New York Criminal Lawyer Blog
The Drug Reform act of 2009 was created as an effort to divert drug addicts and alcoholics who’s crimes are committed due to their addiction, from the criminal courts and into a treatment facility where they can shed their addiction. A New York Criminal Lawyer said that unfortunately, the temptation of judicial diversion means that many people attempt to take advantage of the system to reduce the time that they will be incarcerated. On such case, a subject had managed to maintain a 20-year career of felony drug crimes. In July of 2009, the subject made a motion to the court to divert his two outstanding drug sales cases to provide him the opportunity to enroll in a long-term residential drug treatment program.
The defendant alleges that even though he has been arrested several times for dealing drugs and for drug crimes in school zones, that he would benefit from a drug treatment program. One evaluator agreed with him, but it was later discovered that he had not mentioned to her that he has never tested positive for alcohol or drugs at the time of any arrest. A New York Criminal Lawyer said he stated that the reason he never had drugs in his system at the time of his arrests was because he was only a “sporadic” user of cocaine.
The state contends that each time the subject was arrested, he was arrested for sale of drugs and not for mere possession or intoxication. The details of his arrests and incarceration reveal the picture of a man who deals drugs for a living. The Drug Rehabilitation Act is aimed at being an intervention program to divert addicts and those who deal only to support their own habit. In this case, even though the defendant claims that he has a drug addiction, the evidence does not support this claim.
Each time that he was arrested, he had a large amount of money in various denominations. A New York Sex Crimes Lawyer said that each time that he was arrested, he was not charged with intoxication, and there was never a positive blood test showing any kind of drugs in his system. The court contends that this defendant, rather than being an addict who might benefit from a drug treatment program, is actually a drug dealer. The defendant’s history shows that he is a drug dealer for profit. He is not a drug dealer to support his own habit. The court does not reject the notion that this subject has used drugs. There is no contention that this defendant has not binged on drugs and alcohol on occasion.
This dealer was known to be an occasional recreational drug user. That does not imply that the recreational user is an addict that judicial diversion could help. This defendant has repeatedly been to prison for dealing narcotics, each time that he gets out of prison; he has gone back to dealing drugs. By his own admission, he stated that he had not used any narcotics in about a year. This is not the behavior of an addict.
The court recognizes that there are many addicts in need of treatment that they would not get if they are just incarcerated for their crimes. A New York Drug Possession Lawyer said the drug reform laws are designed to give these offenders a chance to get help so that they do not commit similar offenses in the future. They provide a chance to help these people get training to get jobs. By his own admission, this offender stated that he holds down two jobs and that he has never been terminated from a job. He stated that he was not in need of any additional job training. Again, this is not the case with addicts whose addiction invades every aspect of their lives and leaves them with no means of employment.
This defendant’s motion for an appeal for his case to be diverted is not granted. It is important that anyone who thinks that they could benefit from judicial diversion as the result of a criminal offense contact a New York Criminal Lawyer. A New York Arrest Lawyer can help protect your rights and ensure that you receive a fair trial.