Pubdate: Tue, 07 Dec 2004
Source: Capital Times, The  (WI)
Copyright: 2004 The Capital Times
Contact:  http://www.captimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/73
Author: Judith Davidoff

GROUP CHALLENGES SEARCH FOR POT IN MAN'S HOUSE

Madison Police Chief Noble Wray says he will investigate the arrest of 
Devin Golden, a 21-year-old man who was charged with possession of more 
than 1,000 grams of marijuana after his car and entire home were searched, 
allegedly without his consent.

"I have asked for a review of the circumstances surrounding this incident 
and will get back to you shortly," Wray wrote in an e-mail Monday to 
Stephanie Rearick of the Progressive Dane Drug Policy Task Force.

The task force, which supports liberalizing marijuana laws, wrote Wray on 
Friday with its concerns over the arrest.

The group referred to a Nov. 6 article in The Capital Times that described 
how Golden's car and home were searched after a police officer pulled him 
over for speeding. According to the article, the officer smelled unburned 
marijuana and proceeded to find about 23 grams of pot in the car.

Officers also later found 38 potted marijuana plants behind a false wall in 
Golden's basement, although Golden had allegedly given them permission to 
search only his room.

"We understand that the facts of the case will be sorted out in court and 
that Madison's Ordinance 23.20 does not allow for the quantity of marijuana 
allegedly eventually found in Golden's home," the drug task force wrote to 
Wray. "But we do think that, had an officer been respecting the letter and 
spirit of that ordinance, he or she would have recognized that the quantity 
found in the man's car would warrant a fine and no further action. We find 
it alarming that instead it was used to justify a search warrant."

The task force argued that "questionable searches" damage the community's 
trust in the Police Department's commitment to civil liberties.

Prosecuting such marijuana cases is not worth the cost, the group added.

"Law enforcement priorities are a local decision and the people of the city 
of Madison have made it clear that marijuana prosecution is extremely low 
on our list of priorities. In our opinion, in a case such as this, the 
amount of resources and public trust being squandered outweighs this man's 
potential harm to society."
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