MedicalNeed
New Member
Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro recently changed the court filing procedure in cases of first-time possession for marijuana offenders. These cases will now be filed in Municipal Court rather than in Criminal District Court.
Assistant District Attorney Chris Bowman said that this change in no way decriminalizes possession of marijuana in Orleans Parish.
“The DA, with respect to state charges, is the chief prosecutor in Orleans Parish,” Bowman said. “He has the discretion to decide if these cases go to Municipal Court or Central District Court. This change is absolutely not decriminalizing possession of marijuana. The Municipal Court is absolutely a criminal court of law.”
This shift does, however, give the New Orleans Police Department and the Tulane University Police Department the ability to issue Municipal Court summons or tickets to first-time marijuana offenders, rather than taking them to Orleans Parish Prison lock-up.
Schneider said he compares this Municipal Court summons to a traffic ticket. “It will literally be like a traffic ticket for speeding down the road,” Schneider said. “You get the ticket, you pay the fine.”
Bowman said he hopes the change will give NOPD officers more tools to handle simple marijuana possession.“The DA would support any measure to give police officers the right to issue a Municipal Court summons [ticket] in lieu of an arrest if he deems it appropriate in regard to first-time offenders with a small amount of marijuana,” Bowman said.
Repeat offenders and offenders who have the intent to distribute will continue to receive felony charges filed in Criminal District Court.
Scott Schneider, associate general counsel for Tulane University, said he believes the DA changed the filing to Municipal Court because of the high volume of first-time marijuana offenders previously going through the Criminal District Court.
“A third of the Criminal District Court’s case load was simple marijuana possession,” Schneider said. “Leon Cannizzaro looked at that number and saw that it was a low priority in New Orleans. It was taking up a lot of time and space in the Criminal [District] Court. He looked at this problem and said [we should] figure out how to deal with this better. Filing in Municipal Court was a good solution.”
TUPD Sergeant Clint Rollin said he was aware that the DA switched first-time marijuana offenders filings to the Municipal Court but that NOPD and TUPD have not begun to issue tickets for these offenses. “We still take them to central lock-up,” Rollin said. “Our marching orders have not changed yet.” Rollin said even when the police department begins to issue municipal court summons, each case will be dealt on an individual basis.
“Each situation is different,” Rollin said. “If the offender has an attitude, or if there are extenuating circumstances, the police department retains the right to arrest.”
Rollin said he did not know when police in the field will be able to issue municipal court summons but said that he has heard talk of these changes within the police department.
“I’ve been a police officer for 15 years, and I’ve never heard of issuing a summons out to pot offenders,” Rollin said. “This is a whole new world for me.”
NOPD was unavailable for comment.
NewsHawk: MedicalNeed: 420 MAGAZINE
Source:thehullabaloo.com » Tulane Hullabaloo
Author: Mary Kilpatrick
Contact: thehullabaloo.com » Tulane Hullabaloo
Copyright: 2010 thehullabaloo.com
Website:Orleans Parish Changes Marijuana Possession-Policy - thehullabaloo.com
Assistant District Attorney Chris Bowman said that this change in no way decriminalizes possession of marijuana in Orleans Parish.
“The DA, with respect to state charges, is the chief prosecutor in Orleans Parish,” Bowman said. “He has the discretion to decide if these cases go to Municipal Court or Central District Court. This change is absolutely not decriminalizing possession of marijuana. The Municipal Court is absolutely a criminal court of law.”
This shift does, however, give the New Orleans Police Department and the Tulane University Police Department the ability to issue Municipal Court summons or tickets to first-time marijuana offenders, rather than taking them to Orleans Parish Prison lock-up.
Schneider said he compares this Municipal Court summons to a traffic ticket. “It will literally be like a traffic ticket for speeding down the road,” Schneider said. “You get the ticket, you pay the fine.”
Bowman said he hopes the change will give NOPD officers more tools to handle simple marijuana possession.“The DA would support any measure to give police officers the right to issue a Municipal Court summons [ticket] in lieu of an arrest if he deems it appropriate in regard to first-time offenders with a small amount of marijuana,” Bowman said.
Repeat offenders and offenders who have the intent to distribute will continue to receive felony charges filed in Criminal District Court.
Scott Schneider, associate general counsel for Tulane University, said he believes the DA changed the filing to Municipal Court because of the high volume of first-time marijuana offenders previously going through the Criminal District Court.
“A third of the Criminal District Court’s case load was simple marijuana possession,” Schneider said. “Leon Cannizzaro looked at that number and saw that it was a low priority in New Orleans. It was taking up a lot of time and space in the Criminal [District] Court. He looked at this problem and said [we should] figure out how to deal with this better. Filing in Municipal Court was a good solution.”
TUPD Sergeant Clint Rollin said he was aware that the DA switched first-time marijuana offenders filings to the Municipal Court but that NOPD and TUPD have not begun to issue tickets for these offenses. “We still take them to central lock-up,” Rollin said. “Our marching orders have not changed yet.” Rollin said even when the police department begins to issue municipal court summons, each case will be dealt on an individual basis.
“Each situation is different,” Rollin said. “If the offender has an attitude, or if there are extenuating circumstances, the police department retains the right to arrest.”
Rollin said he did not know when police in the field will be able to issue municipal court summons but said that he has heard talk of these changes within the police department.
“I’ve been a police officer for 15 years, and I’ve never heard of issuing a summons out to pot offenders,” Rollin said. “This is a whole new world for me.”
NOPD was unavailable for comment.
NewsHawk: MedicalNeed: 420 MAGAZINE
Source:thehullabaloo.com » Tulane Hullabaloo
Author: Mary Kilpatrick
Contact: thehullabaloo.com » Tulane Hullabaloo
Copyright: 2010 thehullabaloo.com
Website:Orleans Parish Changes Marijuana Possession-Policy - thehullabaloo.com
