Maryland judges deny Baltimore State Attorney's request to dismiss 5,000 marijuana convictions

Maryland decriminalized possession of 10 grams or less of marijuana in 2014. A big part of the push was the fact that while black and white citizens use and sell “illegal” drugs at roughly the same rate, black people in Maryland were three times more likely than white folks to be arrested and charged for marijuana-related offenses. After three years of decriminalization, studies showed that almost all people being arrested and charged and sent to jail by Baltimore police were black. The resulting backlash to this fact has led to pressure on the city’s attorneys, with state attorney Marilyn Mosby announcing in January that her office would not prosecute weed cases anymore. 

Along with her announcement, Mosby said she was referring around 5,000 previous marijuana conviction cases for dismissal. She brought 1,000 to Circuit Court and about 3,800 to District Court. Last week, Circuit Judge W. Michel Pierson and Baltimore District Court Judge Kathleen Sweeney ruled against Mosby. According to The Baltimore Sun, Judge Sweeney wrote a 10-page-decision, saying that Mosby had not shown any “single consequence” suffered by the individuals convicted. Sweeney also said she believed Mosby was in “blatant conflict,” with her oath to protect the state, and also noted that Mosby had been particularly ambitious in prosecuting many of the cases she now wanted expunged. Mosby told The Sun that she thought the decision was a “shame.” Fox 45 Baltimore reports that Mosby released this statement on the judges’ decisions.

The role that courts play in our society is to be a place of last resort for people who have been wronged. I am deeply disappointed that this ruling did not afford us any opportunity to present legal arguments and essentially eliminated the court from being a safe harbor for those that were harmed by the discriminatory enforcement of marijuana laws in this city. My office is considering our options and will pursue all avenues to ensure we continue standing up for the people of Baltimore.

Baltimore is an interesting place right now, where the law enforcement apparatus has been exposed for being one of the more systematically corrupt and racist organizations in the country, with the judicial branch of the state’s government willing to protect that corrupt and deadly behavior.

from Daily Kos http://bit.ly/2Wod0S1