No, this is not about that wrestling guy but, rather, about the really ridiculous and inhumane Rockefeller Drug Laws in place in New York State. Not only are we the most taxed state in the nation, but we’ve also held on to this really draconian penal system for non-violent drug offenders. We all know that the government is not winning the war on drugs. In fact, its been a huge expense financially, but also has cost us thousands and thousands of human beings who, with proper treatment and structure, could be productive citizens. This is the argument I’m always making, and for some reason it doesn’t get across to most prosecutors or to judges. I can’t for the life of me figure out why.

Yesterday I was in chambers being thrilled about the victory that a colleague of mine had at trial day before yesterday. It was even more exciting because the judge is very pro prosecution (even though he used to be a public defender). Anyway, while I was in there I heard a drug prosecutor say to another defense attorney “I oppose weekends (in jail) for your client” and I couldn’t help but wonder why? Why? Was he thinking that it would be fun for the kid to spend his weekends in jail? Would it be like giving him something good, something special? Does this DA even stop to think that maybe if the kid does weekends in jail he can work during the week, maybe keep going to school, etc? Maybe not end being a complete wart on society’s ass? No, he doesn’t. He thinks shit, weekends in jail is like summer camp and I’m not going to be known as the DA who gives away the courthouse steps by giving a kid weekends in jail. Argh.

In some respects maybe it is easier to defend the rapist or the kidnapper or murderer because in New York, the stakes are as high in drug cases as they are for those violent felonies, but most of the time the rapists and the kidnappers and the murderers aren’t just kids looking to make some easy money.