How A Single Oxycontin Pill Nearly Ruined A Man's Life
Kafkaesque true story by Mike Riggs at reason. An excerpt:
James was pulled over for speeding in 2006 in Vero Beach, Florida while driving back to his home in Jacksonville after a concert. The officer who pulled him over said the car smelled like marijuana, and asked to conduct a search. James agreed, because neither he nor his passenger had been using drugs. When his passenger was found to be in possession of a pipe and several screens (but no marijuana), the officer searched James. His pockets were empty save for a single Oxycontin pill. James told the officer he received the pill from a friend at the concert, but that he had never tried Oxycontin, and intended to give it away.A second officer was called to the scene. James' passenger was arrested for possession of paraphernalia, and James was arrested for illegal possession of a prescription narcotic.
The next morning, James' mother drove to Indian River County to plead for a lightening of her son's bond. She told the judge that James, then 24, was both a full-time graduate student at the University of North Florida and a full-time stock broker with Merrill Lynch. James' lawyer advised him to plead no-contest, saying he would likely get probation and then have his record expunged.
"After being assured that the penalty would be light," James told Reason in an email, "it turned into a bigger ordeal than I could ever imagine."
The judge who heard James' case accepted the no-contest plea. Then he began stacking on penalties.
Despite having no criminal record and never having taken Oxycontin, James was required to attend two Narcotics Anonymous meetings a week for an entire year, and 15 weekend-long state-run drug classes (the latter he was required to pay for). Despite the fact that he was going to school at night for his MBA, James was given a curfew, and had to be inside his own home between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. every day of the week, for the entire year. As a final punishment, the judge instructed James to immediately report his arrest to his employer, and to let his probation officer know when he had done so.
With his case settled, James returned to Jacksonville and told his boss at Merrill Lynch what happened. His supervisor told him not to worry. A week later, he was instructed to modify his broker's license to reflect that he'd pled no-contest to drug possession. This is both a federal and a state-level requirement, generally meant to protect investors. It ended up ruining James's career. The modification to his license triggered an internal warning at Merrill Lynch. The firm placed him on paid leave for two weeks, and then fired him.
That's just the beginning of his nightmare. Read the rest at the above link.
And the take-home lesson here, folks, is never consent to a search of anything. I have cops in my family, I respect them and think they have a really difficult job. There are a lot of really stupid laws they don't like enforcing but have to.
But my dad was a lawyer, and since birth I have had "never consent, do nothing but request council" drilled into me. If you don't consent and they search, at least your lawyer can fight it. When I got pulled over on suspicion od DWI in college, I consented to nothing-not a breathalyzer, not a feild sobriety test, nothing. I just kept repeating politely "I am happy to once I have my legal coucil present". I was arrested and did spent a night in jail, but in the end they could get me on nothing but running a stoplight (which I did, it was 3am, no cars in sight, and it was a notoriously long light. I stopped, looked around, and then went).
And all the insane stories of enforcement I read on here over the years has just about completely pulled me over to the legalize-it-all camp.
momof4 at August 7, 2012 6:11 AM
And the take-home lesson here, folks, is never consent to a search of anything. I have cops in my family, I respect them and think they have a really difficult job. There are a lot of really stupid laws they don't like enforcing but have to.
But my dad was a lawyer, and since birth I have had "never consent, do nothing but request council" drilled into me. If you don't consent and they search, at least your lawyer can fight it. When I got pulled over on suspicion od DWI in college, I consented to nothing-not a breathalyzer, not a feild sobriety test, nothing. I just kept repeating politely "I am happy to once I have my legal coucil present". I was arrested and did spent a night in jail, but in the end they could get me on nothing but running a stoplight (which I did, it was 3am, no cars in sight, and it was a notoriously long light. I stopped, looked around, and then went).
And all the insane stories of enforcement I read on here over the years has just about completely pulled me over to the legalize-it-all camp.
momof4 at August 7, 2012 6:14 AM
Well at least thank God he didn't eat the damn pill. I mean he might have actually felt good for a few hours!
Assholio at August 7, 2012 8:07 AM
And in the meantime, illegal aliens are allowed to self declare that they meet the requirements of Obama's amnesty edict, and get to walk away free even after assaulting officers.
I have awoke to find myself in an upside down world.
Bill O Rights at August 7, 2012 1:05 PM
Never Talk to the Police
Talking is dangerous because there are so many laws that you break every day. You are usually protected by invisibility. The police need to see "probable cause" to examine you further. You are clearly visible when you consent to a search or you are answering questions, so watch out.
Prof. Duane explains in these videos why he is proud of the 5th Amendment, and will never, ever talk to the police without a lawyer. You shouldn't either. Don't take his word for it; he cites the advice of Nuremberg Trial Chief Prosecutor Robert Jackson, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Prof. Duane is animated and interesting. This lecture is an eye-opener.
What is worse than living in a police state? Not knowing the extent that you are living in one now.
Andrew_M_Garland at August 7, 2012 4:20 PM
If only they would be so tough on actual criminals.
Joe at August 7, 2012 4:39 PM
Actually, the take home lesson is keep your stupid hands off someone else's prescription drugs.
Oh, and Amy, I took your advice and danced like no one was watching.
My court date is later this month.
(Stolen from a friend's Facebook.)
Patrick at August 8, 2012 4:18 AM
You mean something like this?
Jim P. at August 9, 2012 12:00 AM
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