Florida is one of two states (the other is Washington) afflicted with drug possession statutes that don’t require the government to prove criminal intent. The statute permits defendants to offer an affirmative defense of "unwitting possession" – which means that the defendant, not the state, has the burden of proof. The state Supreme Court, ruling the recent case of Florida v. Adkins, has rejected a challenge to that statute filed on behalf of dozens of defendants awaiting trial on drug possession charges.
"There is no constitutional right to possess contraband," insisted Justice Charles Canady in the majority opinion. "Nor is there a protected right to be ignorant of the nature of the property in one’s possession."
Like most rulings of this kind, Canady’s opinion begins with the totalitarian premise that the powers exercised by government are presumptively constitutional – and that it is the actions of the individual that must be justified. This inverts the American perspective on law, in which government can exercise only those powers explicitly delegated to it in the applicable constitution (state or federal).
Is it any wonder that it's time for me to leave the state. http://live-free-in-an-unfree-world.com
No comments:
Post a Comment