Thursday, November 8, 2007

Vermont county prosecutor takes stand on drug laws

Robert Sand, a state's attorney (akin to a district attorney or prosecutor elsewhere) in Windsor County, Vermont is standing by his decision to send a sixty-one year old attorney found in possession of two and a half pounds of weed to court diversion. The governor, Jim Douglas, is pissed. Douglas has ordered the state police to bypass Sand's office and go to the Vermont Attorney General with significant drug cases arising in Sand's county.

Although I've worked on the defense side of criminal law in the past, I have to say I really agree with what Sand has done here. In Vermont, corrections is the largest department in state government with over 700 state employees. Vermont conservatives (yes, we have those here) bemoan our "generous welfare state." But, then conservatives like Douglas go and try to make examples out of someone like Attorney Sand, sending the message that they want to feed the corrections beast. It defies logic, but that's politics.

As anyone familiar with Vermont can attest, we have a drug problem up here. A lot of those folks whose use and sell end up in jail several times during the course of their lives. Although we can only speculate about the particulars of this case in particular, what Sand decided to do is very common sensical and very practical: he's sending this person to get help and try to figure herself out. He's not sending a sixty-one year-old woman to jail. He's not making her pay huge fines. He's not giving her up to the Feds. He's trying to fix her problem with one of the best tools he has available.

Kind of reminds you of a prosecutors real job: seeking justice.

But, sadly, it doesn't seem like that is what Gov. Douglas has in mind. Why seek justice when you can look good as a "law and order" governor?

6 comments:

Dews said...

I fail to see the connection between Marijuana, and your statement about a "Drug Problem".

Drugs are synthetic, and come wrapped in tin foil. Not by the pound in nicely wrapped cellophane bricks or Zip-loc baggies.

er... yea...

Dews said...

The most important thing to note here is that Jim Douglas is only Governor because he got tired of getting his ass kicked by our Champion Senator Leahy in every Senatorial Campaign.

Then realized he probably wouldn't beat Comrade Sanders in the hunt for the open seat left by Jeffords (my former neighbor, and awesome guy by the way).

Screw you Douglas!

Dewey, Cheatem, & Howe said...

The saddest part about all this is that Douglas has found himself a job he can't lose. No Democrat (or Progressive) can beat him right now. The best shot is Matt Dunne, but that won't be for a while I imagine. Maybe a "consensus" candidate could do it (read: Progressive running with Democratic backing), but I'm not holding my breath.

Dews said...

Yea, he took a job in Washington. You're thinking of Comrade Sanders again :)

We need a progressive mayor of Burlington for a few terms that shows some balls, then we can have him run for Governor.

Problem is, Douglas will be gone by then, he's no spring chicken...

Dewey, Cheatem, & Howe said...

Rumor is he's got himself a nice cushy job at Middlebury lined up for when he retires. Not a bad life.

Dews said...

Yea, I believe it. Thats what former Governors do in our state. Salmon was at George Washington for a little while before coming back to do UVM (before getting pushed out for questionable reasons...).