IWTS in DMN
I had my second letter published in the Dallas Morning News. They did a nice editing job. I could use that person full time. The letter was from an earlier post why DMN thinks drug users should feel bad.
An earlier letter to the editor (bong hits 4 jesus)was published at DMN without me realizing it.
The Police State and the Nanny State often join forces to pass idiotic laws. Today’s example is the right to poop law that was passed by the Texas Legislature.
HB 416, which Rick Perry signed, creates a new criminal offense for business that do not allow those with certain medical conditions to use the employee restroom.
Basically, if you have a business and do not provide a public restroom a customer can present a doctor’s letter and use your toilet. There is no penalty for writing a fake doctor’s letter so if you have always wanted to use the john at Tiffanys this is your chance.
Lawyers often get a bad rap for making healthcare expensive. Allegedly our lawsuits push doctors out of high risk fields. In Texas medical malpractice litigation has been effectively shut down by insurance companies and the GOP (both of whom hate trial lawyers).
Where am I going with this?
Today there is a congressional hearing on the DEA’s War Against Pain Doctors. If you think lawsuits and high insurance costs can run doctors out of certain fields, wait till you see what arrests and federal criminal charges can do.
I had a DWI bench trial yesterday. It was a total refusal. My client completely refused to perform any of of the field sobriety testing or blow into the intoxilyzer 5000. Not guilty.
The problem with DWI refusal cases is that DWI is largely an opinion crime. In the officer’s opinion you have lost the normal use of your physical or mental faculties. Combine huge amounts of law enforcement discretion with the Witch Hunt mentality of DWI prosecution and you have a recipe for injustice.
The officer stated that my client’s only indications of intoxication were; drum roll please……. speeding, part of one tire crossing the center line, my client admitted to drinking 1-2 beers, and the 3 usual suspects in DWI- bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, and the odor of alcohol. That’s it. Arrested, Charged, and Tried based on that alone.
Showtime had a great presentation on Medical Marijuana, In Pot We Trust. I know how liberals feel when they see Sicko. I got the same reaction watching this film.
In Sum; here are the arguments presented-
1. Legalization/MM crowd wants pot legalized. If not then at least do not arrest people who smoke weed and have horrible diseases.
I’m often asked what do when pulled over for a DWI stop. Today will be Part 1 of my series on DWI stops. Let’s start with the basics.
In Texas the law only provides a penalty for refusing a breath or blood test request. That penalty is a longer suspension of your driver’s license. We will talk about the breath test in the future.
Today we are going to discuss the Standard Field Sobriety Tests. These tests are the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (I want you to follow my pen with your eyes and not your head) the One Leg Stand and Walk and Turn.
The Dallas Morning News editorial board published a typically misguided rant on the “hidden costs” of recreational drug use.
Quoting DMN=
In Colombia, guerrillas and paramilitary thugs are vying for control of vast swaths of the countryside where base ingredients of cocaine and heroin are grown. They are tearing up families, killing adults and turning children into warriors – all for drug money.
I am proud to announce an upcoming exclusive interview with Barry Cooper. Barry is a former cop who produces the “Never Get Busted” line of DVDs. These DVDs focus on surviving police encounters with your freedom intact. My earlier post on Never Get Busted is here.
More fun with Site Meter- I get a good number of hits on Google searches for “How to Hide Your Stash.” You need Barry’s site to hide your stash, you need my law firm site when someone finds it.
I spoke with Barry briefly on the phone today. We discussed problems with the current drug reform movement, Mark Emery, and Fox News.
The Drug Policy Alliance is hosting the 2007 International Drug Policy Reform Conference in New Orleans on December 5-8 this year. It sounds like a great conference and a wonderful excuse to visit the Big Easy. Some great pro liberty anti prohibition groups are sponsoring the event including Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, Marijuana Policy Project, Students for Sensible Drug Policy, and the ACLU. If you hate the drug war this is the place to be.
What’s on the Agenda-
Drug Sentencing Reform
New Mexico’s medical marijuana law requires the State to grow the pot for patients. The law is the first with a government grower. The law is intended to keep the sellers from getting arrested by the DEA.
Maybe the government should just buy some of the Marijuana that is already being grown domestically. Marijuana is New Mexico’s 3rd highest grossing cash crop.
Here is my earlier post on medical marijuana. I wish we did not need Medicial Marijuana laws to advance decriminalization. Pot should be legal because we are free, not because it is medicine. Medical marijuana is necessary because the political courage to legalize marijuana is lacking, especially at the federal level.
Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog