Jim Babka: A lesson from the Real ID Act

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Ari Ollikainen <Ari () olteco com>
Date: June 4, 2005 1:18:33 PM EDT
To: johnmacsgroup () yahoogroups com
Cc: Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>
Subject: Re: [johnmacsgroup] Jim Babka: A lesson from the Real ID Act
Reply-To: johnmacsgroup () yahoogroups com


At 11:29 AM -0400 6/4/05, John F. McMullen wrote:

> HR 1528 will inaugurate a new era in American history.
> Americans, for the first time, will be punished with
> imprisonment for not informing to the government on
> their friends, family, and neighbors. If this law
> passes Congress will be emboldened, and expand the
> technique to other areas.
>
> Do you want to stop this law now, or wait until after
> it is too late?
>
> The time to kill this law is now, while it is still in
> committee. We must not wait until it has momentum and
> is on its way to a final vote.


    So what's HR 1528? Here's a (possibly biased) summary:

Source: http://actioncenter.drugpolicy.org/action/wacmoreinfo.asp? 
item=26179

  H.R. 1528, Defending America's Most Vulnerable: Safe Access to Drug
Treatment and Child Protection Act of 2005, is one of the worst drug
war bills that Congress has ever considered.

Among other things, HR 1528:

--Virtually eliminates the ability of federal judges to give
sentences below the minimum sentence recommended by federal
sentencing guidelines, essentially creating a mandatory minimum
sentence for every federal offense (including both drug and non-drug
offenses).

--Expands the federal "three strikes and you're out" law to include
new offenses, including mandating life imprisonment (with no
possibility of parole) for anyone convicted a third time under the
RAVE Act.

    [ I wasn't aware the feds had a 3 strikes law...]

--Mandates a 10-year minimum sentence for anyone 21 or older that
gives marijuana or others drugs to someone under 18 (i.e. a 21 year
old college students gives a joint to his 17-year old brother). A
second offense would be life in prison.

--Expands what is considered to be a "drug-free" school zone to
include almost any place in an urban area, and increases penalties
for selling or distributing drugs in that area. (The result will be
enhanced penalties for people in inner cities, while people in rural
and suburban areas get less time for the same offense).

--Mandates a 5-year minimum sentence for any person that commits a
drug trafficking offense near the presence of a person under 18 or in
a place where such person resides for any period of time. The
sentence is 10 years if they are parent. (I.e. a mother that sells
her neighbor a joint will get a 10-year minimum sentence, even if her
kids were at school at the time).

--Creates a new offense for persons who witness or learn about
certain drug offenses that fail to report the drug offender to the
police within 24 hours or fail to provide full assistance to the
police in tracking and prosecuting the offender. Offenses that would
get someone a 2-year minimum sentence, including failing to report a
neighbor that is storing or selling drugs when that neighbor has
kids, failing to report anyone that gives a joint to someone under
the age of 21, and failing to report a college student that is
selling marijuana on a college campus.

    [I can hear the DrugTroopers' jack boots now...]]

--Mandates a 5-year minimum sentence for any person that offers,
solicits, encourages, or induces a person enrolled in drug treatment,
or previously enrolled in drug treatment, to purchase, possess or
receive drugs.

--Makes it a federal crime to provide "drug paraphernalia" to anyone.
While the goal is to make it a crime - punishable by up to three
years in prison - to give someone a bong as a birthday present, it
would also make it a federal crime to provide someone with sterile
syringes (except where it is explicitly authorized by local or state
law). If enacted, it would essentially criminalize many needle
exchange programs.

    [IF the needle exchange programs are authorized by local/state
      law, it WON'T criminalize them.]

The full text of H.R. 1528 can be viewed by going to
http://thomas.loc.gov/ , entering "HR1528" in the search box,
checking the "enter bill number" circle under the search box, and
clicking "search".

    [It's a messy read...]


--

                                 - - -
    Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people
    who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it.
                                                 --Mark Twain


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