Drugs
Attack claims of reliable and unbroken drug chain of custody
The criminal justice system is so overgrown that crime evidence is bound too often to get mixed up, misplaced, and contaminated. For drug prosecutions, the suspected drugs may pass through several hands before being tested by a chemist. Often, the seizing police officers have the...
Underdog is three years old / Happy 420
Today, Underdog is three years old. We launched on 4-20-06.with this tribute to 420. Reprinted below is our 4-20-08 anniversary blog entry: Since our 2006 launching, Underdog has blogged every weekday, except for holidays and a few vacation days (sometimes I blog a few articles...
Atrocities plague the drug war, too
War breeds atrocities. We saw it with Abu Ghraib, My Lai, mini-My Lais and the list continues pathetically and endlessly. Consequently, great care must be taken by the government in deciding when and how to wage armed war and war in the criminal justice system...
Pot Odor – Distinguish between the smell of burnt and raw marijuana
Pot odor is stronger when burnt than raw says Fairfax criminal lawyer Pot odor is often used by police to justify searches for more serious activity, where this is allowed by cops in the midst of constant marijuana decriminalization. (UPDATE: As a Fairfax criminal lawyer,...
The dragnet of drug arrests
DEA image in the public domain. In college, on-campus drug use — and sometimes drug sales, apparently — ran rampant. I would sometimes be right in the room or in the dorm hallway as others smoked pot or, in one instance, snorted cocaine. If I did not...
How Can a Proper Terry Patdown Find Crack Cocaine?
Bill of Rights. Recently during a suppression hearing in a drug case, the police officer testified that controlled dangerous substances fell to the ground from my client’s pants as the cop conducted a pat down for weapons, on the cop’s claimed belief that this was a...
Students: Beware financial aid fallout from drug convictions
Convictions for marijuana and other drugs should not be permitted to cut off student financial aid. (Image from public domain.) Criminal defendants need to consider not only the direct consequences of a criminal conviction (e.g., the potential of incarceration, fines, probation, and higher sentences for...