With the recent passage of Proposition 203, voters made Arizona the 15th state (along with the District of Columbia) to legalize medical marijuana. The vote was a close one, with just 841,346 in favor and 837,005 opposed, just passing the 50% mark. The count from vote on election day, Nov. 2, was so close that the result wasn’t declared until nearly 2 weeks later. Of course, Proposition 203 does not give free rein to hopeful or would-be marijuana users in
Just in case there was any doubt, the Arizona Court of Appeals made it official that your religious beliefs are not a legal defense to the crime of Possession of Marijuana. In the case of State v. Hardesty, Mr. Hardesty was charged with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. After a routine traffic stop, drugs were found in Mr. Hardesty car. He claimed that the drugs were part of his religion, and tried to assert a defense under
Drug sniffing dogs – you see them at the airport, the bus station, and on television. They serve an important purpose for law enforcement and the public. That is, they smell drugs when humans cannot. Moreover, the dogs do it in a manner that is not invasive to the people being search. However, there are some rules, like the 4th Amendment to constitution, that restrict how these dogs can be used. For example, law enforcement can’t just bust down your
When being stopped by an officer there are many things that go through a driver’s head. “Was I speeding?” “Is there a taillight out?” “Did I swerve?” On the other hand, most people don’t usually think “did I use my blinker appropriately.” However, the issue of the appropriate use of a blinker, was one of the primary questions decided by the recent Arizona Court of Appeals Case: Arizona v. Douglas Dean Starr. In the Starr case, a DPS officer was
Drug use seems to be a never-ending problem in Arizona. As a result, we have a never ending amount of people becoming criminals. If you were sitting in one of Arizona’s courts devoted solely to the resolution of drugs cases, the lines would resemble those at Costco or Sam’s club. It is common for an Arizona court to handle over 100 drugs cases in a day. In practical terms, people are being made into felons for drug charges at an
There are many crimes in Arizona that result in a person serving a term of jail. A term of jail can devastate a person’s career. However, there are two programs that will allow a person to continue working while a person is serving a term of jail. Furthermore, these programs DO NOT extend the time a person spends in custody. Under both the Work Furlough and Work Release programs, a person may continue working and fulfill the requirements of their
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