16 February 2009

Law Enforcement in the South

Well I know its been a long time since I posted an entry.  I guess I just haven't been that intrigued by the goings on in the world today.  However, this article from Fox Sports brought me back to my blog.  It is a story that the Richland County, S.C. Sheriff's office has decided to not file charges against Michael Phelps for the recent picture of him smoking out of a marijuana pipe at the University of South Carolina.  Now, with that being said, I would be interested in knowing when Sheriff Leon Lott is up for re-election.  I haven't looked it up yet, maybe my one or two readers can let me know.  But I'd be willing to bet that he is up for re-election this coming fall.  He used this situation with Michael Phelps as a PR stunt to get his name in the public eye and so he could also talk about no special treatment for American heroes during his campaigning this fall.  This attention seeking Sheriff from South Carolina comes about two years after a similar situation (seeking re-election, wanting to look good to the public) cause a North Carolina District Attorney to file false rape charges against everyone on the Duke Lacrosse team, including the mascot, well that might not be true, but he filed on a lot of players. 

Now, please understand that I am not condoning what Michael Phelps did.  However, anyone that has spent more then a few days working or visiting a Courtroom will now that the only thing they could have charged Michael Phelps with was Possession of Drug Paraphernalia which in the state of Ohio at least is only a minor misdemeanor and about a $40 dollar fine.  If the over zealous Sheriff and accompanying District Attorney would have tried to charge Phelps with anything else, here is how it would have transpired in Court. 

Phelps' attorney: "Sheriff Lott, were you at the party in question"
Sheriff Lott: "No"
Phelps' attorney: "Sheriff Lott, did you recover any evidence from the party over 4 months ago"
Sheriff Lott: "No"
Phelps' attorney: "Sheriff Lott, do you even know if it was indeed marijuana in that pipe"
Sheriff Lott: "No"
Phelps' attorney: "No further questions, your Honor"
Judge: Case dismissed.

Now it might not be that simple, but you get the jist.  There has to be proof beyond a reasonable doubt.  It would have been impossible to get any other kind of conviction.  Basically, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott was going to drag the most recent American Hero through the mud for a minor misdemeanor for a possession of paraphernalia charge.  Fantastic.

Posted by Lee_Foster at 3:29 PM

2 comments:

  1. Actually paraphernalia is a M4 and drug abuse is a MM. At least the original charges and I'm sure when the courts get hold of it, it just goes to the abuse MM, but still lose your driver's license for 90 days and kiss your federal grants and loans goodbye as well.

    ReplyDelete

  2. Thanks for the clarification on the statues BR. Wasn't sure about the M4 or MM. With the case of Phelps though, I really don't think his Driver's License and student loans are much concern to him. With that being said, those are good points for the every day citizen (especially juveniles) to understand. Having worked almost 5 years in the juvenile court, I was amazed at the shock when they learned there would be a 6 month suspension of their license. That is part of the reason we developed the Options for Youth program, so that juveniles whose first trip to Juvenile Court was drug or alcohol related could gain a solid education and still be able to drive and get college loans.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)