Many courthouses have a statue of Justice holding scales, often with an inscription to the effect of "Equal Justice under Law." This represents the ideal that many assume is the norm in this country. But in many cases and many instances, justice is not always been...
Protecting Your Rights Throughout Eastern Iowa Since 1981
Drug Charges
Piling on of drug charges
Drug charges can lead to serious and sometimes lifelong sentences in an Iowa state prison or the federal prison system. These long sentences can be seen as the result of years of legislature enactments and amendments to increase the punishment available to...
Opioid addiction can strike anyone
Drugs can be insidious in creeping into a person's life. They may find they are addicted before they even recognize the risk. The recent epidemic of opioid deaths from overdoses is in part driven by people who begin with some form of prescription painkillers. Once...
Patchwork of marijuana laws remains unsettled
Use of marijuana is still illegal in Iowa. In spite of a growing trend of some states to permit marijuana for medical use and a few allowing recreational use, Iowa still has some of the most restrictive marijuana laws in the nation. Marijuana is only permitted for...
Will prosecutors “accommodate” the former mayor?
When someone is charged with a crime, one question that is not always obvious is "What crime are the charged with?" Take, for instance, the recent arrest of the Mayor of Fairfax, Virginia. He was involved with a transaction at a hotel where he gave methamphetamine to...
Iowa Democratic Party drug stance: bound to turn some heads
"[P]utting cocaine back in Coca-Cola." Such a reference was bound to crop up regarding an official platform position announced recently by the Iowa Democratic Party, and party principals have been quick to address it and put things into a proper context. "No one is...
Progressively strong tailwinds propelling criminal law reforms
The winds of change are blowing, with their power being firmly in evidence in the realm of criminal justice reforms. Indeed, the thrust for reform -- especially in the area of federal criminal law sentencing and in the federal context -- is manifest and growing. That...
Synthetic drugs can lead to all too real prison sentences
Drug policy in the U.S. is sometimes confusing. Drugs can be assigned to the various schedules of the federal drug classification depending on the whim of members of congress. Drug classification may not always make sense, with both Marijuana and Heroin being...
Will you take the fall in a drug case?
The FBI is currently in the process of assembling a very large drug prosecution, and with the most recent set of indictments filed in Cedar Rapids, the number of individuals charged in Operation Ice Pirates has risen to 20. The investigation into the alleged meth ring...
A move in the right direction for Iowa drug sentences
With the signing of a bill by Iowa's governor, changes in the state's drug sentencing laws will go into effect on July 1 for some non-violent drug offenders. The bill is seen by many as a good start to returning a more reasonable perspective on criminal enforcement of...