Drug laws and law

enforcement
Chapter 10
Constitutional restraints
0 Law enforcement agencies in the
United States operate under significant
constitutional constraints, generally
referred to as due process—
1 literally meaning the process that
is due a person before something
disadvantageous can be done to him
or her.
2There is an inherent tension between
society’s desire for security and safety
and the value we place on liberty.
3A conflict between two conceptual
models of criminal justice: crime
control and due process.
 THE FOURTH
AMENDMENT AND THE
EXCLUSIONARY RULE
4 The Fourth Amendment guarantees
that
5 “the right of the people to be secure in
their persons, houses, papers and effects,
against unreasonable searches and seizures
shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall
issue, but upon probable cause, supported by
Oath or affirmation, and particularly
describing the place to be searched, and the
persons or things to be seized.”
6 The exclusionary rule is the court’s
way of enforcing the Fourth
Amendment; it provides that evidence
that is obtained in violation of the
Fourth Amendment cannot be entered
as evidence in a criminal trial.
Constitutional Restraints Cont.
 Fifth Amendment
7Benefits the criminal population by
guaranteeing the right to remain silent.
Sixth Amendment
8 The right to counsel.
9The right to be tried speedily by an
impartial jury.
10 The right to confront witnesses.

JURISDICTIONAL
LIMITATIONS
11The U.S. Constitution provides for a
form of government in which powers
are diffused horizontally and vertically.
12This is accomplished by three
branches— legislative, judicial, and
executive—and four levels of
government within each branch:
federal, state, county, and municipal.
13Although each level of government
has responsibilities for responding to
drug abuse and drug trafficking, there
is little or no coordination among
them--inefficiency.

Jurisdictional Limitations
14Each level of government responds to the
problem of drugs independently of the others.
15 Federal Level
16 Range from Military to FBI and are responsible
for combating drug trafficking.
17 Federal Judicial system is responsible for trying
drug cases.
18 Legislative branch is responsible for enacting
drug legislation and allocating funds for federal drug
law enforcement efforts.

19 Local Level

20 20,000 police agencies

21 State Level

22 State-level drug law enforcement agents and
state police
23 Agencies that manage prisons and the parole
system.
 24 County Level
25 Responsible for prosecuting defendants and
sheriff is responsible for operating jails.

26 Municipality Level

27 Has a police department whose officers
enforce drug laws.

INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS
In 1988, the International Convention
28

Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs

and Psychotropic Substances was
adopted in Vienna, with two main
purposes:
29 Establish and internationally
recognized set of drug trafficking offenses
30 Create a framework for international
cooperation to combat drug trafficking
31While international law (multinational
treaties) provides the basis for
eradicating illicit poppy and coca
cultivation, adherence to treaties
depends on a level of cooperation that
is often sacrificed on the altar of
domestic economic and political
realities.

CORRUPTION
32The easy availability of large sums of
money and the clandestine nature of
the business make drug law
enforcement vulnerable to corruption.
33Two basic strategies are available to
law enforcement agencies—reactive
and proactive—and many use a
combination of both:
34 Reactive law enforcement-
responding to criminal actions after they
have occurred
 35 Encourage citizens to report crime
and agency will respond
36 Proactive law enforcement- officers
“seek out” criminal behavior, most likely
strategy to invite corruption

CORRUPTION
Corruption is often intertwined
37

with the problem of informants.

An informer is more useful when
38

they are more deeply involved in

criminal activity.
39While they are serving as
informers, there is temptation to
overlook his or her continued
criminal activity.
THINKING POINT
In 2006, Sheriff Harold Franklin Cassell and
40
17 members of his department were arrested
on drug and other charges.
41The accusations involve them stealing
cocaine and marijuana, distributing steroids
and weapons on the street, and possession of
ketamine (often used as a “date-rape” drug) at
a location that sheriff’s deputies used for
parties and extramarital trysts.
42Cassell was the sheriff of a county in Virginia
that only had a population of 58,000 residents.

43 We hear of corruption in major metropolitan

police departments; are you surprised to hear of
this level of corruption in a smaller jurisdiction?
44 How can we prevent police corruption when
illegal drugs provide so many temptations
available to even a small town police officer?

Additional info on statutes and

legal requirements
Conspiracy – an agreement between two or
45
more individuals to commit a criminal act.
46Tax Laws – Internal Revenue Code which
requires residents and citizens to file a tax
return that reveals the source and amount of all
income.
47Money Laundering – Provides for civil
confiscation of any property related to a
scheme.
48Seizure and Forfeiture – Seizure = warrant.
Government has the right of seizure to an arrest
or customs inspection after obtaining a seizure
order. Government also has the right to
forfeiture of property that is used in criminal
activity.

STATUTES AND LEGAL

REQUIREMENTS
49The legal foundation for federal drug
law violations is Title II of the
Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention
and Control Act of 1970 (usually
referred to as the Controlled
Substances Act, or CSA).
 Among the provisions of the CSA is a
50

set of criteria for placing a substance in

one of five schedules.
Following the federal model, most
51

states have established the five-

schedule system.
Across states there is significant
52

variation in the penalties for cocaine-,

marijuana-, methamphetamine-, and
ecstasy-related offenses.

CONSPIRACY
53An agreement between two or more
individuals to commit a criminal act;
54 the agreement becomes the corpus
(body) of the crime.
Requires proof (beyond a reasonable
55

doubt) that
 56 two or more individuals planned to
violate drug laws and that at least
one overt act in furtherance of the
conspiracy was made by a
conspirator.
THINKING POINT
57Patricia Young, now 48, was arrested
in 1992, when one of her eight children
was charged with growing marijuana on
a neighbor's property in Mississippi.
Although Young's record was clean,
58

her husband had one prior arrest for

making bootleg liquor. As a result the
couple was charged with running a
"continuing criminal enterprise," and
Young was sentenced to a mandatory
minimum of 24 and a half years in
prison.

59 Does this penalty seem justified?

 60 What should the standards of
evidence be regarding a conspiracy
charge?

TAX VIOLATIONS
61In 1927 the Supreme Court decided
the case of United States v. Sullivan
(274 U.S. 259), which denied the claim
of self-incrimination as an excuse for
failure to file income tax on illegally
gained earnings.
This decision enabled the federal
62

government to successfully prosecute

Al Capone and members of his
organization.
Drug entrepreneurs have devised
63

ways to successfully evade taxes by, for

example, dealing in cash, keeping
minimal records, and setting up fronts.

MONEY LAUNDERING ACT

64Before passage of the Money Laundering
Control Act of 1986 (Title 18 U.S.C.
Sections 1956 and 1957), money
laundering was not a federal crime.
Legislation enacted in 1988 allows the
65

government to file a suit claiming

ownership of all cash funneled through
operations intended to disguise its illegal
source.
66In 1989 the Supreme Court, in a 5–4
decision, ruled that the government, under
the Comprehensive Forfeiture Act, can
freeze the assets of criminal defendants
before trial (Caplin and Drysdale v. United
States, 491 U.S. 616; United States v.
Monsanto, 491 U.S. 600).

SEIZURE AND
FORFEITURE
67Federal and state statutes provide for
the forfeiture of property that is used in
criminal activity or secured with the
fruits of criminal activity.
68The federal statute now permits
forfeiture of all profits from drug
trafficking and all assets purchased
with such proceeds or traded in
exchange for controlled substances.
69A seizure can be made incident to an
arrest or customs inspection or upon
receipt of a seizure order.

SEIZURE AND
FORFEITURE
70To obtain a seizure order (actually a
warrant), the government must provide
sworn testimony in an affidavit spelling
out the property to be seized and why
there is reason to believe that it is
being used to commit crimes or was
acquired with money from criminal
activity.
 All types of real property used in any
71

manner to facilitate violations of drug

statutes may be seized, including:
currency, buildings, land, motor
vehicles, and airplanes.

SEIZURE AND
FORFEITURE
72The owner of the property has a right
to contest the seizure only after it has
occurred.
There are two types of forfeitures:
73

Criminal and Civil

Criminal forfeiture is applicable only
74

as part of a successful criminal

prosecution.
75Civil forfeiture can proceed even in the
absence of a criminal prosecution, the
level of evidence is considerably less
than that in a criminal action, and the
considerable due process guarantees
are not applicable.

Drug Law Enforcement

Agencies

76 5 Levels:
77 Source Control – actions aimed at limiting
cultivation and production of poppies and opium,
coca and cocaine, and marijuana. Role of the
State Department and the Drug Enforcement
Administration.
78 Interdiction – the interception of drugs being
smuggled into the US. Role of the coast guard and
customs and border protection.
79 Domestic Distribution – the disruption of high-
level trafficking. Role of the Drug Enforcement
Administration and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation.
 80 Wholesaling – the focus on midlevel dealing.
Role of the state and local law enforcement.
81 Street Sales – low-level dealing, often by
addicts supporting their own drug habits. Role of
law enforcement.

LAW ENFORCEMENT
AGENCIES
82 Federal
83 Drug Enforcement Administration
84 Federal Bureau of Investigation
85 Customs Service and Border Protection
86 Immigration and Customs Enforcement
87 Coast Guard
88 Internal Revenue Service-Department of
the Treasury
89 U.S. Marshals Service
90 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives
91 Bureau of Land Management & National
Park Service – Department of the Interior
 92 U.S. Forest Service – Department of
Agriculture
93 Postal Inspection Service
94 Department of Defense

INTERPOL
95The International Police Organization, known
by its telegraphic designation INTERPOL,
assists law enforcement agencies with
investigative activities that transcend
international boundaries.
As of 2009, there were 187 INTERPOL
96
members; a country becomes a member
merely by announcing its intention to join.
97The United States National Central Bureau
(USNCB) is the entity through which the United
States functions as an INTERPOL member and
serves as a point of contact for U.S. federal,
state, local, and tribal law enforcement for the
international exchange of information.
98The USNCB receives about 12,000 requests
for assistance from federal, state, and local law
enforcement agencies each year.

STREET-LEVEL LAW
ENFORCEMENT
99Efficient street-level enforcement is a
strategy worth pursuing, even if there is
displacement—sellers moving to new
locations and becoming more cautious.
100 Street level enforcement can be
divided into three generic categories:
101 Community-wide policing: forging
partnerships and targeting large areas
102 Geographically focused policing:
problem solving strategies to deal with
underlying crime issues
103 Hot spots policing: uses
crackdowns, stings, and reverse stings