Jimbo
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By Michael A. Scarcella, (Source:Sarasota Herald-Tribune)
05 Jul 2008
Florida
BRADENTON - Little Sam Rich was free on bail awaiting sentencing in a drug case when a judge ordered him locked up after a urine test.
There were trace amounts of coc*ine and marijuana in his system, but something else caught the judge's eye and convinced her that Rich had tried to cheat the system: his "abnormal" level of a chemical called creatinine.
Creatinine is a natural by-product of chemical reactions in muscle. Doctors look at creatinine levels to determine kidney functioning. But creatinine is also carefully watched by the courts as a measure of dilution in a urine sample.
A person who drinks a lot of water before a urine test will likely show low levels of creatinine, experts say, and in the world of drug courts, an abnormally low level of the chemical is considered a positive drug test.
"Creatinine is not, of course, an illegal substance," said Rich's attorney, Charles M. Britt III, who urged Circuit Judge Debra Johnes Riva to free Rich from jail at a hearing last week. "There is nothing out there showing he ever did anything wrong. We are basing this all on a lot of assumptions."
Riva was not moved. Riva said she had to put public safety first and was concerned Rich had been out using drugs while awaiting sentencing. Drug use leads to crime, she said. Riva ordered Rich held in custody until he is sentenced in his drug case this month.
But Rich likely will not be prosecuted for trying to defraud a urine test -- a misdemeanor -- because there is no solid evidence he tried to cheat. Britt said Rich is a landscaper who naturally drinks lots of water.
It was not immediately known whether the trace amounts of coc*ine and marijuana will be enough to violate his probation in a previous drug case. Riva did not mention the trace amounts in her written order demanding that he be held in custody.
Prosecution of fake urine cases, or attempts to defraud the system, are rare. In most cases, a person will be hit with violating probation and will not have a whole new criminal case, said William J. High, who heads the Manatee County probation office.
Over the years, High said, probation officers have seen it all: from fake male genitalia to water tainted yellow by food coloring. Sterile urine is sold on the Internet.
High recalled a case in which a person used a friend's urine to take a test. That urine came back positive for drugs. The probationer was outraged.
In one pending case, a Bradenton woman, Latesha Spurlock, was caught in October with a plastic bottle containing urine, Bradenton police say.
A state probation officer, who was monitoring the urine test, said she was suspicious and ordered Spurlock to stand up. When she did, the bottle dropped to the floor, according to police reports.
Spurlock, 27, was arrested and jailed.
The charge of defrauding a test is punishable by up to a year in jail.
Sal Rizzo, a probation officer for Manatee County, said in court that people who spend money on products to dupe the system are being robbed.
Water, he said, is the best way to cleanse the body. Rizzo did not encourage probationers to cheat, however.
Drinking lots of water, Rizzo said, testifying at Rich's hearing, "literally makes it look like they have nothing in them."
But, in Rich's case, too much water may have aroused suspicion of the courts.
Britt, the defense attorney, said Rich did not have a chance to dilute his system because he took a drug test immediately after taking a plea deal in his drug case.
"We're assuming the worst of him, but he's done everything asked of him," Britt said. "That test can mean a whole lot of things. It could mean bad things. It could mean nothing."
NORML.ORG US FL: Urine Test Sets Off a Dispute and Lands a Man in Jail
05 Jul 2008
Florida
BRADENTON - Little Sam Rich was free on bail awaiting sentencing in a drug case when a judge ordered him locked up after a urine test.
There were trace amounts of coc*ine and marijuana in his system, but something else caught the judge's eye and convinced her that Rich had tried to cheat the system: his "abnormal" level of a chemical called creatinine.
Creatinine is a natural by-product of chemical reactions in muscle. Doctors look at creatinine levels to determine kidney functioning. But creatinine is also carefully watched by the courts as a measure of dilution in a urine sample.
A person who drinks a lot of water before a urine test will likely show low levels of creatinine, experts say, and in the world of drug courts, an abnormally low level of the chemical is considered a positive drug test.
"Creatinine is not, of course, an illegal substance," said Rich's attorney, Charles M. Britt III, who urged Circuit Judge Debra Johnes Riva to free Rich from jail at a hearing last week. "There is nothing out there showing he ever did anything wrong. We are basing this all on a lot of assumptions."
Riva was not moved. Riva said she had to put public safety first and was concerned Rich had been out using drugs while awaiting sentencing. Drug use leads to crime, she said. Riva ordered Rich held in custody until he is sentenced in his drug case this month.
But Rich likely will not be prosecuted for trying to defraud a urine test -- a misdemeanor -- because there is no solid evidence he tried to cheat. Britt said Rich is a landscaper who naturally drinks lots of water.
It was not immediately known whether the trace amounts of coc*ine and marijuana will be enough to violate his probation in a previous drug case. Riva did not mention the trace amounts in her written order demanding that he be held in custody.
Prosecution of fake urine cases, or attempts to defraud the system, are rare. In most cases, a person will be hit with violating probation and will not have a whole new criminal case, said William J. High, who heads the Manatee County probation office.
Over the years, High said, probation officers have seen it all: from fake male genitalia to water tainted yellow by food coloring. Sterile urine is sold on the Internet.
High recalled a case in which a person used a friend's urine to take a test. That urine came back positive for drugs. The probationer was outraged.
In one pending case, a Bradenton woman, Latesha Spurlock, was caught in October with a plastic bottle containing urine, Bradenton police say.
A state probation officer, who was monitoring the urine test, said she was suspicious and ordered Spurlock to stand up. When she did, the bottle dropped to the floor, according to police reports.
Spurlock, 27, was arrested and jailed.
The charge of defrauding a test is punishable by up to a year in jail.
Sal Rizzo, a probation officer for Manatee County, said in court that people who spend money on products to dupe the system are being robbed.
Water, he said, is the best way to cleanse the body. Rizzo did not encourage probationers to cheat, however.
Drinking lots of water, Rizzo said, testifying at Rich's hearing, "literally makes it look like they have nothing in them."
But, in Rich's case, too much water may have aroused suspicion of the courts.
Britt, the defense attorney, said Rich did not have a chance to dilute his system because he took a drug test immediately after taking a plea deal in his drug case.
"We're assuming the worst of him, but he's done everything asked of him," Britt said. "That test can mean a whole lot of things. It could mean bad things. It could mean nothing."
NORML.ORG US FL: Urine Test Sets Off a Dispute and Lands a Man in Jail
~ Aww, screw 'em, feed 'em fish-heads if they can't take a joke. 
of there fucking business.