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Massachusetts
Governor
Vetoes
Decriminalization
Provisions
8/2/02
courtesy NORML Foundation,
http://www.norml.org
Massachusetts lame-duck Governor
Jane Swift has vetoed a provision in the state budget just approved by
the state legislature that would have transferred from prosecutors to judges
the option of treating many minor, nonviolent offenses -- including drug
possession offenses -- as a civil matter instead of a criminal offense.
The decriminalization provisions were included in the state budget by the
House Ways and Means Committee, as a way to save money in a state that
is facing a $2.5 billion budget shortfall. The committee said that
state prosecutors, who currently have this option, have failed to exercise
it.
House Ways and Means Chairman
John H. Rogers (D-Norwood) said the provision could save about $1 million
a year, since the state isn't required to provide a lawyer in civil cases.
The state is spending $2.5
million annually on lawyers to defend approximately 5,000 indigent people
each year on low-level misdemeanor charges, according to the Committee
for Public Counsel Services.
Rogers called it a "waste
of taxpayer money" to mount a full legal defense for crimes like running
red lights.
Gov. Swift, who is not a
candidate for re-election in November, said she vetoed the decriminalization
provisions because they "unnecessarily took power away from prosecutors."
-- END --
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Issue #248, 8/2/02
Editorial: Getting from Here to There | Despite Supreme Court Ruling, No Wave of High School Drug Testing Foreseen | US Prison Population Leveling Off, Feds Drive Small Increase | Needle Exchange 2002:00:00 A Long Way Traveled, A Long Way to Go | Baltimore Killings Continue as Politicians Continue to Ignore Role of Prohibition | Stossel Special Spurs War of Letters to ABC | Newsbrief: Cooking Speed Equals Child Abuse Under New Tennessee Law | Massachusetts Governor Vetoes Decriminalization Provisions | Newsbrief: Afghan Crop Report Says Opium Eradication a Joke | Newsbrief: Leading British Comedian Says Legalize It All | Newsbrief: Alabama Rape Victim Ordered to Provide Urine Sample for Drug Test | Newsbrief: Tennessee School Board Ordered to Back Off on Zero Tolerance -- Right to Public Education at Issue | Newsbrief: Seattle Marijuana Enforcement Initiative Signatures Submitted | Web Scan: CriminalDefense.com, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, Harry Levine, Ethan Nadelmann, Medical Marijuana Research, School Daily | Legislative Alerts: Rave Bill, Medical Marijuana, Higher Education Act Drug Provision | The Reformer's Calendar
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