Family Being Prosecuted For Pots of Marijuana

[MikeOKC]

This story really shocked me. A family of three near Antlers - a school teacher, a professional man who works for the Dept. of Agriculture and a college student are being prosecuted on FELONY drug charges for having marijuana plants in pots near the house. The family also owns Kat's Pups, a breeder of Yorkshire Terriers. I called the sheriff's office in Push county to complain. What a waste of man hours and work in law enforcement and the prosecutor's office. They are going to RUIN this family's life over a few pots of marijuana? We're almost in 2010 and it's hard to believe this is a law enforcement priority. These people are obviously not crackhead drug dealers. How embarrassing.
http://newsok.com/oklahoma-teacher-f...ad_story_title

[USG '60]

Gut wrenching and heart breaking. Makes me wanna cry.

[HVAC Instructor]

The Oklahoma marijuana laws are one thing I absolutely despise about Oklahoma. There is so much to like here, but our lawmakers got this one wrong. Far too many people are thrown into prison for non-violent crimes, and to add insult to injury, this family will likely be tossed into prison right next to murderers and rapists. And just imagine being a 21 year old white male in a state prison...ever heard of prison rape? Look it up and prepare to be shocked.

I hope they hire the best law firm possible and beat this bogus rap. What a waste of law enforcement resourses.

[MadMonk]

It seems like it had to be a lot or the plants were pretty big if they spotted them from a helicopter!

What is so shocking about them getting arrested? Like or not, growing marijuana is against the law. As for ruining their lives, surely they knew what the consequences would be if they were caught (if they are guilty).

You should be complaining to the legislators. They are the ones that have the power to do something about it.

[HVAC Instructor]

What is shocking is the cost of running a helicopter looking for marijuana to bust a family for 5 potted plants. Marijuana has a distinctive color, unlike any other plant and even one good sized plant is easy to spot from the air. The fact that the local law enforcement is not bragging about the size of the bust indicates it is a very small amount.

You can bet my legislators know my opinion concerning prison overpopulation because of marijuana laws. It is also a good topic of discussion right here on OKC talk. What better public forum than this community forum to discuss the impact of wasted law enforcement resources than here, as just one of many possible discussion forums?

All politics are local. This is one area we, as citizens of this state, could have an impact on. Just because a law makes an activity illegal does not mean it is a good or just law. What good could possibly come from ruining this family? A felony? Please! Maybe a citable misdemeanor, but a felony? A total waste of law enforcement time and money.

[positano]

Can I ask why you would complain to the sheriff's office? It seems to be a pretty dangerous proposition to allow law enforcement agencies to decide which laws to enforce. You also indicated in your complaint / post that you question why law enforcement made this case a priority. Was there something in the article that suggested this was a priority for the sheriff's office? Unless I'm misinformed, the Push County Sheriff's Office does not own a helicopter, nor did I see any reference in the article that it was even a case initiated by their office.

MadMonk has it right - your complaint is better directed at the legislature, unless you are aware of facts that weren't described in the news article.

[possumfritter]

Is it still against the law to brew your own corn liquor in Oklahoma?

[Millie]

Oh yeah... heartbreaking... a poor innocent schoolteacher gets arrested for growing pot to smoke right before she goes out and influences children...

[USG '60]

Hon, I can tell you have never lived in the real world. You are speculating based on a prejudice. I'm sure you mean well.

[kevinpate]

five potted plants were found near an outbuilding on their property. those were discovered by LEO's as they followed a path from other plants initially seen from the air.

The number of plants or size of plot seen from the air is not discussed in the article, but the article permits a fair inference this is not a 5 plant only situation.

Please note - No opinion is expressed on what knowledge the property owner had, or did not have, regarding the presence of any of the plants. Just offering a clarification for anyone who hasn't clicked the link to the article, or did not read it through.

[Millie]

Hon, I can tell you have never lived in the real world. You are speculating based on a prejudice. I'm sure you mean well.

Speculating about what? Prejudiced toward what?

[BailJumper]

The shocking thing to me is that these three should have known better but still chose to break the law.

I don't feel sorry for them. We all know the rules, if you don't want to follow them then you face the consequences.

[Thunder]

I just want to say that this is another Fail for law enforcement.

That's a small town, right? I suggest residents evict from the town, so that the law enforcement dry up on their revenues.

[MadMonk]

Maybe the town prefers their school teachers and park rangers not engage in illegal activities?

Look, I think that marijuana should be legal and regulated, but until that happens, I can't really feel sorry for someone that knowingly breaks the law. They took their chances and now have to deal with the consequences. C'est la vie.

