Prosecutorial Discretion in Action: Andrew Sullivan Skates on Marijuana Charge
Prosecutorial Discretion in Action: Andrew Sullivan Skates on Marijuana Charge
Prosecutors say they need a lot of discretion. Why? So that they can prosecute the powerless, while refusing to prosecute the powerful and connected? You think I’m some sort of wild-eyed Marxist?
Hardly. Here’s a typical case (via):
Political commentator, author and writer for The Atlantic magazine Andrew M. Sullivan won’t have to face charges stemming from a recent pot bust at the Cape Cod National Seashore — but a federal judge isn’t happy about it.
U. S. Magistrate Judge Robert B. Collings says in his decision that the case is an example of how sometimes “small cases raise issues of fundamental importance in our system of justice.”
The rest of the details are here. Magistrate Judge Robert Collings’ opinion is here: It’s thoughtful and worth reading.
In my opinion, no one should be prosecuted for possessing marijuana on federal property. However, if we’re going to have these stupid laws on the books, shouldn’t they be applied even to influential and well-known people like Andrew Sullivan? Assistant United States Attorney James F. Lang disagreed. Prosecutorial discretion at its finest.
The next time AUSA Lang is prosecuting some-small time druggie, be sure to ask him what it takes to get the “Sullivan treatment.”
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