policy, I don't care what the facts are, this is how this is going to be treated, that's not an exercise of discretion," Douglas said.

But Sand said the governor had it wrong.

"My policy is that every case that comes into the office gets reviewed on its individual merits and a decision made at that point about whether to go forward, what charges to file and what type of sentence recommendation or other disposition is appropriate," said Sand.

It's the latest round in an ongoing dispute between the two that escalated earlier this year when Sand referred the marijuana case of a 61-year-old lawyer and part time judge found with 36 marijuana plants and more than two pounds of dried marijuana to the court diversion program, which if successfully completed, will result in no criminal record.

Douglas has ordered the state police and other law enforcement agencies to refer all significant marijuana cases to the state attorney general's office or the United States attorney.

Sand has been outspoken in his call for the Legislature to revisit Vermont's drug laws and possibly decriminalize certain marijuana cases.

The dispute between Sand, a Democrat, and Douglas, a Republican, got even more attention Friday after the governor said it was appropriate for the Orange County prosecutor to use the diversion program for a man found with 110 marijuana plants

Sand said the governor was using a double standard.

------

Information from: WVPR-FM, http://www.vpr.net
© Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


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