[BBatesokc]

I have mixed personal feelings about this, but the law is the law. When you willingly break it in this manner, you just gotta take your licks while putting up your best defense.

Prosecutors don't have alot of leeway when it comes to crimes like this. If their actions meet the 'elements of the crime' then that's the crime they get charged with and they leave it up to a jury to weigh the evidence and forward the desires of the community.

I didn't read anything about distribution, so at least that may be a bright side.

Personally, I have mixed feelings on pot legalization, but in most instances tend to lean towards legalization. Or, at the least decriminalization.

Really won't mater much what happens to them now, the defense fees and publicity will return to haunt them time and time again for the rest of their lives.

Reminds me of the craziness with some of our counties prostitution prosecutions. If a hooker keeps her crimes completely out of the view of the public (where it is most offensive to the community) and works off the Internet, she is charged with a felony. If she does it in people's front yards and in front of businesses, then she is only charged with a misdemeanor. This is because technically her crimes meet the elements of the computer crimes act.

Wasn't very smart to have the potted plants near their home. They should have kept it appearing wild in some secluded part of their property and maintained plausible deniability .

[kevinpate]

One thing this thread illustrates fairly well, at least to my tired eyes ... the presumption of innocence, which once more fully cloaked any defendant facing his or her govt. absent proof beyond a reasonable doubt, has become rather threadbare.

[BBatesokc]

I read it once (either here or on some other board) that innocent until proven guilty is for the court of law, not the court of public opinion. I tend to agree. The fact is 99% of defendants plead "Not Guilty" regardless of the evidence against them. The pharmacist case is a great example. The public has cast its vote despite the public's lack of details privy only to the prosecution and defense. Maybe its a social flaw, but it is the reality.

[kevinpate]

> it is the reality

Indeed, and more's the pity. Benefit of the doubt by those comprising the general public is as threadbare as the presumption of innocence, if not more so. I'm not denying the reality, though I do lament it at times. All the more when I catch myself doing so.

[possumfritter]

I agree with those that support legalizing marijuana. But I don't want it to happen until everyone that was smoking weed back in the 1960's has stepped on over to the other side and left this world behind.

[mugofbeer]

Hey, if it's illegal, it's illegal. If you don't like it, change the law. Until then, it's illegal. You can't prosecute one law and not another. One of the posters above said it best, do you really want these two lighting up some fatty's and then going to influence our children?

[Midtowner]

If anyone here knows anything about Antlers and the surrounding locale, there has to be more to do with this particular bit of enforcement than meets the eye. There are supposedly quite a number of large-scale growing operations in that part of the state.

There are MUCH bigger fish than a school teacher and her husband. From what I know, according to my friends from that part of the state, the drug laws are generally just not enforced. Cultivation operations basically occur out in the open and no one cares.

I agree that those who break the laws run the risk of someone enforcing those laws, but when this sort of thing happens, it's almost safe to assume that these folks rubbed the wrong person the wrong way.

That said, I don't have an ounce of compassion or 'shock' in this situation. They knew the laws and allegedly broke 'em anyway -- flagrantly. If found guilty, they deserve whatever justice the jury metes out to them.

[HVAC Instructor]

If anyone here knows anything about Antlers and the surrounding locale, there has to be more to do with this particular bit of enforcement than meets the eye. There are supposedly quite a number of large-scale growing operations in that part of the state.

There are MUCH bigger fish than a school teacher and her husband. From what I know, according to my friends from that part of the state, the drug laws are generally just not enforced. Cultivation operations basically occur out in the open and no one cares.

I agree that those who break the laws run the risk of someone enforcing those laws, but when this sort of thing happens, it's almost safe to assume that these folks rubbed the wrong person the wrong way.

That said, I don't have an ounce of compassion or 'shock' in this situation. They knew the laws and allegedly broke 'em anyway -- flagrantly. If found guilty, they deserve whatever justice the jury metes out to them.

I bet you would feel completely different if it was your family in this situation. Your profile says you are a law student. And above you state that the marijuana laws in the Antlers area are essentially ignored, and it is likely these people rubbed someone the wrong way. If this is true, then local law enforcement is selectively enforcing the law as a vendetta against this family. And as a student of the law, you should be outraged if what you speculated is indeed the case, unless your aspiration within the law is to become an unethical prosecutor interested in convictions at all costs rather than seeking justice. Surely that is not true about you.

Marijuana laws are overfilling our prisons and costing us untold billions of tax dollars. Oklahoma has some of the longest prison sentences in the nation for minor marijuana offenses. We need our aspiring young lawyers working to put an end to these ridiculous laws that serve only to create criminals where none previously existed.

