Supreme Court Agrees To Hear 2 Criminal Cases

Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court announced which cases it will hear in the upcoming fall term.  Among the 14 cases they announced they would be hearing were 2 criminal cases.  One of the cases was Kentucky v. King.  The cases will decide whether to further erode the exclusionary rule when the police illegally seize evidence.  The police were chasing a suspected drug dealer into an apartment building.  As they walked down the hallway they smelled marijuana and broke into an apartment.  Inside they found King and 2 other individuals with marijuana and crack cocaine.  The police did not have a warrant to enter the apartment and the original suspect that the police had been chasing had entered the apartment across the hall.  King eventually plead guilty but challenged the search of the apartment on appeal.  In January, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that the police did not have the right to enter the apartment because there was no emergency and threw out the evidence seized.  The Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal of the Kentucky prosecutors who are arguing that the police were justified in entering the apartment because they made an honest mistake.  Last year, the Supreme Court ruled that evidence seized as a result of an honest mistake by the police should not be excluded from evidence.  To view our discussion of that Supreme Court decision, click here.

In the second criminal case,  the Court will decide whether lab technicians must be required to be available to testify at criminal trials.  Last year, the Supreme Court ruled that lab technicians were witnesses for the state and must be made available to testify.  But in a case out of New Mexico, Bullcoming v. New Mexico, the courts ruled that a lab worker who simply recorded the results of a blood alcohol testing machine in a DUI case did not have to testify.  The Supreme Court will get to decide whether the lab worker could also be required to testify.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Holder Talks About Getting "Smart" On Crime

On Monday, United States Attorney General Eric Holder addressed the American Bar Association in Chicago. In his speech not only did he call for getting tough on crime, but he called for getting "smart" on crime as well. He said that jail is not the only answer to law enforcement. Roughly 1 in every 100 American adults is behind bars. He noted that this is "the highest incarceration rate in the world." He noted this rate continues to rise and that the rate of incarceration cannot be sustained from an economic standpoint. He called for programs that keep tabs on inmates after they are released and drug treatment programs as an alternative to jail for first time offenders. He also called for programs to study how to help children at risk of becoming criminals and called for the lack of funding for public defenders. Once again he addressed the sentencing disparities between powder and crack cocaine. He ended his speech by stating that his goal is to move towards a system of fairness and effectiveness.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

House Moves Forward With Bill Eliminating Disparities In Cocaine Sentences

On Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee approved a bill that would eliminate sentencing disparities between powder cocaine and crack cocaine. The bill was approved by a vote of 16 to 9 and now moves the full House for its consideration. We have been reporting for a long time about this issue, such as the 100 to 1, crack to powder disparity. This disparity is unjust because it unfairly punishes African-American defendants who are more likely to be convicted of crack cocaine offenses than White offenders who are more likely to be arrested with powder cocaine. The current sentencing guidelines treat crack offenders much more harshly than powder cocaine offenders. In 2007, the U.S. Sentencing Commission amended the Sentencing Guidelines to fix this injustice and voted to give retroactive effect to those amendments. At least 3000 inmates have had their sentences reduced because of these sentencing amendments. Just last month, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder urged reform of the sentencing laws to deal with this disparity.

We will keep our readers updated on the progress of this legislation.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Attorney General Urges Changes In Cocaine Sentencing Guidelines

On Wednesday, Attorney General Eric Holder called for reform of the sentencing guidelines for crack cocaine. In an address before a symposium sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus and Harvard Law School, Holder called for a thorough review of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines because of the "unwarranted" disparities between punishments for different forms of cocaine. Holder pointed out that the disparities in the way crack cocaine and powder cocaine are treated under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines erodes public trust and confidence in the justice system. In 2007 the U.S. Sentencing Commission voted to give retroactive effect to an earlier sentencing guideline amendment that reduced crack cocaine penalties. A study by the U.S. Sentencing Commission from April 2008 reports that over 3,000 defendants convicted of crack cocaine offenses have had their sentences reduced under this amendment. The final decision on whether to reduce a defendants sentence rests with the sentencing judge.

For more information about the Chicago Criminal Defense Attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Tougher Penalties for Marijuana Proposed

THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the active ingredient in marijuana that makes users feel "high." Plants that are specially breeded to produce marijuana with a high THC content are commonly called "kush" on the street. Growers cultivate the plants hydroponically so they can control the light, temperature and humidity to increase the THC content of the plant. This type of marijuana can sell for as much as $600 an ounce making it as profitable as crack cocaine. U.S. Representative Mark Kirk has been listening to law enforcement officials who have been complaining that they have been recovering more of this type of marijuana in raids throughout the area. In response, Representative Kirk has introduced legislation that would increase the penalties for this type of marijuana and would expose first time offenders to up to 25 years in prison. The proposed law would target those who sell or distribute marijuana that has a THC content exceeding 15 percent, or 5 to 10 percentage points higher than average marijuana.

This proposed legislation comes a month after the Illinois Senate approved a bill to legalize medical marijuana in Illinois.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Obama Administration Will Seek To Change Sentences

The Obama administration will be asking Congress to change Federal Sentencing Laws that create a disparity in jail sentences for dealing crack cocaine versus powder cocaine. We have previously written about this disparity in sentencing guidelines. Lawyers call this a "100 to 1" ratio for cocaine sentences. This means that a person convicted of selling five grams of crack cocaine faces the same prison sentence as someone convicted of selling 500 grams of powder cocaine. Many lawyers feel that this unfairly punishes black offenders since 82 percent of the defendants convicted in federal court of selling crack cocaine were black, while only nine percent were white. President Obama frequently mentioned this disparity in sentencing guidelines while he was campaigning for President. Assistant Attorney General, Lanny Breuer testified before a Senate Committee yesterday and called for this sentencing disparity to be cured by Congress but did not spell out any details. However Bauer did call on Congress to fix the current law, which was originally written in 1986 during the height of concern over the spread of crack cocaine. Bauer stated that since 1986, prosecutors have developed a "refined understanding" of the differences between crack cocaine and powder cocaine.

It is extremely rare for a politician to call for a reduction in prison sentences. Politicians are especially concerned about being seen as being soft on crime. In addition to this issue, the Obama administration is seeking to increase drug treatment and rehabilitation programs for inmates once they are released from prison.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.