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The420Guy
Guest
CARSON CITY (AP) - The Nevada Supreme Court's Judicial Assessment
Commission has recommended treatment instead of prison for drug users and a
misdemeanor ticket instead of felony charges for possessing small amounts
of marijuana.
Possession of any amount of pot and being under the influence of any drug
are now classified as felonies under Nevada law. The state's marijuana
possession laws are toughest in the nation.
But the commission, appointed and chaired by Chief Justice Bob Rose, has
urged those penalties be sharply reduced. Under their proposal, possession
of less than an ounce of marijuana would be a misdemeanor and handled by
issuing a citation.
If the amount was more than an ounce but less than four ounces, the offense
would be punishable as a gross misdemeanor. Only when more than four ounces
of marijuana was involved would the charge remain a felony punishable by
one to six years in prison.
In addition, unless another offense involving a greater penalty was
involved, those under the influence of an illegal drug would face a
misdemeanor. But the proposal gives judges the power to order that person
into a treatment program.
District judges around the state have said in the past that well over half
the cases that come before them involve some form of substance abuse.
A bill that would have reduced the penalties for possessing small amounts
of marijuana was defeated in the 1999 Legislature, but another version is
being drafted for the 2001 session.
In addition, the judges urged a major change in the law to get the mentally
ill out of Nevada's jails. They proposed a state law "requiring the state
Mental Health System to take custody of all (mentally ill) persons arrested
for committing a crime other than a felony crime of violence."
The judges are also urging the state executive branch "re-establish an
appropriate and comprehensive mental health program and adequately fund it"
and give judges the authority to divert nonviolent offenders with mental
illness into treatment.
In addition to changing handling of drug addicts and the mentally ill, the
commission report calls for major changes in how judges are selected and in
the structure of Nevada's courts.
The biggest change would be to impose a version of the Missouri Plan in
Nevada where judges would be appointed on merit, then face an election with
no opponent after two years on the bench to determine whether the people
wanted to retain the judge. If not, another judge would be appointed.
_____________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
---
MAP posted-by: Eric Ernst
Newshawk: Sledhead
Pubdate: Mon, 11 Dec 2000
Source: Las Vegas Sun (NV)
Copyright: 2000 Las Vegas Sun, Inc.
Contact: letters@lasvegassun.com
Address: P.O. Box 4275, Las Vegas, NV 89127
Fax: (702) 383-7264
Website: Las Vegas Sun Newspaper - Southern Nevada News, Sports, Politics, Entertainment & Opinions -
Forum: https://www.vegas.com/ubbcgi/Ultimate.cgi
Author: The Associated Press
Bookmark: MAP's link to Nevada articles is: MapInc
Commission has recommended treatment instead of prison for drug users and a
misdemeanor ticket instead of felony charges for possessing small amounts
of marijuana.
Possession of any amount of pot and being under the influence of any drug
are now classified as felonies under Nevada law. The state's marijuana
possession laws are toughest in the nation.
But the commission, appointed and chaired by Chief Justice Bob Rose, has
urged those penalties be sharply reduced. Under their proposal, possession
of less than an ounce of marijuana would be a misdemeanor and handled by
issuing a citation.
If the amount was more than an ounce but less than four ounces, the offense
would be punishable as a gross misdemeanor. Only when more than four ounces
of marijuana was involved would the charge remain a felony punishable by
one to six years in prison.
In addition, unless another offense involving a greater penalty was
involved, those under the influence of an illegal drug would face a
misdemeanor. But the proposal gives judges the power to order that person
into a treatment program.
District judges around the state have said in the past that well over half
the cases that come before them involve some form of substance abuse.
A bill that would have reduced the penalties for possessing small amounts
of marijuana was defeated in the 1999 Legislature, but another version is
being drafted for the 2001 session.
In addition, the judges urged a major change in the law to get the mentally
ill out of Nevada's jails. They proposed a state law "requiring the state
Mental Health System to take custody of all (mentally ill) persons arrested
for committing a crime other than a felony crime of violence."
The judges are also urging the state executive branch "re-establish an
appropriate and comprehensive mental health program and adequately fund it"
and give judges the authority to divert nonviolent offenders with mental
illness into treatment.
In addition to changing handling of drug addicts and the mentally ill, the
commission report calls for major changes in how judges are selected and in
the structure of Nevada's courts.
The biggest change would be to impose a version of the Missouri Plan in
Nevada where judges would be appointed on merit, then face an election with
no opponent after two years on the bench to determine whether the people
wanted to retain the judge. If not, another judge would be appointed.
_____________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
---
MAP posted-by: Eric Ernst
Newshawk: Sledhead
Pubdate: Mon, 11 Dec 2000
Source: Las Vegas Sun (NV)
Copyright: 2000 Las Vegas Sun, Inc.
Contact: letters@lasvegassun.com
Address: P.O. Box 4275, Las Vegas, NV 89127
Fax: (702) 383-7264
Website: Las Vegas Sun Newspaper - Southern Nevada News, Sports, Politics, Entertainment & Opinions -
Forum: https://www.vegas.com/ubbcgi/Ultimate.cgi
Author: The Associated Press
Bookmark: MAP's link to Nevada articles is: MapInc
