Madison NORML

It’s good to see some local elected officials speaking up about this. My question is why only four supervisors? Do the remaining 33 think that charging someone with a felony for an alleged minor pot offense based on an arrest unsupported by probable cause is a good thing? Why the deafening silence? County Exec Kathleen Falk must be okay with it too, judging by her lack of protest.

Meanwhile, on April 24 at 10:30 am, in Room 1A of the Dane County Courthouse at 215 S. Hamilton Street in downtown Madison, there will be a preliminary hearing in the Lankford case. Please join in protesting this shameful prosecution on April 24th. Madison NORML will be organizing a picket outside beforehand and as large of a presence in court as we can muster. This is a good day to take off work or school and come down and let it be known that what the DA is doing is wrong. Watch this space for more details, and make plans to come down and stick up for Chris Lankford on April 24th!

From: TheDailyPage.com click here

Pot pols

Four Dane County Board supervisors are challenging District Attorney Brian Blanchard’s decision to press felony charges against a man who passed a joint during a pro-pot rally last fall. In a letter to Blanchard, Supvs. Ashok Kumar, Al Matano, Kyle Richmond and Barb Vedder call the charges “overly punitive” for a “victimless crime.” They add: “Our budgets are stretched thin, and yet your office is prioritizing a questionable use of resources for a questionable prosecution.”

Kumar thinks the charges should be dropped: “Nonviolent drug offenders should not be charged with a felony.”

Blanchard is not surprised by the letter, saying these supervisors have raised concerns about drug law enforcement “fairly regularly” in the past. “I am always respectful of their right to share their views,” he says.

Brian Blanchard, Dane County District Attorney
Dane County Courthouse, Room 3000
215 S. Hamilton Street
Madison, WI 53703-3297

Mr. Blanchard:

We recently received a letter from you regarding your budget and the need for more staff support in the District Attorney’s Office.

In addition, Suzanne Beaudoin recently appeared before the Executive Committee of the County Board to stress how difficult things are in the Division of Victim and Witness Services of your office, and elsewhere. She emphasized to the committee great challenges to your staff in caseload and

This brings us to another matter of concern to local residents pertaining to the use of District Attorney’s staff time.

Recently the D.A.’s office has filed felony charges against a county resident who handed a marijuana cigarette to a colleague during a demonstration in favor of relaxation of anti-marijuana law in downtown Madison. The decision to file and pursue such charges calls into question the District Attorney’s Office commitment to conserving its resources for pursuit of serious crimes.

First, it appears to signal that the D.A.’s Office is committing itself to overly punitive measures for victimless crime. That in itself is distressing, particularly in a community with a growing population which has, in turn, growing basic law enforcement and public safety needs. Our budgets are stretched thin, and yet your office is prioritizing a questionable use of resources for a questionable prosecution.

Second, this decision to accelerate these charges and prosecute this case looks especially strange in light of your letter and your staff member’s plea to the Board for more resources.

Please let us know the reason for this decision in light of your recent statements to the Board about your budget. Thank you.

Respectfully,

Supervisor Ashok Kumar

Supervisor Al Matano

Supervisor Kyle Richmond

Supervisor Barbara Vedder