Pubdate: Thu, 10 May 2001
Source: La Crosse Tribune (WI)
Copyright: 2001, The La Crosse Tribune
Contact:  http://www.lacrossetribune.com/
Address: 401 N. Third Street, La Crosse, WI 54601-3281
Fax: 608-782-9723
Author: Reid Magney, Tribune staff
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

JUDGES: GIVE 1ST-TIME MARIJUANA OFFENDERS CITATIONS

First-time marijuana offenders caught with only a small amount of the drug 
would no longer face a criminal charge under a plan being developed by La 
Crosse County judges.

Proponents say they don't want to decriminalize marijuana, just handle 
first-time offenders more efficiently. Under the plan, a first offense 
would become an ordinance violation, with a fine, that wouldn't go on a 
criminal record.

Circuit Judge John Perlich, who also is working to start a drug court next 
year, discussed the idea of a marijuana ordinance Wednesday with the 
county's Criminal Justice Management Council.

Perlich questioned the fairness of charging first-time marijuana offenders 
with a criminal offense when first-time drunken drivers get a traffic citation.

The drunken driver never has to tell an employer he has been convicted of a 
crime, but someone caught with "two joints" will have a record that follows 
him for life, Perlich said. Marijuana possession also now carries "a 
substantial fine and a six-month suspension of the individual's driver's 
license," Perlich said in an earlier letter to the council.

There are also financial reasons to create a marijuana ordinance, Perlich 
said Wednesday. When someone is charged with possession, he or she is 
entitled to an attorney, Perlich said. "We're appointing attorneys at 
county expense," he said.

County board member Steve Doyle, who unsuccessfully proposed a similar 
marijuana ordinance a decade ago, said the other benefit would be that the 
county gets to keep all the fines collected. Now, 90 percent of criminal 
fines go to Madison, he said.

Doyle said his 1991 proposal died because the judges only "quietly 
supported" it and because officials in the DARE anti-drug education program 
opposed it.

La Crosse County District Attorney Scott Horne told the council he has 
reservations about the idea. Because municipal citations aren't on the 
county's law enforcement computer system, a deputy sheriff wouldn't know if 
a suspect had already been cited in another community, Horne said.

Onalaska has handled first-time marijuana arrests as ordinance violations 
for more than a decade, and Police Chief Randy Williams said he agrees 
philosophically with changing the county's approach. "But it's the first 
shot only," he said.

La Crosse Mayor John Medinger said City Attorney Patrick Houlihan has been 
talking about a marijuana ordinance for La Crosse. Houlihan was out of town 
Wednesday and could not be reached for comment.

Doyle said a county marijuana ordinance would apply only to arrests in 
unincorporated areas, not the cities and villages. But if the county passed 
it, Doyle said it would send a message to the city of La Crosse that it 
should consider the same thing.

Horne said he'd prefer to keep the existing criminal marijuana charge, but 
give first-time offenders six to eight weeks to go through a new program at 
Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center. "If they go through the program, the 
case would be dismissed," Horne said.

Horne said DARE officers are concerned about sending a message to kids that 
marijuana use isn't as serious as other drugs. "They are concerned that 
we'd be undermining" the DARE message, he said.

La Crosse County Board Chairman Jim Ehrsam said in an interview after the 
meeting that he supports the judges' plan.

"I think it's a good idea. It has to be handled with the drug court," 
Ehrsam said. "We've got to do something about (reducing) all these repeat 
offenders."

The goal of drug court is to limit the number of repeat offenders through 
effective treatment. The drug court uses incentives to prod offenders into 
accepting treatment, with judges having the ability to enforce terms of 
release, treatment and supervision through punitive measures.

The Criminal Justice Management Council is looking at alternatives to jail 
sentences to reduce the county's jail population, and will make 
recommendations to the county board this summer. Researchers from the 
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse will be conducting a random telephone 
survey for the council in coming weeks.
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MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager