Oakland County Re-Visits Medical Marijuana Drama

The Oakland County Sheriff's interpretation of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act (MMA) and the Controlled Substances Act has forced two local marijuana facilities to lock their doors.  One of the pot-growing operations, Big Daddy's Hydro, in Oak Park, closed voluntarily; the other facility, right here in Commerce Township where this blog post is being composed, was the subject of a task-force raid.

The Oakland Press ran a front-page story on Saturday about Big Daddy's Hydro.  The facility was on the receiving end of an Oakland County Sheriff's raid back in January.  Since then, the owners were resolved to carry on their operation; an operation they insisted was legal under the MMA.  Sounds like a movie might be in there somewhere.

Before Hollywood came knocking to negotiate the movie rights to this true crime drama, however, Big Daddy's in Oak Park locked its doors.  The decision was based on the observations of its management group that "patients" were being shook down on the street after leaving the facility.  Also, it did not help that four members of the management group were charged with distribution felonies by the Oakland County Prosecutor.

Big Daddy's is consolidating pot growing and distribution operations into their Chesterfield Township facility in Macomb County, and in Detroit.  Therefore, Big Daddy's alleged violations of the MMA or the Controlled Substances Act are now in the hands of Prosecutors Eric Smith and Kym Worthy.

The more recent raid on the Commerce Township facility presents an example of an increasingly sophisticated approach to medical marijuana enforcement by the Oakland County Prosecutor.  This bust was executed by a joint task force with a federal component; the DEA.  [Remember, marijuana remains illegal in any form under federal law.]  Also, the Sheriff has commented publicly that the facility violated the Controlled Substances Act, not the MMA.

Criminal defense attorney Neil Rockind was quoted in the Oakland Press yesterday as saying, "They can try to describe it any way they want.  I know what happened...and if they want to pursue a case then I'll be there."  Yeah, sounds like Neil; never one to shy away from high-stakes criminal defense litigation.

The Michigan Court of Appeals handed prosecutors a serious weapon when it issued its People v McQueen decision last month.  The published, thus binding, decision of the Court of Appeals runs a lance through most MMA distribution schemes; at least if those involved want to make any money from their elaborate growth and distribution operations.

This brings us back to the intent of the medical marijuana referendum that passed overwhelmingly by Michigan voters in the 2008 election.  The MMA is designed to encourage a "grow-your-own" and "trade-among-friends" approach to distribution.

From the outset, those involved in growing pot have been looking to make money from the provisions of the MMA.  Because the Act is silent on pot sales, a legal debate has, er, cropped-up about whether distribution via sale is permitted or proscribed by the Act.

Also, as the Law Blogger has pointed out time and again; the premise of patients getting medical attention from marijuana, although legitimate in a number of cases, is a complete sham in the overwhelming number of patient-care provider relationships.  This scam will likely bring down the MMA in the end.

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Posted in: Big Daddys Hydro,Brandon McQueen,criminal defense lawyer,medical marijuana,Medical Marijuana Act,Michigan Court of Appeals,Neil Rockind,Oakland County Prosecutor,Oakland County Sheriff

CSI Oakland County

Hard to believe that right here in Oakland County, Michigan, there is sufficient crime to sustain a nearly $2 million dollar a year crime lab.  Yet that is what Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard will be announcing this morning in conjunction with his department's request for an expanded crime lab.

Sheriff Bouchard is expected to tout the Oakland County crime lab's accreditation by the American Society of Crime Lab Directors; the first lab in Michigan to achieve such status.  Allocation of the resources for the proposed expansion (up to 3 additional employees and the constantly advancing hi-tech equipment with which they will work) seems like politically rough terrain in these times.

Apparently, the expansion will allow Oakland County to by-pass the lab operated by the Michigan State Police, thereby significantly reducing delays.  The MSP crime lab has been flooded with additional work since the City of Detroit shuttered its crime lab amid claims of mismanagement and abuse; claims that are being investigated by the MSP.

This blogger recently experienced the effects of the MSP lab's processing delays in a felony case in Oakland County.  It took the Oakland County Prosecutor nearly 8-months to confirm blood reports tying my client to a crime scene.

The prosecutor ended up sending the blood-work to a private lab in Virginia.  During the months it took to process the evidence, my client was sent to prison on another unrelated matter from Detroit.  

Although the delay was not the accused's fault, he sat in prison on dead time in my case, willing to plead guilty and get his Oakland County case over with.  This was not possible due to the evidentiary delays.  Not that I am asking you to shed any tears for this hardened skell; but we pay for such delays one way or another.

If an expanded lab lessens delays, expedites justice, and eases the burden on the state lab, that's all good.  It's just a shame that our community sports enough crime to make such an arena possible.

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Posted in: crime scene investigation,Detroit,Michigan State Police,Oakland County,Oakland County Prosecutor,Oakland County Sheriff,Sheriff Mike Bouchard

Oakland County Sheriff Picks Up More Coverage

In this era of tightening fiscal budgets, more municipalities are chopping their police forces.  Last summer, it was Clarkston; this fall it's Pontiac.

Oakland County has one of the more developed law enforcement organizations in the state.  Although the Sheriff too has undergone cuts, it continues to pick-up coverage area.

In the case of Pontiac, Chief Val Gross has been ordered to provide a transition plan by this Tuesday.  Apparently a memorandum of understanding has been executed between the Sheriff and the City of Pontiac.

According to Michael Stampfier, Pontiac's emergency financial manager, the primary law enforcement shift will save the city over $2 million annually.  The shift is slated to take effect for all services, including police dispatch, in January 2011.

