5 ms·

I would say that he ruined his life, not the other way around. 1. He accepted what he knew was an illegal drug at the concert, and kept it, planning to 'give i

by avree 14y ago

I would say that he ruined his life, not the other way around. 1. He accepted what he knew was an illegal drug at the concert, and kept it, planning to 'give it away'. Who does this? 2. His passenger was carrying screens and a pipe, and he had an illegal prescription drug in his pocket. Why would he consent to a search? 3. He went to court and plead 'no contest'-this is equivalent to a guilty plea. Why not spend the time to tell his story? He gave the judge no opportunity to be lenient. 4. After getting on probation, he made no effort to educate HIMSELF on the rules. Instead, he operated on assumptions. I'm not arguing that the drug laws are good or bad, but this guy screwed up.

maratd 14y ago
> I would say that he ruined his life, not the other way around. You can say that about everyone and everything. We are, of course, masters of our fate. > He accepted what he knew was an illegal drug at the concert, and kept it, planning to 'give it away'. Who does this? Everyone who doesn't want to offend a friend, but at the same time, has reservations about taking whatever was given to him? > His passenger was carrying screens and a pipe, and he had an illegal prescription drug in his pocket. Why would he consent to a search? Fear? You clearly have no experience dealing with an aggressive police officer. Neither do most people. So when they encounter one, they take a submissive posture and pretty much agree to everything without thinking. > He went to court and plead 'no contest'-this is equivalent to a guilty plea. Why not spend the time to tell his story? He gave the judge no opportunity to be lenient. Because nobody cares. Not your defense attorney, not the prosecutor, not the judge, nobody. They see dozens of these sob stories every day. They don't have time for it and they don't care. You broke the law, you're going to pay and you're going to pay the same thing the guy before you did. Have you actually been to municipal/county court? I recommend you go. It's open to the public. Very educational. You don't have to stay long to figure out how things work. > After getting on probation, he made no effort to educate HIMSELF on the rules. Instead, he operated on assumptions. Which is what 99% of people do? Laws and systems should be designed for the worst of us to be able to live well ... not the best and brightest. > this guy screwed up. He most certainly did. 1. No officer, I do not consent to any searches of my property. 2. I'm sorry sir, but I have a constitutional right not to respond to your inquiry. I am exercising that right. 3. You smell marijuana? You may not search my property. (cop searches anyway - guess what? if he doesn't find marijuana, anything he does find is not admissible in court) 4. Defense Attorney: Just plead guilty, it'll be fine. You: No. Go talk to the prosecutor. Do your job. Get me a plea-bargain in writing and I'll consider pleading guilty. And before you hand me that piece of paper, all of you talk to the judge and make sure everybody is on the same page. Also, every state is different, so make sure to know your local law! In New Jersey, they have something called PTI (Pre-Trial Intervention) for first time offenders. A much better option for those who know they're heading for the gallows. Know the law and don't trust people to give you accurate information! Even your defense attorney!
- tptacek 14y ago
  During the NATO protests in Chicago a cop stopped me and asked to search my bag, and I came up with "Sorry, but I'm carrying work equipment and my employer does not allow me to consent to searches". I'm not sure how wise this response was, but it worked. It's good to have some rehearsed answer to that question. Explicitly invoking the Constitution will work, but can be combative. As annoying as it is to my inner idealistic 25 year old, I try to be as obsequious and polite as I can to police officers; they deal with genuinely unpleasant people on an hourly basis, and being nice to them often works a kind of mental jiu jitsu on them. It probably never matters but I figure the habit might someday save me a lot of real trouble. Also, it gets me out of a _lot_ of tickets.
Permit 14y ago
Yes he ruined his life. But only because the drug laws for possession are so over the top and counterproductive. The fact someone can do as little as he did and have it cost him his job and cause him so many problems is a sign of a broken system. He asked his probation officer if he could attend school at night. His probation officer said yes. I imagine most people in his situation would accept their probation officers interpretation of the law. I mean you can sit there comfortably from the throne of hindsight and easily see where he screwed up, but that does absolutely nothing to further the conversation.
powertower 14y ago
How did he screw up by pleading 'no contest'? What were his other options? Remember that he was in possession of a CII substance. That's plain and clear. There was no way out of it. I don't think the option of pleading not-guilty, asking for a jury trial, and crossing your fingers hoping for a hung jury or jury nullification would have been wise. I also see why the judge made him notify his employer, considering he was a bonded stock broker. After that, the "process" took over.

