September 2013 - Federal Criminal Law Center

Critics: Arrest focus wrongly on pot rather than on violent crime

Posted by Marcia Shein
On September 30, 2013
0 Comments

On the one hand, you’ve got murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault and manslaughter. On the other hand, you’ve got marijuana possession. Where do you think police departments across the United States are focusing most of their enforcement efforts? The FBI Uniform Crime Report for 2012 makes it quite clear that, despite a growing shift in […]

Posted by Marcia Shein
On September 28, 2013
0 Comments

A DeKalb County police officer was arrested on drug conspiracy charges on September 6th in Gwinnett. He is accused of tipping off a drug organization working in the area regarding police operations. The police officer is facing charges of drug trafficking of methamphetamines. Apparently the Gwinnett County Attorney’s Office also participated in the arrest of […]

Posted by Marcia Shein
On September 26, 2013
0 Comments

An avalanche of recent news stories on liberalized marijuana laws recently passed in some states and gaining traction in others underscores by contrast how seriously authorities in Georgia continue to view marijuana possession. That is true even in instances of possession of small amounts of pot and without a person’s intent to sell or otherwise […]

Posted by Marcia Shein
On September 19, 2013
0 Comments

Nearly five decades ago there was a massive push to address drug trafficking on the federal level. At the time, the answer that lawmakers proposed was to address the issue with a zero tolerance attitude. In 1986, the Anti-Drug Abuse Act was signed into law that created strict mandatory minimum sentencing. By 2012, a look […]

Posted by Marcia Shein
On September 13, 2013
0 Comments

White collar crimes are some of the most complex types of criminal behavior. One of the reasons that they can be so intricate is that they can often involve people who would not generally be involved in breaking laws. They are non-violent and motivated by economic gain, which can mislead some folks into thinking that […]

Posted by Marcia Shein
On September 11, 2013
0 Comments

Juvenile justice systems across the country have come under scrutiny in the past for not trying to help youth offenders stay out of prison as well as their treatment of juveniles after they are sentenced to a juvenile facility. Advocates for reforming the juvenile justice system have argued that more needs to be done to […]

Posted by Marcia Shein
On September 3, 2013
0 Comments

In a few recent blog posts, we drew attention to strong signals coming from the United States Department of Justice indicating that substantive change is on the horizon pertaining to the federal government’s prosecution of drug crimes. Please see, for example, our post entry dated August 15, 2013. That has indeed turned out to be […]

Critics: Arrest focus wrongly on pot rather than on violent crime

Georgia officer jailed for alleged drug conspiracy involvement

Focus: UGA’s tough drug stance toward student athletes

Reform advocates fight to eliminate federal mandatory minimums

Georgia ranks at No. 9 for states with highest mortgage fraud

Georgia trying to help juvenile offenders find employment

Attorney General Holder: New drug focus for federal prosecutors