Pubdate: Thu, 01 Sep 2005
Source: Berkshire Eagle, The (Pittsfield, MA)
Copyright: 2005 New England Newspapers, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.berkshireeagle.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/897
Author: Ira J. Kaplan
Note: Kaplan is a former Berkshire Assistant District Attorney.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?199 (Mandatory Minimum Sentencing)
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n1398/a02.html?110477

PROBLEM IS D.A.'S USE OF LAW

To the Editor of THE EAGLE:-

Alan Chartock misses the point when he claims that "the D.A. is doing his 
job and the fault lies not with him, but with the law and the Legislature 
that passed it." ("Petition makes valuable point," Aug. 27). The job of the 
D.A. is to seek justice in the application of the law. The D.A. can, and 
apparently has  chosen to, forego prosecution of assault and battery 
charges in the case of Mr.  Carnute who admitted to stabbing Mr. Adornetto 
on the day of his death. The D.A. can, and apparently has chosen to, 
dismiss the school zone charges for the  defendants who are willing to 
testify for the prosecution in the Great  Barrington sting operation.

By use of the same prosecutorial discretion, the D.A. can also choose to 
prosecute any of the Great Barrington defendants just on distribution 
charges without the school zone charge that carries the two-year mandatory 
minimum. Those with clean records, charged with selling small quantities of 
marijuana, would likely agree to suspended sentences with long probationary 
periods including drug testing, counseling and community service simply 
because they are staring at a possible two-year jail sentence. That's how 
most district attorneys across the state leverage plea bargains in this 
type of case. If the defendant  screws up while on probation, he or she can 
be sent to jail. The streets are  cleaned-up for a fraction of the cost in 
dollars and young lives. Chartock misses the point again when he says that 
everyone should be treated equally under the law, as if "equality" 
justifies an unreasonably harsh sentence. The point is that no first-time 
offender charged with selling small quantities of marijuana should be sent 
to jail for two years whether the defendant comes from Pittsfield or 
southern Berkshire County. The real problem here is not the school zone 
law's broad sweep, nor even its mandatory minimum sentence provisions. The 
real problem here is our district attorney's wholesale application of the 
school zone law without regard to the facts of each case or the record of 
each defendant. The law was written in the 1980s as a political response to 
the perceived, if not actual, failure of judges to hand out harsh 
sentences, when needed. However,  that does not mean that harsh sentences 
are needed in every case. By taking  sentencing discretion from judges and 
handing it to district attorneys across  the state, the Legislature placed 
its faith in the district attorneys to apply  the law judiciously. Most 
have. Our D.A. needs to distinguish those cases where  serious jail-time is 
needed, from those cases where alternatives are effective.

IRA J. KAPLAN

Great Barrington

The writer is a former Berkshire Assistant District  Attorney.
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MAP posted-by: Elizabeth Wehrman