by avree 14y ago

maratd 14y ago

> I would say that he ruined his life, not the other way around. You can say that about everyone and everything. We are, of course, masters of our fate. > He accepted what he knew was an illegal drug at the concert, and kept it, planning to 'give it away'. Who does this? Everyone who doesn't want to offend a friend, but at the same time, has reservations about taking whatever was given to him? > His passenger was carrying screens and a pipe, and he had an illegal prescription drug in his pocket. Why would he consent to a search? Fear? You clearly have no experience dealing with an aggressive police officer. Neither do most people. So when they encounter one, they take a submissive posture and pretty much agree to everything without thinking. > He went to court and plead 'no contest'-this is equivalent to a guilty plea. Why not spend the time to tell his story? He gave the judge no opportunity to be lenient. Because nobody cares. Not your defense attorney, not the prosecutor, not the judge, nobody. They see dozens of these sob stories every day. They don't have time for it and they don't care. You broke the law, you're going to pay and you're going to pay the same thing the guy before you did. Have you actually been to municipal/county court? I recommend you go. It's open to the public. Very educational. You don't have to stay long to figure out how things work. > After getting on probation, he made no effort to educate HIMSELF on the rules. Instead, he operated on assumptions. Which is what 99% of people do? Laws and systems should be designed for the worst of us to be able to live well ... not the best and brightest. > this guy screwed up. He most certainly did. 1. No officer, I do not consent to any searches of my property. 2. I'm sorry sir, but I have a constitutional right not to respond to your inquiry. I am exercising that right. 3. You smell marijuana? You may not search my property. (cop searches anyway - guess what? if he doesn't find marijuana, anything he does find is not admissible in court) 4. Defense Attorney: Just plead guilty, it'll be fine. You: No. Go talk to the prosecutor. Do your job. Get me a plea-bargain in writing and I'll consider pleading guilty. And before you hand me that piece of paper, all of you talk to the judge and make sure everybody is on the same page. Also, every state is different, so make sure to know your local law! In New Jersey, they have something called PTI (Pre-Trial Intervention) for first time offenders. A much better option for those who know they're heading for the gallows. Know the law and don't trust people to give you accurate information! Even your defense attorney!

tptacek 14y ago
During the NATO protests in Chicago a cop stopped me and asked to search my bag, and I came up with "Sorry, but I'm carrying work equipment and my employer does not allow me to consent to searches". I'm not sure how wise this response was, but it worked. It's good to have some rehearsed answer to that question. Explicitly invoking the Constitution will work, but can be combative. As annoying as it is to my inner idealistic 25 year old, I try to be as obsequious and polite as I can to police officers; they deal with genuinely unpleasant people on an hourly basis, and being nice to them often works a kind of mental jiu jitsu on them. It probably never matters but I figure the habit might someday save me a lot of real trouble. Also, it gets me out of a _lot_ of tickets.

Permit 14y ago

Yes he ruined his life. But only because the drug laws for possession are so over the top and counterproductive. The fact someone can do as little as he did and have it cost him his job and cause him so many problems is a sign of a broken system. He asked his probation officer if he could attend school at night. His probation officer said yes. I imagine most people in his situation would accept their probation officers interpretation of the law. I mean you can sit there comfortably from the throne of hindsight and easily see where he screwed up, but that does absolutely nothing to further the conversation.

powertower 14y ago

How did he screw up by pleading 'no contest'? What were his other options? Remember that he was in possession of a CII substance. That's plain and clear. There was no way out of it. I don't think the option of pleading not-guilty, asking for a jury trial, and crossing your fingers hoping for a hung jury or jury nullification would have been wise. I also see why the judge made him notify his employer, considering he was a bonded stock broker. After that, the "process" took over.