{"id":1362,"date":"2019-10-01T17:14:35","date_gmt":"2019-10-01T17:14:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/?p=1362"},"modified":"2019-10-01T17:14:35","modified_gmt":"2019-10-01T17:14:35","slug":"marion-county-grants-legal-leniency-for-minor-marijuana-offenses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/marion-county-grants-legal-leniency-for-minor-marijuana-offenses\/","title":{"rendered":"Marion County Grants Legal Leniency for Minor Marijuana Offenses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A BIG announcement was made yesterday by the Marion County\nProsecutor\u2019s Office regarding simple marijuana cases. Continue reading to learn\nmore about the legendary changes made to the Marion County laws surrounding\nminor marijuana possession and consumption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Indianapolis
Indianapolis Marijuana Lawyer\n317-636-7514<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Standard Marijuana Penalties in Indiana<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Traditionally, anyone who is caught in possession of, using,\ndistributing, selling, or manufacturing marijuana would be subjected to strict\ncriminal charges. For example, a person caught with under 30 grams of marijuana\nthat has no prior drug offenses would face up to six months in jail, up to $1,000\nin fines (not including court costs and probation fees), and charged with a Class\nB misdemeanor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, in a news conference in Indianapolis on Monday,\nSeptember 30th<\/sup>, the Marion County Prosecutor\u2019s Office made a big announcement.\nThey have officially decreed that they will NOT<\/strong> prosecute minor marijuana offenses anymore! Here\u2019s what Prosecutor\nRyan Mears had to say:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToo often, an arrest for marijuana possession puts\nindividuals into the system who otherwise would not be. That is not a win for\nour community. (\u2026) The enforcement of marijuana policy has disproportionately\nimpacted people of color, and this is a first step to addressing that.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He went on to say, \u201cOur priority is violent crime. (\u2026) We\nare not going to mess around with these small possession of marijuana cases.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even the former chief deputy prosecutor acknowledged that\nminor marijuana offenses were clogging up the court system, overcrowding jails,\nand exhausting resources that should be put toward violent crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, Indiana Attorney General, Curtis Hill, is\nconcerned about the prosecutor\u2019s decision, stating, \u201cI respect and support the\nfact that prosecutors have absolute discretion in deciding when to file\ncriminal charges and how to allocate their resources. Typically, though,\nprosecutors carefully exercise this discretion on a case-by-case basis rather\nthan proclaiming that in all cases they will ignore a particular state law not\nto their liking. I am concerned that this proclamation in Marion County will\nattract to Indianapolis people with a particular interest in communities where\ndrug enforcement is lax. It seems to me a curious strategy to put out a welcome\nmat for lawbreakers in a community already facing challenges related to crime,\nhomelessness and other social problems stemming from drug abuse.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the Indianapolis Fraternal Order of Police is openly rejecting\nthe prosecutor\u2019s decision, submitting a statement saying, \u201c(\u2026) While we\nrecognize and value prosecutorial discretion, our law enforcement officers have\nsignificant concerns anytime a single person elects to unilaterally not enforce\na state law as a matter of practice or policy. We are attempting to better\nunderstand the basis for this decision and any potential unintended outcomes.\nIn the interim, it is our understanding the IMPD Chief of Police has directed\nofficers to continue to enforce the laws as proscribed by the State of Indiana\nand we strongly concur.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What You Should Take From All This<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

So what does all this mean for Marion County residents and visitors? It means that anyone over the age of 18 years old will no longer face the above-mentioned criminal penalties for minor possession of marijuana. In fact, since the announcement, Marion County has dismissed eight out of ten minor marijuana possession cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marijuana crimes that will continue to be prosecuted include driving while intoxicated (DWI), public consumption, growing, dealing, and trafficking. So do not go to the park and light one up. Only minor possession of marijuana is being dismissed as a chargeable offense. Furthermore, it is just <\/em>Marion County that has made this announcement, which means that all other counties still adhere to the conventional state laws governing all types of marijuana offenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expunging Marijuana Convictions<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Not only is the Marion County prosecutor currently examining\nover 350 pending drug cases to see where improvements can be made, he is planning\nto assist those who have minor marijuana possession convictions with criminal\nrecord expungement. So if you have been convicted of minor marijuana possession\nin the past, talk to an Indiana criminal expungement lawyer as soon as possible\nto learn your rights to sealing or destroying such records. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Trusted Indianapolis Marijuana Crime Lawyer <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Contact Attorney David E. Lewis at 317-636-7514<\/strong> to learn everything you need to know about the new Marion County marijuana laws. If you are facing marijuana charges in Indiana<\/a>, or any other type of drug charge, he can help you avoid the maximum penalties for your crimes. He will work around the clock using every resource in his grasp to build you an impactful defense that may reduce or dismiss your drug charges in Indiana. He also offers assistance with criminal record expungement, with rates starting as low as $850!<\/strong> Call to schedule a consultation, today!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Indianapolis
Schedule a Free Consultation Today!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A BIG announcement was made yesterday by the Marion County Prosecutor\u2019s Office regarding simple marijuana cases. Continue reading to learn more about the legendary changes made to the Marion County laws surrounding minor marijuana possession and consumption. Standard Marijuana Penalties … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1363,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,250,69,61],"tags":[648,214,269,840,841,838,647],"class_list":["post-1362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-criminal-defense","category-criminal-record-expungement","category-drug-crimes","category-misdemeanor-charges","tag-criminal-record-expungement-attorney-indiana","tag-drug-crime-lawyer-indianapolis","tag-indiana-marijuana-laws","tag-marijuana-cases-marion-county","tag-marijuana-charges-indianapolis","tag-marijuana-laws-marion-county","tag-marijuana-lawyer-indianapolis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1362","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1362"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1362\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1364,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1362\/revisions\/1364"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}