Drug Crimes, Substance Abuse palm desert police dont respect medical marijuana laws

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I am not sure what more you can do here aside from have that hearing and point out the law to them. I suppose I can link the relevant case law for you so you can present it to them.

I can look that up later ... off to bed right now.
 
i would much appreciate anything you can get for me. =)

how can an entire police station be unaware AND unconcerned?

If they knew they oopsed, why wouldn't they clear it asap? this just seems weird to me
 
Andrewneedshelp said:
i would much appreciate anything you can get for me. =)
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You can quote the following from the Califorinia Peace Officers Legal Sourcebook published by the CA Attorney General:

From 4.18
California law enforcement authorities under certain conditions have the right, and often the duty, to impound a motor vehicle. An individual officer's decision to impound must be exercised according to standardized criteria, which include statutory authority for the impound, i.e., Vehicle Code section 22651. (Green (1996) 46 Cal.App.4th 367, 372.)
However, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and one California state appellate court have determined that statutory authority for impounds is insufficient, in itself, to justify a vehicle impound. These courts additionally require a separate, independent justification for the impound under the "community caretaking" exception to the warrant requirement. (Miranda (9th Cir. 2005) 429 F.3d 858; Williams (2006) 145 Cal.App.4th 756; but see Hoyos (2007) 41 Cal.4th 872, 892--no mention of the community caretaking requirement].)​
From 4.19:
The Williams court explained that the statutory authority to impound set forth in Vehicle Code section 22651 "may constitute a standardized policy guiding officers' discretion" whether to impound following arrest, but that was only half the inquiry. In addition to standardized policy there must also be a "community caretaking" purpose for impoundment of the car in those circumstances. (Williams (2006) 145 Cal.App.4th 756, 763.)

What, then, qualifies as proper community caretaking justifying vehicle impounds? The Williams court, in dicta, listed the following considerations: Would the car be stolen, broken into, or vandalized where it was parked? Was it blocking a driveway or crosswalk? Did it pose a hazard or impediment to other traffic? Would leaving it there result in its immediate and continued unlawful operation by an unlicensed driver? (See Williams (2006) 145 Cal.App.4th 756, 762-763.)​
From 16.46:
Case law provides that, although section 22651 provides statutory authority for impounds, an officer must have a justification for the impound that satisfies the "community caretaking" exception to warrant requirement as well. (Williams (2006) 145 Cal.App.4th 756; Miranda (9th Cir. 2005) 429 F.3d 858.)​
Further, here is the authority per CVC 22651(h)(1):

(h) (1) When an officer arrests a person driving or in control of
a vehicle for an alleged offense and the officer is, by this code or
other law, required or permitted to take, and does take, the person
into custody.​
Note the bolded section.

Now, "custody"in this instance could ARGUABLY have been accomplished by issuing you the misdemeanor marijuana citation. However, the community caretaking exception per Williams would still need to be demonstrated and I would argue that it is a disingenuous play on words to argue that being cited and released at the scene constitutes "custody."

how can an entire police station be unaware AND unconcerned?
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The people you have spoken to are either uninformed or trying to cover theirs or the agency's tails.

If they knew they oopsed, why wouldn't they clear it asap? this just seems weird to me
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Unless they have some take on it that I am missing, I can only believe that they are ignorant of the law, or, they are hoping you will go away.
 
wow thank you i need to take a minute to read that over. I'm most definitely printing it for my records. You are quite awesome thank you. =p



ahah im not going anywhere. should i call them again? it feels wrong to sit and do nothing in limbo....

i had a bunch of sealing bags for my food delivery job in the bed of my truck, my friends who were 21 had a 24 pack of some sort of beer in the bed. im only 20. i honestly doubted that to be in issue, he never made any statement regarding it.


the bag did look like it had alot of cannabis in it
at one point it was an ounce but i used at least a couple grams a few hours earliar.

the turn i had made was through a yellow light.

i was argueing with him, but i beleive it was within reason, i didnt go overboard. when i realized it wasnt doing anything i stopped.


im just trying to gather any minor details that i can, but for the most part tho everything is on page one. ill do my best to remember anything i can.

Are things going to result differently now that i have my DHS card?
 
The DHS card will allow you a pass so long as you fall otherwise under the law. the best bet is not to be hauling marijuana in your car. Period. The odor could be sufficient to support a search even with the card. It would just prevent a citation if the marijuana is sealed and not otherwise available for use.
 
So now i have received a small green paper in the mail. I guess its a "proof of service".

It says the the date in which it was mailed, and is signed by the officer who confiscated my medicine. The officer at the station said he had passed the case to another officer, so I'm kinda confused, i guess he didn't.

Other than that, it has the information on where I'm supposed to go to court, the officers name and department, and my citation number. There is a list of boxes to check, the list is in case a change has been made/ or there was an error, or to remind me of when i need to go to court.

The boxed marked "other" under errors is checked, and is specified by :"Case being dismissed. no further action being taken."
and then is signed and dated by the officer.

Ive talked with a friend, and all we can figure out is they are trying to admit fault, without really admitting fault. Are we right? or does this mean something else?


