Pubdate: Tue, 2 Jun 2009
Source: Huffington Post (US Web)
Copyright: 2009 HuffingtonPost com, Inc.
Website: http://www.huffingtonpost.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4517
Author: Anthony Papa
Note: Anthony Papa is the author of 15 To Life and a communications 
specialist for Drug Policy Alliance.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug Courts)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?140 (Rockefeller Drug Laws)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)

LEAVE ROCKEFELLER DRUG LAW REFORMS ALONE

Recently, Gov. Paterson passed legislation that brought meaningful
Rockefeller Drug Law reform to New York State. But it did not come
easy. Opponents of the reforms fought tooth and nail and swore that
bringing forth these changes would open the flood gates of hell. Thank
goodness common sense prevailed. But now District Attorneys and
Republican Senators, who were the main opponents of the reforms, have
struck back. They are now seeking to mount a campaign to repeal the
reforms. For a start they have chosen to hide behind the shield of
public safety and promote their own political agenda of making those
responsible for the reforms look soft on crime. But that shield gets
worn out when their arguments do nothing more then undermine the
recently passed reforms that advance a public health and safety
approach to drug use and addiction.

Their argument now is centered on a provision in the recent reforms
that allows judges to seal drug offenders' records. They claim that
criminals will be able to hide their criminal past while applying for
jobs and doing so would jeopardize public safety. The truth is that
only people with low-level, nonviolent offenses, who complete court
supervised treatment in lieu of prison, are eligible to have their
records sealed. The records are always available to law enforcement,
and if there's a public safety threat the judge won't seal the record
in the first place.

Sealing records is nothing new. For decades, the district attorneys
throughout New York have had the power to seal records or dismiss
cases entirely. Under current law people who successfully complete
drug court programming have their guilty pleas withdrawn and cases
dismissed. This practice is widely understood as an important process
for successful community re-integration.

The new law that now is being questioned by prosecutors is essentially
the same -- except now judges, not prosecutors, make the decision to
determine whether or not a person's record can be sealed. Prosecutors
have opposed the restoration of judicial discretion on any grounds,
including record sealing. This isn't surprising. They simply do not
want to give up their tremendous power.

Now, the prosecutors' strategy is to use the conditional record
sealing issue to cast the Rockefeller reforms as bad policy that will
make New Yorkers less safe -- and also to expose weaknesses within the
Senate Democrats which can be exploited in electioneering by
Republicans.

But the problem is that there isn't a problem. This is about politics,
not policy. Eligible individuals who complete a court supervised drug
treatment program may petition the court to seal their record. The
judge has discretion to seal the record, and the prosecutor has the
opportunity to raise objections. A judge may decide not to seal the
record of an eligible individual even after they complete treatment.
Even though judges can seal records, the records do not disappear and
are always available to law enforcement. This would give those
eligible the opportunity to acquire gainful employment in order to
become productive citizens.

Gabriel Sayegh, project director with the Drug Policy Alliance said
that "People re-entering the community from prison face a variety of
challenges. Getting a job is a critical step to restoring their lives
as responsible, tax-paying community members." "For most people, a
felony record, even for a nonviolent drug offense, is a tremendous
barrier to employment. Just as before, the law now allows people with
low-level nonviolent drug offenses -or low-level nonviolent property
crimes driving by drug dependency--to petition for conditional sealing
of their records. Only now the Judge, not the prosecutor, makes the
final decision".
- ---
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake