Another massive blow has been dealt to Reefer Madness in the State of Oklahoma this morning. I had a jury trial scheduled to begin for marijuana possession in Broken Arrow Municipal Court. I arrived and knew something was wrong because the lights were off in the courtroom and there were obviously no pool of jurors present. The judge walked up to me and said that the prosecutor had dismissed the case the day before. It is a little bit of a letdown to hear this after preparing the day before and thinking about all the arguments that I was going to make to the jury. However, a win is a win. And my client doesnt have to do 6 months of probation and monthly urinalysis and community service and pay a fine of about $600. In fact, my fee was less than the fine would have been. I am trying to get all my clients to set all of their marijuana possession cases for trial. My client today was risking 60 days in jail if he lost. The jury did not have to give him any jail time, but they could have given him up to 60 days if they found him guilty. Of course, in state court, the defendant is facing up to 1 year in jail. So this scares a lot of people, and they just roll over and take the Reefer Madness inspired probation--which is typically 18 month to 2 years in state court--with all the costs, community service and urine testing. However, and especially in light of the recent marijuana poll results, I do not think any Oklahoma jury is going to give any defendant jail or prison time on a marijuana possession case. It is time to start fighting back against Reefer Madness in this state and setting all of these cases for trial. Unless we fight back and stand strong and be willing to risk a possible jail sentence, nothing is ever going to change in this state. And by the way, I am charging no additional fees to take a marijuana possession case to trial.
Posted on: Thu, 24 Oct 2013 14:55:55 +0000
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