Pubdate: Wed, 03 Sep 2003
Source: Advocate, The (LA)
Copyright: 2003 The Advocate, Capital City Press
Contact:  http://www.theadvocate.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2
Author: Kevin Blanchard (Acadiana Bureau)

COUNCIL REJECTS MUNICIPAL DRUG LAW

LAFAYETTE -- The City-Parish Council voted down an ordinance Tuesday that 
would have made possession and attempted possession of marijuana a city 
violation. Those crimes are already prohibited by state statute.

Several councilmen, a city prosecutor and District Attorney Mike Harson 
said the proposed ordinance would have added an unneeded extra layer of 
bureaucracy.

Councilman Chris Williams, who proposed the ordinance, said he wanted to 
make possession of marijuana and attempted possession a city crime so that 
the cases would be handled by city prosecutors in City Court, not state 
District Court.

Such a system, he said, would allow the city to better track the 
prosecution of the crimes.

"Whatever (system) we have now, it's not working," Williams said.

"This is an attempt to do something."

City Prosecutor Gary Haynes said handling those cases in City Court would 
create several hassles and burden an already busy system.

City Court can only handle misdemeanor cases. First-offenses of marijuana 
possession and attempted possession are misdemeanors, but City Court 
doesn't handle any drug cases, Haynes said.

Adding those cases to the City Court docket would probably necessitate 
hiring another city judge, another city prosecutor and more staff, Haynes said.

City Court also would have to set up a new pretrial diversion program for 
the new cases, Haynes said.

"If we added drug cases right now, it would probably be chaos," Haynes said.

District Attorney Mike Harson's office prosecutes marijuana crimes based on 
already-existing state statutes.

The proposed ordinance mirrors state law.

Harson said, if the ordinance passed, he would have continued to prosecute 
possession and attempted possession cases through his office since state 
law gives district attorneys the discretion to force prosecution of local 
ordinances that mirror state law in state court.

The District Attorney's Office generates revenue from prosecuting those 
cases through court fees.

Therefore, Harson said, the ordinance would not change anything if passed.

"Theoretically, it really makes no difference (if the ordinance passes)," 
Harson said, adding that he wouldn't mind if the council wanted to approve 
the ordinance "for appearances' sake."

The council voted the ordinance down 5-4. Councilmen Williams, Bobby 
Castille, Louis Benjamin and Randy Menard voted for the new ordinance.

Councilmen Jerry Trumps, Lenwood Broussard, Marc Mouton, Rob Stevenson and 
Bobby Badeaux voted no.

In other business, the council voted to approve an extra $150,000 for the 
Lafayette Parish Correction Center to cover a budget shortfall in the cost 
of medicine supplied to inmates.

LPCC Warden Rob Reardon told the council that the $1,100 a month it takes 
to treat an inmate with HIV/AIDS and the $150 a month it takes to treat 
mentally ill inmates -- about 15 percent of the population -- has put a 
strain on the jail's budget.

The council tabled the request two weeks ago until Reardon could provide 
more information.

The council also approved a $3,000-a-year land lease agreement between the 
Lafayette Police Department and the Lafayette Parish School Board.

The Police Department will use the land -- located in the northeastern tip 
of Lafayette Parish near St. Martin and the existing Lafayette Parish 
Sheriff Training Facility -- to build a $195,000 training facility and 
shooting range.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom