FACTORS PUSHING PINELLAS COUNTY FLORIDA TO DECRIMINALIZE SMALL QUANTITIES OF MARIJUANA

Many of the states and major cities in America have decriminalized marijuana with no backlash of an uptick in crime. Now major cities and counties in Florida are finally taking notice by pushing for their own decriminalization in an effort to focus law enforcement on more serious drug and violent crime offenses. But for many areas in the State of Florida avoiding harsh penalties for possession of even small amounts of marijuana is difficult. Yet resources are being wasted in a state that recently admitted that there were literally thousands of backlogged rape kits which the Florida Department of Law Enforcement has failed to test. Decriminalizing marijuana would seem to be an effective way for the state, cities and counties of Florida to better utilize limited resources.

Just give me the damn marijuana ticket, officer!

In Florida Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties have successfully decriminalized small amounts of marijuana. Instead of branding countless otherwise law abiding citizens as criminals these counties fine those caught with small quantities of marijuana. Councilmen in St. Petersburg are pushing their city attorneys to draft an effective ordinance transitioning toward fines rather than criminal sanctions for possession of marijuana in weights of 20 grams or less within the city limits.

Will this progressive city action have enough leverage to force Pinellas county do something as well? The Pinellas County Sheriff seems to be a stumbling block against reasonable change. For example, after initially saying he was for medical marijuana, he came out forcefully against the actual medical marijuana constitutional amendment by implying that illegal pot and other substances would flood the safe streets of Pinellas if it passed. Clearly, he prefers having more arrests as higher stats from misdemeanor and felony marijuana arrests fuel his arguments for ever greater funding even at a time when studies show that violent crime is down in Pinellas County. The Pinellas county commission should direct more police funding toward reducing violent crime or support a capable sheriff who will.

Ultimately it's a question of fairness. Do we really want nosey officers smelling for marijuana to avoid procuring necessary and proper search warrants? Is it fair that a college student in Miami with a small amount of marijuana is treated differently than a similar student in Largo or Clearwater? Is it fair to spend limited law enforcement and prosecutorial funds on a nonviolent offense that's legal in over half the country? Is it fair to make rape victims wait for justice because the State of Florida does not have enough money to fund thousands of backlogged rape kits?

WHAT EIGHT FACTORS SHOULD FLORIDA PROSECUTORS USE IN FILING SEXUAL ASSAULT CHARGES IN FLORIDA?

In Florida prosecutors may elect to file charges against a defendant even when the victim does not want to prosecute. This is true because Florida views itself as a victim whenever a crime has been committed. But in a typical criminal case the expectation is that the state of Florida will give great weight to a victim's desire to prosecute or to not prosecute.

Sometimes the weight given to a victim's wishes can be abused by the victim, representatives of the victim or the victim's family when a decision to prosecute is needlessly delayed or retracted. This is a recurring problem in allegations of sexual assault, sexual battery, rape and domestic violence. During the course of the investigation of a defendant the victim will be asked if he or she wants to purse a prosecution, because once an arrest is made and the charges are filed by the state attorney's office the lives of the defendant and victim are forever changed.

In many of these cases there may exist little evidence other than the testimony of the victim. In these cases it's important for prosecutors to take into account the following factors before filing a criminal charge against a defendant:

1. To gauge the willingness of the victim to testify.
2. To verify the honesty of the victim's statements made at the time of the report of the alleged assault. Is the statements consistent within itself? For example, did the victim give correct information about the height, weight and hair of the defendant and if not, why not?
3. To determine if the victim has made any other statements which are inconsistent. 
4. To find if social media or email has information which contradicts the victim's assertions.
5. To compare and contrast any physical evidence such as DNA with any other evidence of unlawful force such as the defendant's skin under the fingernails of the victim.
6. To find any accounts of other witnesses who may have observed the victim's demeanor before or after the alleged assault. Was the victim laughing, crying, yelling, happy or sad?
7. To review the results of any toxicology reports to determine if the victim was impaired. Was the victim under the influence of drugs or alcohol to the extent that the victim could no longer make informed decisions?
8. To establish that the victim has no mercenary nor financial interest in the outcome of the case. For example, in a recent case involving an FSU football player the alleged victim appears to be represented by a personal injury lawyer who police claim placed herself between the police investigation and the victim, which if true is one of the oddest things as a former prosecutor and as a defense lawyer I've ever observed. 

Effective law enforcement officers and prosecutors understand that the emotional and physical trauma suffered by many victims will not be healed with a prosecution. Further, they understand that filing a case if the victim is unreliable will only result in a not guilty verdict and ruined lives for not only the defendant but also for the victim.