Sentencing:
California
Governor
Signs
Bill
Amending
Proposition
36,
Is
Immediately
Sued
7/14/06
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle-old/444/prop36-treatment-not-jail-initiative.shtml
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
(R) Wednesday signed into law a bill that substantially alters the state's
voter-approved Prop 36, the state's "treatment not jail" law. One
of the authors of the measure, which mandates treatment not jail for first-
and second-time drug offenders, immediately filed suit to block the law
from going into effect.
The bill, which was tacked
onto a budget bill and passed last month, allows "flash incarceration"
of up to five days for people who have failed to participate in treatment
programs. Championed by law enforcement and drug court professionals,
the new law stands in stark contrast with the initiative approved by the
voters, who approved Prop 36's "no jail" provisions by a wide margin.
Under California laws, substantive changes in voter-approved initiatives
must be done by the voters, not the legislature.
Prop 36 coauthor Cliff Gardner
filed his lawsuit Wednesday afternoon in Alameda County Superior Court.
He is being represented by Drug
Policy Alliance (DPA) attorney Daniel Abrahamson. "Rather than
veto SB 1137, the Governor opted to engage in a legal battle over what
he knows is an unconstitutional law," said Abrahamson in a
statement. "We have filed a complaint in Alameda County Superior
Court, and are confident that Prop 36 and the will of the people will be
upheld."
But Lisa Fisher, a spokeswoman
for the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs, told the Associated
Press the
state would enforce the law unless a judge orders it not to.
"We think that the reforms are furthering the purposes of Proposition 36,"
she said. "The one thing we have learned over the years is that jail
sanctions need to be part of a whole package of sanctions that an individual
can expect."
-- END --
|
Issue #444
-- 7/14/06
Editorial:
Not
Playing
by
the
Rules,
Not
Making
Sense
|
Appeal/Book
Offer:
Race
to
Incarcerate,
by
Marc
Mauer
|
Feature:
Judge
Throws
Out
Part
of
Alaska
Marijuana
Recriminalization
Law,
Up
to
An
Ounce
is
Now
Legal
At
Home
|
Feature:
Methamphetamine
as
Child
Abuse
Laws
Gain
Ground,
But
Do
They
Help
or
Hurt?
|
Law
Enforcement:
This
Week's
Corrupt
Cops
Story
|
Law
Enforcement:
Goose
Creek
Agrees
to
Pay
Up,
Change
Ways
in
Settlement
of
Notorious
High
School
Drug
Raid
Case
|
Sentencing:
California
Governor
Signs
Bill
Amending
Proposition
36,
Is
Immediately
Sued
|
Search
and
Seizure:
Vermont
Judge
Says
State
Constitution
Provides
Protection
Even
if
Federal
Doesn't
|
Sentencing:
Justice
Kennedy
Lashes
Out
at
Harsh
Prison
Terms
|
Harm
Reduction:
San
Diego
Reinstates
Needle
Exchange
Program
|
First
Amendment:
New
Michigan
Law
Bans
Methamphetamine
Recipes
on
Internet
|
Middle
East:
US
Troops,
Iraqi
Police
Seize
Marijuana
Plants
|
Web
Scan:
Sentencing
Project
and
Others
Report
to
UN
Human
Rights
Committee,
CURE
on
Prisons
in
OAS
|
Weekly:
This
Week
in
History
|
Weekly:
The
Reformer's
Calendar
|
|
This issue -- main page
This issue -- single-file printer version
Drug War Chronicle -- main page
Chronicle archives
|
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