Our Santa Ana drug crimes criminal defense lawyers were interested to see a story about a rare reversal of a prison sentence for probation violation. Even more unusually, the story is about a former Chicago Bears football player, "L.A. Mike" Richardson. According to a June 3 story from the Orange County Register, Richardson was on probation for sale of drugs in 2008, when a court found him in violation of that probation and sentenced him to 13 years in prison. But the Fourth District Court of Appeal found this week that Richardson had not violated the part of his probation he was accused of violating, although he may have violated another. It reversed the conviction and set him free after about 18 months in prison.
Richardson was part of the 1986 Super Bowl championship team and one of the Bears who recorded the Super Bowl Shuffle. But he became involved in drugs after retiring, racking up at least 20 drug offenses, including five felonies. The case before the appeals court stemmed from a 2006 arrest, in which officers found crack and amphetamines in Richardson's car. He was sentenced to probation, but was accused of violating that probation after he was found making out with a woman who was also on probation, violating a restriction against associating with other known drug offenders. Richardson was also accused of failing to register as a drug offender when he moved. However, the appeals court found that he had properly registered when he told his probation officer he had moved. And the conviction for associating with the woman who was "disapproved of" by his probation officer was unenforceably vague, the court found.
As Orange drug crimes criminal defense attorneys, we are pleased by this decision. We believe California's prisons are so full in part because we jail nonviolent drug offenders, and the description of Richardson's arrest suggests that he was one of them. People addicted to drugs, including people who sell to maintain their habits, need treatment rather than imprisonment. In Richardson's case, the probation violation arrest made the situation worse by criminalizing what appeared to be legal and harmless conduct, denying him a chance to kick his drug habit and build a new life. As the article notes, Richardson was convicted of associating with someone his probation officer didn't approve of -- a condition that is not only vague, but paternalistic. And because Richardson moved at the direction of his drug treatment counselor and told his probation officer, he was apparently obeying the spirit as well as the letter of his probation agreement.
At HOWARD | NASSIRI PC, we aggressively defend clients accused of drug-related crimes. Here in California, being convicted of a narcotics offense can mean substantial prison time, even when the offense was not violent. Our San Bernardino County drug crimes criminal defense attorneys represent people accused of any drug crime, from possession of drugs, paraphernalia or ingredients to large-scale cultivation and trafficking. Law enforcement officers can be so eager to "bust" drug offenders that they cut corners, make mistakes or violate defendants' civil rights, all of which can considerably weaken their case. We can challenge the legality of a search or a warrant, prove you never "possessed" the drugs or advocate for Drug Court and other reduced or alternative penalties.
HOWARD | NASSIRI offers free, confidential case evaluations, so you risk nothing by speaking to us about your rights and your case. To set one up, call us today at 1-800-872-5925 or send us an email.