In 2009, the Sheriff axed its Marine Division to cut costs.  Picking-up coverage of the City of Pontiac will further stretch the Sheriff's budget.  It is unclear what, if anything, the Sheriff will get out of the arrangement other than increased coverage responsibility within the County.  What is clear, however, is that the move appears necessary for Pontiac in order to stave-off financial ruin.

Some Pontiac residents oppose the move, calling on the Pontiac Police Department's union to block any further cuts in manpower.  They prefer the close relationship that is possible between residents and a municipal police force.

The City just recently completed the process of calling back many of officers and personnel laid-off last year.  The officers have made significant concessions over the years; they have not had a raise, for example, since 2003.  Unfortunately for the officers, the coverage shift will put the onus back on a force-reduction status.

Working for the state or local government in this era of Great Recession does not afford police officers, or other workers with job security.  Hopefully, this adjustment to the delivery of law enforcement services to the residents of Pontiac will not affect the quality of service.

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Posted in: Michael Stampfier,Oakland County Sheriff,Pontiac Police Department,Val Gross

Oakland County's "Virtual" Work Release is Ready

This post is copied from and is the original content of the DUI Blog of drunk driving Attorney Patrick Barone.

The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office is scheduled to implement a new “virtual” work release program by early February, 2010. Virtual work release will consist of an ankle tether using a satellite and radio global positioning system (GPS) monitored by the Oakland County Sheriff. It will give the Sheriff’s Office the ability to carefully track an inmate’s location twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The radio technology will even allow a defendant to be tracked inside a home or workplace.

In preparing for the upcoming start date the Sheriff’s Office is meeting with the Oakland County judges to orient them to the virtual work release program. The Sheriff has already met with the Oakland County Circuit Court judges and will be meeting with the District Court Judges in early January.

The eligibility for the new program has not changed. Accordingly, a judge must authorize participation prior to enrollment in the virtual work release program and offenders sentenced on any CSC (Criminal Sexual Conduct) charge are not eligible. Also, there may be no outstanding warrants, holds, or unpaid bonds.

Eligible inmates will be referred to the Jail’s Program Services Unit for an interview. The inmates address will be verified, and they will be oriented to the program. Inmates must provide written documentation verifying employment/school. The vendor for the GPS tether will provide staff to install the tether and Sheriff’s Office Booking staff will process the release. Inmates will be placed on the GPS tether as soon as they have been screened for eligibility and orientated to the rules.

The GPS tether selected by the Oakland County Sheriff is cutting edge technology that will allow authorized individuals such as a judge, probation officer or deputy sheriff to track the defendant’s whereabouts via a password protected web site operated by the manufacturer G4S Justice Services, Inc. Tamper, equipment failure and violation alerts will be sent out by G4S according to Sheriff’s Office parameters.

While on work release the defendant will be subject to certain appropriate “exclusion zones,” and will be allowed to leave their home only for clearly and specifically defined and approved work or school purposes. Exclusion zone violations will typically involve a warrant being issued. The offender is then picked-up and will serve the balance of their sentence confined in jail.

According to the manufacturer’s web site “using a standard web browser from any computer, officers can view and exchange monitoring and tracking data for enrollment, curfew schedules, caseload reviews, agency reports and termination. This information is also stored and monitored by specially trained personnel at our monitoring centers.”

Furthermore, the G4S tether “does not require a base or docking station due to the ability of the device to determine the location from both GPS satellites and cellular phone towers. This enhanced dual monitoring feature allows reliable location tracking from a single device even in impaired environments where RF and GPS alone do not work. The device incorporates a cellular modem and communicates information to the monitoring center over the CDMA network.”

Oakland County Undersheriff Michael McCabe said that the new virtual work release is a child of the new economy. Everyone is looking for ways to cut expenses without cutting services, and the new work release program is a much less expensive way to incarcerate non-violent offenders.

There are also many benefits to the new program. For example, the defendant bears nearly all of the costs of incarceration including the costs associated with tether.

Also, in this very tough economy fewer non-violent offenders will lose their jobs because there is almost no delay between the date of sentencing and the date the offender is actually back at work. With the old program this delay was as much as five to seven days. Now the delay is as short as one to two days tops. There is also no limit to the number of offenders that can be on the program at any one time.

Furthermore, violent offenders are not eligible to participate, and public safety will be further enhanced through random drug and alcohol testing conducted through the Sheriff’s Office Results Program.

As a consequence of these changes and improvements, offenders will be better able to pay back their fines and costs, including restitution and costs of prosecution. Additional savings may come in more defendants deciding to forgo trial in favor of a plea of guilty. When a defendant realizes that they will be able to keep their job and even stay at home during non-work hours the incentive to go to trial is significantly lessened. This will undoubtedly save the costs associated with trial for those individuals who know they are guilty but could not plead guilty for fear of losing their job, their car or even their home.

For all of these reasons, nearly all of the judges have been very receptive to and even excited about the new program. According to Undersheriff McCabe only a small minority have expressed reservations. He expects many of these reservations to diminish once the new program becomes better know and its benefits more fully realized by the participants.

Beginning in January 2010 the “old” non-virtual work release program will be phased out. Inmates sentenced to the old work release will be required to complete their sentence. Their sentencing judge will be contacted for approval to convert the sentence to a tether custody Work Release. If granted, the inmate will be placed out on tether. If not, the inmate will complete their sentence in the Work Release facility. However, there will be an effective date set whereby after that date all Work Release sentences will be a tether sentence. Only inmates finishing up an old Work Release sentence that a judge did not approve tether will be housed in the Work Release Facility.

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Posted in: GPS tether,Michael McCabe,Oakland County Sheriff,Patrick Barone,work release