Sometimes you kinda forget the things that most shocked you when you started as a public defender - there's so many.
For me, I'll never get over that people get charged with drug possession on the basis of their being drug *residue* in things like crack pipes and stems.
For me, I'll never get over that people get charged with drug possession on the basis of their being drug *residue* in things like crack pipes and stems.
The worst case I had where this happened: an elderly Black man whose house the police executed a warrant on. His wife had cancer. They found a stem somewhere that literally he had not used for five years or more because he was sober and they brought him in on it.
They offered a deferred dismissal but didn't accept it because he wanted to get the search warrant materials as part of discovery because hew knew there was *no way* the police had any reason to search his house and he was going to bring a civil suit.
But the worst part was he started suffering PTSD from the whole experience and had to start going to see a psychiatrist three times a week to deal with it.
I just remember thinking, the whole thing was nothing to the police and prosecutors, they found a stem, brought him in, were going to offer to basically dismiss the case and none of them would ever think about it again.
But it had affected him so profoundly.
But it had affected him so profoundly.
Anyway I am getting off track from my initial tweet, but so many charges like this, so many people like this whose lives are ripped apart for nothing. Why do we want to do this to people?
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