And im a little curious, ive received notifications in the mail for traffic tickets, but i haven't gotten anything regarding this ticket really, just this green paper and information about the tow. should i have received something by now?

nd well my stuff was very sealed... :/ anyone can see it wasn't readily available to me driving. as far as prop 215 goes i was legit, but i guess i need to read up a little more on senate bill 420, some things have been changed unapparently
 
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It sounds like they are dismissing the criminal matter against you.

And you should still get the DHS card because the doctor's recommendation is NOT - by itself - necessarily legally binding on the officer in the field. If you want to prevent future such actions, get the card.
 
CdwJava said:
It sounds like they are dismissing the criminal matter against you.

And you should still get the DHS card because the doctor's recommendation is NOT - by itself - necessarily legally binding on the officer in the field. If you want to prevent future such actions, get the card.
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so that means...? They dont think i did anything wrong now?


And I understand that now and is why its on the way, im waiting for a call any day now to go pick up the actual plastic card. Ive already been approved. =]


And should I be expecting something in the mail?
 
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Andrewneedshelp said:
so that means...? They dont think i did anything wrong now?
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It means that for whatever reason,they have apparently decided not to charge you with possession of marijuana. It may be that the DA reviewed the matter and chose not to file. Or, a supervisor decided the matter did not warrant pursuing.

And I understand that now and is why its on the way, im waiting for a call any day now to go pick up the actual plastic card. Ive already been approved. =]
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Good deal. Just be sure to keep it out of the car. Just leave it at home.
 
Okay, so i'm confused. What about my tow hearing and such? I still would like my money and meds back... does this mean i dont go to court or w hat?
 
Have you spoken to an administrator at the police department about the tow? if not, demand to speak to someone at the rank of lieutenant or higher. When you get to the meeting, bring up the legalities I mentioned concerning the tow. If the tow was for 22651(h) ask how that could be since you were not placed under custodial arrest, and there was no community caretaking issue involved.

Also ask how to get back your marijuana.

Make a claim for the impound and fees incurred on the vehicle, and for the approximate value of the marijuana. If they deny your claims, file in small claims court.

Understand that the marijuana is probably a wash as the agency probably does not have it, and they might argue that pursuant to federal law they cannot return the marijuana ... though a recent AG's opinion and state court decision says that the return of marijuana would not violate state or federal law.

It really depends on how far you want to pursue this issue for the amount you are out. Absent an attorney, you may not be able to force anyone to do anything. A judge may well agree with you at court on the impound, but the marijuana may be a coin toss even though the law is currently pretty clear that they have to pay you return it. Though, establishing a fair market value for an illicit item could be tough.
 
I think that was a ruling in my area... the county had to give back LOTS of marijuana it had confiscated from a private grower that used for medicinal purposes.
 
There was a challenge that several cites and counties had joined in on, and in the middle of last year I think it was the state Supreme Court ruled on the issue ... I'd have to look it up,but the ruling was effectively stating that the agency would not violate federal law. However, I know of a number of Chiefs - mine included - that will be happy to turn such contraband over to the court to return as they see fit, but will not do it themselves.
 
So i called the station and they said they don't normally have a person rank lieutenant or higher. So i was transferred to the same officer from before, the "traffic officer whose been side yarding me the whole time. It went to his voice-mail which i left a message, and haven't received a call. So i'm going to call them tomorrow to see whats up.

It really feels like this station is working against me, could be my paranoia but i doubt it.
 
They probably do not want to acknowledge that they might have made a mistake with regard to the tow. And they are not likely going to be keen on the idea of returning marijuana to you, either. It is up to you how far you want to pursue these matters.
 
If the police have sent the case to the DA then they won't have much of anything to say to you. Try directing your concerns to the DA.
 
Th eOP indicates that charges have been dismissed. As such, the marijuana will be the agency's issue to deal with. It can be a tricky issue, too.

I was in court today on a whopping 50 case calendar!!! There were no less than four cases involving marijuana, and three of them now claim to have 215 recommendations, one with a DHS card. All were asking for their "medicine" back. The court continued all matters for various procedural issues (one guy who was still in custody for transportation and sales dared to represent himself and argued with the judge about a motion to dismiss!!!).

I hooked a guy for DV over the weekend who has a plan to come here from out of state, get a 215 recommendation, buy a bunch of marijuana at various cannabis clubs in and around Sacramento, and return home making a profit on the re-sale of the stuff so that he could begin his rap career. (He already is half way there - he's with the Gangster Disciples and treats his woman like a punching bag ...) It's guys like this that make guys like me horribly cynical about marijuana as "medicine."
 
wow that's horrible. the system needs to b refined so that we can weed these kinds of people out. Hes creating a bad reputation for the people who use it responsibly and respectably as medicine.

Further more i called the station today and finally got a tow hearing scheduled!
But the kind lady said she had absolutely no record of anything ever happening. Like nothing. I gave her the case number and all kinds of information and she couldn't find anything so she told me to come in tomorrow.
And also i found out that the ticket was dated incorrectly by a month, it says 11/26/2009 instead of being in December. i thought it was little funny. =p
 
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