So-called “routine traffic stops” are often cited in offense reports in criminal cases in Texas where the case allegedly begins a minor traffic violation, progresses to a search and ends up with a seizure. Law enforcement agencies all across the country use traffic stops to look for evidence of other offenses, including drug trafficking. A case which starts […]
Drug Charges
There has been a great deal of public debate in recent times concerning federal drug crime sentencing reform. In the last entry, this blog discussed the issue of mandatory minimum sentence reform. Lawmakers in the legislative branch of government and policymakers in the executive branch of government have been considering reducing overall populations in federal prisons […]
Drug crime sentencing at the federal level has historically been fairly harsh. Many federal drug crimes carry large mandatory minimum sentences, and zero-tolerance policies have often pervaded federal drug crime enforcement. Such harsh sentencing policies can have dramatic impacts on defendants. Given how harsh the penalties at the federal level can be, when facing federal […]
Cannabinoids drugs work by activating the cannabinoid receptors on certain cells, changing the way the brain works. They share the root word with cannabis, or marijuana. With pot completely illegal in Texas and nearly half of all U.S. states, a number of synthetic cannabinoids have taken its place among some users. When they first entered […]
In the movies, it seems reasonable when cops recruit criminals as informants to get an inside view of organized crime. In reality, there can be serious problems with the reliability of evidence gathered by informants. There are also important ethical issues when informants are allowed to commit serious crimes while working for law enforcement, yet […]
In May 2006, more than 200 officers finished a 15-month undercover operation called “Operation Fish Bowl” with a massive drug raid. It resulted in the arrests of 41 people on federal drug distribution charges and the seizure of an estimated $1-million worth of drugs and 25 guns. The fact that struck one narcotics officer the […]
From the mid-80s to 2010, the federal sentencing guidelines instructed judges to sentence people convicted of drug offenses involving crack cocaine 100 times more harshly than those whose convictions involved powder cocaine. The reason for that sentencing disparity was a misperception about the comparative dangers between the two forms of the drug — crack was […]
