Judge Hell Bent On Jail Time

[vta]

FRESNO POT-SHOP OWNER ORDERED TO JAIL -- AGAIN

The owner of a Tower District medical-marijuana clinic is the subject of an escalating battle between a sheriff and a judge who both say they have the legal right to decide whether he stays in jail.

Fresno County Superior Court Judge Donald R. Franson on Tuesday sent Rick Morse -- who has been jailed and released twice so far -- back to jail a third time with a warning to the sheriff that Morse must stay behind bars until his 15-day sentence is up.

Franson earlier had said state law gives him "the inherent power" to keep Morse in jail for his full sentence. The judge on Tuesday went further, saying the Fresno County Sheriff's Office must get the court's permission before releasing a sentenced prisoner like Morse.

But Assistant Sheriff Tom Gattie said a 1994 federal court order imposed on the jail governs when it must release nonviolent prisoners.

Gattie said the federal court decree, imposed to prevent overcrowding, says the jail must have a bed for every prisoner and must have enough correctional officers on duty to guard the inmates. Prisoners can be released for overcrowding, unless they're being held for violent crimes such as murder or rape, Gattie said.

"Rick Morse doesn't fit that criteria," Gattie said, because his offenses were not violent crimes.

Morse has been booked into Fresno County Jail three times and released twice in the past 11 days.

Citing budget cuts, Sheriff Margaret Mims has cut the jail staff, reducing its capacity by half in recent months. As a result, thousands of prisoners have been released early.

On May 14, Franson sentenced Morse to 15 days in jail for violating a court order to stop selling marijuana from his store-front clinic on Olive Avenue. He was released from the jail eight hours later.

On May 20, Morse was in Franson's courtroom again for a hearing on whether the city had the right to shut down his business. Franson ordered him returned to jail a second time to serve the rest of the 15-day sentence.

Morse was released from jail Monday, again due to crowding.

On Tuesday, Franson sent Morse back to jail for a third time to finish his sentence. He did not say what he might do if the jail releases Morse early without his permission.

Franson's order came during a hearing in which the city of Fresno sought to add a second address to its complaint to close Morse's Medmar Clinic. The judge turned down the city's request, saying officials must file a separate lawsuit on the second address.

Outside the courtroom, assistant city attorney Michael Flores said the city only recently learned that Medmar's lease includes two addresses: 210 E. Olive Ave., which police searched and boarded up Friday, and the storefront next door, at 212 E. Olive Ave., which police did not search.


URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v10/n389/a04.html
Source: Fresno Bee, The (CA)
Authors: Paula Lloyd and Jim Guy, The Fresno Bee

 

[DIGITALHIPPY]

and here, we, the tax payer, are footed the bill for this circus show...even though i dont like the circus....

 

[White-rhino]

Sounds kind of like the judge/sheriff battle with Paris Hilton a few years ago.

Recap of that -

The main issue? Whether Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael T. Sauer was correct in overruling Sheriff Lee Baca's decision to transfer Hilton to house arrest after just three full days in jail for what was originally a 45-day sentence.

"It's really bizarre that the most frivolous person in the western world in the most frivolous case in which she didn't know she has a license to drive might end up creating precedent that could affect thousands of prisoners and where they're housed and how they're housed for years to come," said Stan Goldman, professor of criminal law at Loyola University Law School.

Goldman and others agree the showdown creates a legal quandary—i.e., whether the elected sheriff is truly independent of the judiciary and whether Judge Sauer overstepped his bounds.

"The judge attempted to impose control over the sentence," said Jody Armour, professor of law at the University of Southern California. "The sheriff doesn't have discretion to do anything willy-nilly, but once the custody of an inmate has been given over to his department, the sheriff is given a lot of latitude. But with one huge exception."
Armour said that Sauer's sentencing order explicitly forbade Baca from putting her in home confinement. "The judge was trying to limit the discretion of the sheriff, and the sheriff was saying this is our domain," Armour said.

"The Sheriff's Department didn't know that their discretionary decision would be overridden by the judge. But apparently so far they're mistaken, and now, unfortunately, Paris is paying the price of that confusion and that misunderstanding."

The point was seconded by one of Armour's colleagues at USC. "Usually the court is very loath to intervene with how the sheriff runs his jail facilities. He may have reason to move people around because of overcrowding or an emergency arises," observed law professor Jean Rosenbluth. "But I think because the judge said from the very start no home confinement and 23 days, and the sheriff didn't get his permission...the judge was quick to assert his control."

Sauer hauled Hilton back into court early Friday after learning that Baca had authorized Hilton's so-called reassignment. The sheriff's move sparked a monster PR nightmare, with accusations of his department giving special treatment to the hotel heiress.

At a Friday press conference, Baca attempted to deflect criticism by first asserting that Hilton was a "low-level offender" and he was under a federal mandate to reduce inmate overcrowding. He then switched tacks and said she had "severe medical problems" and her condition was "rapidly deteriorating" without proper medication. After consulting with two psychologists, he made his decision.

Goldman said the 23 days Hilton is expected to serve of her sentence (once she's credited for time served and good behavior) is typical for such offenders, and normally she might get released after two weeks. But Goldman thinks that the hoopla over Hilton's early release could work against her.

"Is the sheriff going to be so gun-shy that he's not going to release her in 15 or 16 days but they're going make her do the 23?" Goldman wondered. "The question is, Can a judge in L.A. override that? Up until now, my answer would have been no. I have no doubt [Hilton's lawyer] is going to appeal this to a higher court and decide whether [the sheriff] is independently functioning from the judge."

Which is what Hilton's camp said they planned to do. Goldman thinks the appeal has a shot at success.

"I've never seen someone pulled out of house arrest because the judge didn't like it, as opposed to the judge saying that they violated the rules of house of arrest. It may be that the court of appeals may completely agree with the judge," he said.

Sauer has hardly been sympathetic to Hilton. During his original sentencing, he chided her for failing to take responsibility for her errors after prosecutors showed she was twice caught driving with a suspended license within weeks after pleading no contest to alcohol-related reckless driving in January.

Baca said Hilton was being tossed around like a "football" by the criminal justice system. According to the legal experts, she will likely suffer much more than had she never got out of solitary confinement in the first place.

"The sense of deprivation being so close to a release and you have expectations and then to have those firm expectations dashed with such a stark reversal of fortune must be really psychologically traumatic," said Armour. "This has to heap on even more psychological trauma on her."

Added Goldman: "I've never had one defendant say to me that he was glad to be out. They all said [they were] sorry they didn't go straight through because it was just too much for them to come out and have to go back in."

Read more: http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b55354_experts_paris_may_set_legal_precedent.html#ixzz0p6pFf3vy
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[Rainman]

Sounds like Morse has a great case to sue both the county and the judge over. Thanks to a pissing contest! Nice. I hope he gets paid for this bullshit.