If I were on their jury, I would do everything I could to convince the other 11 to issue a "not guilty" verdict. An unjust law should not be enforced by a rational jury, and it's the last line of defense for these people who, as you have speculated, may simply be victims of a government officials vendetta.

[USG '60]

I bet you would feel completely different if it was your family in this situation. Your profile says you are a law student. And above you state that the marijuana laws in the Antlers area are essentially ignored, and it is likely these people rubbed someone the wrong way. If this is true, then local law enforcement is selectively enforcing the law as a vendetta against this family. And as a student of the law, you should be outraged if what you speculated is indeed the case, unless your aspiration within the law is to become an unethical prosecutor interested in convictions at all costs rather than seeking justice. Surely that is not true about you.

Marijuana laws are overfilling our prisons and costing us untold billions of tax dollars. Oklahoma has some of the longest prison sentences in the nation for minor marijuana offenses. We need our aspiring young lawyers working to put an end to these ridiculous laws that serve only to create criminals where none previously existed.

If I were on their jury, I would do everything I could to convince the other 11 to issue a "not guilty" verdict. An unjust law should not be enforced by a rational jury, and it's the last line of defense for these people who, as you have speculated, may simply be victims of a government officials vendetta.

We can hope someone on the jury knows about Jury Nullification.

[FFLady]

If it was legal, I would certainly have a few pots myself - I happen to think the marijuana plant is gorgeous!!!!

[Midtowner]

I bet you would feel completely different if it was your family in this situation. Your profile says you are a law student. And above you state that the marijuana laws in the Antlers area are essentially ignored, and it is likely these people rubbed someone the wrong way. If this is true, then local law enforcement is selectively enforcing the law as a vendetta against this family. And as a student of the law, you should be outraged if what you speculated is indeed the case, unless your aspiration within the law is to become an unethical prosecutor interested in convictions at all costs rather than seeking justice. Surely that is not true about you.

I don't really get bent out of shape over selective enforcement. To a degree, every enforcement is selective. No law can be 100% enforced, every single law gets broken and no prosecution happens whatsoever. Break the law enough times or in a conspicuous manner and eventually, you run a good chance of prosecution and punishment.

If it is your contention that because this is rarely prosecuted compared to the number of times the law is broken, ergo injustice, then by extension, where do you come down on rape? It happens a lot, especially with date rape, and it's never prosecuted. Speeding? Child pornography? Where exactly do you draw the line?

The only way to be 100% safe from prosecution for violating the law is to not violate the law. That is allegedly not what happened here, so the prosecution is proper.

Marijuana laws are overfilling our prisons and costing us untold billions of tax dollars. Oklahoma has some of the longest prison sentences in the nation for minor marijuana offenses. We need our aspiring young lawyers working to put an end to these ridiculous laws that serve only to create criminals where none previously existed.

Well here's the thing. Lawyers aren't the ones who make laws. And unless a law happens to be unconstitutional (and this one has been tested many, many times and is not unconstutional), there's not much that can be done to change things. What you have to do is influence those in the state legislature and Congress to change the laws. "It's not fair!!!!" is not a defense and will probably not impress anyone at trial.

If I were on their jury, I would do everything I could to convince the other 11 to issue a "not guilty" verdict. An unjust law should not be enforced by a rational jury, and it's the last line of defense for these people who, as you have speculated, may simply be victims of a government officials vendetta.

First, these sorts of cases almost never make it to jury trial. The state will offer a plea and the defendant will accept it rather than risking a long prison sentence hoping for some jury nullification. Second, if a trial ever did happen, there is very little chance someone with your attitudes about marijuana laws would be picked to serve on that jury.

As an aside, I tend to agree with you that these laws are a public policy nightmare. Unfortunately for these people and lots of others, these laws are on the books, and there's pretty much no way these folks didn't know that. Being in a place where the law is seldom enforced is not an excuse to violate the law with impunity.

If this is your method of challenging these laws, it really only makes you look foolish and like you don't understand how laws are made. So far on this board, I've seen a couple of stories about the horrors of drug prosecutions. In all of these cases, the "undeserving victim" was white and employed. I guess blacks and hispanics probably don't show up anywhere on your radar even though they make up the majority of defendants charged with this crime. Your approach to protesting these laws is too narrowly focused. You'll get nowhere if all you do is complain when white, middle class folks are prosecuted for drug crimes. You would do well to broaden your horizons -- look at legislators and congressmen who sit idly by while the state locks up thousands of non-violent offenders for this crime. Look at the private prison industry which is not only building private prisons all over the state to house these people, it's also peddling an amazing amount of influence at both the state and federal levels. When you complain about these individual cases, you're really complaining about the end result of a process, so why not turn your focus to the beginning of the process where if enough pressure is brought, real change could happen?