Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

Published on: March 6, 2012

Are Maryland Marijuana Laws More Harmful Than Actual Marijuana?

Each year Maryland police officers make thousands of drug arrests, costing hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars, and yet there continues to be no visible evidence that the war on drugs is decreasing the amount of drug users in Maryland. Police officers focus a large portion of their time and effort making arrests for possession of cocaine, heroin, and prescription medication throughout Maryland, and especially in Baltimore City. Perhaps the most staggering data comes from the amount of marijuana arrests that Maryland cops make, and the money spent to make these marijuana arrests.

Maryland police officers made almost 25,000 marijuana arrests in 2007 which averages to roughly 440 people arrested for marijuana per 100,000 people in the general population. This according to drugscience.org is the fourth highest cannabis arrest ratio in the country. About 90 percent of these arrests were for possession, while the other 10 percent were for trafficking, sale, or dealing.

More alarming is the amount of money and resources Maryland spends on enforcing its marijuana laws. While Maryland does not have the strictest marijuana laws in the country, millions of taxpayer dollars are spent on police protection, the judicial system, and the corrections department to enforce these laws. Simple possession of marijuana in Maryland is a misdemeanor with a maximum sentence of one year in jail for a first time offender. Sale and trafficking of marijuana are both felonies with much larger maximum jail sentences. Sale carries up to 5 years in jail. and may carry a mandatory jail sentence, while trafficking can carry up to a 40 year jail sentence and heavy fines.
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Published on: February 27, 2012

Inmates to Lose Jail Good-Time Credits for Cell Phone Possession

By Benjamin Herbst

Prison inmate’s sentences are currently up for debate in the Maryland legislature, but it’s the inmates who have been doing the talking. A bill before the Maryland State Senate calls for an automatic reduction in the amount of good-time credits a sentenced inmate typically receives by the Maryland Division of Corrections if that inmate is caught possessing a cell phone while incarcerated. The bill was presented to the Legislature by Senator Shank, a republican from Washington county.

Those if favor of the bill argue that an inmate who gets his hands on a cell phone places the corrections officers and other inmates at risk, as well as the outside community. Inmates have the ability to organize potentially dangerous actions within the prison walls in addition to being able to conduct criminal activity, such as drug trafficking or witness intimidation beyond the prison walls.

Under Maryland law, cell phones are telecommunication devices that are considered contraband. Contraband such as cell phones, radios, or any other devices that transmit communications are prohibited in places of confinement. Possession of contraband in a place of confinement is a misdemeanor that is punishable by up to 3 years imprisonment, and a $1000 fine. The bill currently up for debate would not change or take the place of this misdemeanor, but rather would serve as additional punishment by affecting the sentence an inmate is already serving on an unrelated crime.
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Published on: February 24, 2012

Baltimore Police Officers Found Guilty of Extortion

By Benjamin Herbst

Baltimore City police officers were recently found guilty of conspiracy under color of law, and extortion in Federal criminal court. A Federal jury found one officer guilty after trial, and the other accepted a negotiated guilty plea hours before the jury began deliberating. Federal sentencing guidelines provide a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison for conspiracy under color of law, and a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for extortion. A Federal judge will hand down the sentence for the officer, from Edgewood Maryland, convicted at trial at sentencing hearing in March.

These Baltimore City police officers were the last two officers to be found guilty in perhaps the largest police misconduct scandal in the Baltimore Police Department’s history. A total of seventeen officers were charged and convicted of crimes of misconduct including extortion and conspiracy. The scandal began as a kickback scheme where Baltimore officers were paid by a body shop for car accident referrals. More than sixty officers were named as recipients of the kickback money, but only seventeen were charged in Federal court.

The investigation was initiated by the Baltimore Police Department’s internal affairs division, but was later turned over to the FBI. The FBI did not take part in seizing the accused officer’s badges, a job that Baltimore Police Commissioner Bealefeld III handled personally. The corrupt cops were a reportedly summoned to the police department’s training academy under the guise of a routine weapons check. Upon arrival at the academy, the accused officers were no doubt surprised to learn that their kickback scheme had been exposed, and their careers as police officers came to an abrupt but well deserved end.
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