Drug Crimes Archives - Page 7 of 11 - Keller Criminal Defense Attorneys

Nov: 29, 2013

US Supreme Court issues decision in case involving drug-sniffing dogs

Protecting the right of people to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures is at the heart of the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Minnesota mirrors the protections of the Fourth Amendment in article I, section 10 of the state constitution. State and federal courts frequently must decide if evidence seized by law enforcement officers and used to prove criminal charges violates the Minnesota and federal constitutional protections.

Nov: 29, 2013

Minnesota at the Forefront of Efforts to Ban 2C-E, Other Synthetic Drugs

In March of 2011, several spring break revelers at a party in Blaine, Minnesota were hospitalized after overdosing on a synthetic designer drug known as 2C-E. One of them, 19-year-old Trevor Robinson, was killed.

Nov: 29, 2013

Fair Sentencing Act Starting Point for Federal Drug Sentencing Reform

It took more than a decade to change one of the biggest inequalities in U.S. drug sentencing laws: the 100 to 1 ratio sentencing disparity for federal crack cocaine and powder cocaine offenses. Prior to the passage of the Fair Sentencing Act on August 3, 2010, those convicted of trafficking as little as five grams of crack cocaine received a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison. The sentence doubled to 10 years for those with 10 grams in their possession.

Nov: 03, 2013

Welfare recipients with past drug charges must take drug tests

People that have been convicted of drug crimes and are also receiving benefits from the state are now required to comply with drug tests according to a law passed by the Minnesota Legislature last year. St. Louis County officials have now begun strictly enforcing the law, which replaces the “self-reporting” system that was in place prior to its passing. The new law requires the state court administrator to provide its list of convicted drug felons to the Department of Human Services.

Oct: 03, 2013

Is selling heroin the same thing as murder?

When someone chooses to take a drug, should anyone other than that individual be held responsible if he or she is caught? That is a question that not many of us ask ourselves, but it is one that prosecutors certainly asked the court in a recent drug case. In any other situation, a 30-year-old Minneapolis man accused of selling heroin would be facing drug charges, but because the heroin was used in a fatal overdose, he was recently convicted of third-degree murder.

Sep: 03, 2013

The fallout of online drug sales raises questions

There are likely many people in Minneapolis who have heard the name Silk Road and they know it is not referring to the Central Asian trade route. Silk Road has been an online marketplace in which drug sellers and buyers could transact their business. For the past two years, the FBI has been looking for the individual behind the website and they have finally arrested the man they believe to be responsible. So, what does that mean for Minnesotans?

Sep: 03, 2013

Odd congressional partnership tackles federal sentencing

Last month we talked about Attorney General Eric Holder’s announcement that the Obama administration was working toward reducing and eliminating draconian sentecing, often caused by mandatory minimum sentences. Especially prevalent with federal drug crimes, nonviolent, first-time offenders are sent to prison for years. For one woman serving time in Waseca, her mother questions why her sentence had to be so long.

Sep: 03, 2013

Federal prosecutors to stop focusing on casual marijuana users

The attorney general recently told federal prosecutors to stop focusing on casual marijuana users in Minnesota and throughout the U.S. Instead, the attorney general told prosecutors to focus their efforts on charging individuals involved in drug cartels and other groups that sell illegal drugs to minors.

Aug: 03, 2013

New plan may lessen number of incarcerated drug offenders

For a long time many people in Minneapolis-St. Paul who were arrested and charged with federal drug crimes feared the lengthy, draconian prison sentences that accompanied those charges. The country’s war on drugs has been severe, sending people who were never violent and had very little criminal background away for decades in prison. There has been some pushback over lengthy mandatory prison sentences, however, and now Attorney General Eric Holder, on behalf of the Obama Administration, is announcing a new plan to combat these punishments.

Jul: 03, 2013

Horrific story young man’s detention grabs national headlines

There are likely many people in St. Paul who have heard the story of a now-25-year-old man who nearly died while in a federal Drug Enforcement Administration cell. The young man had been arrested as part of a drug raid and was questioned before an officer working with the DEA told him he was not going to be charged. The officer put him in a 5-by-10-foot holding cell, assuring him that he would only be a minute. Instead, the young man spent the next 4 1/2 days in the cell and nearly died.

Category: Drug Crimes