News (Media Awareness Project) - US FL: Justices Should Reject Disabled Man's Drug Appeal |
| Title: | US FL: Justices Should Reject Disabled Man's Drug Appeal |
| Published On: | 2007-02-05 |
| Source: | Bradenton Herald (FL) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-01-12 16:08:13 |
STATE -- JUSTICES SHOULD REJECT DISABLED MAN'S DRUG APPEAL
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A wheelchair-bound man's appeal of a drug
trafficking conviction for obtaining large amounts of prescription
drugs he said were to control severe pain should be rejected, the
state argued in papers filed Monday with the Florida Supreme Court.
Richard Paey, now serving a 25-year minimum mandatory prison
sentence, contends an appellate court misapplied the state's drug
trafficking law when it upheld his conviction in December even though
there was no evidence he ever sold or distributed the painkillers.
Lawyers for Attorney General Bill McCollum replied that Paey failed
to allege sufficient grounds to warrant the Supreme Court's jurisdiction.
They contended the 2nd District Court of Appeal's 2-1 decision did
not "expressly" declare the trafficking law to be valid, nor did it
"expressly" construe a provision of the state or federal
constitution. The state also argued it did not directly conflict with
decisions of other appellate courts or the Supreme Court.
The law at issue classifies the possession of large amounts of
controlled substances as trafficking regardless of they were sold or
distributed.
Paey's lawyers contend the justices should take jurisdiction in part
because the 2nd District misconstrued a 1981 Supreme Court ruling
that upheld the law. In that case, the high court wrote the minimum
mandatory penalty should apply "from the importer-organizer down to
the pusher on the street."
The Pasco County man contends he was not part of any trafficking
scheme and possessed the drugs strictly for medical use.
A former lawyer and father of three, Paey injured his back in a 1985
car crash and suffers from multiple sclerosis. He said only large
amounts of strong narcotics calmed his pain.
Prosecutors alleged that using forged prescriptions to obtain so many
pills meant he had to be selling them. Paey said he got undated
prescription forms from a New Jersey doctor because Florida
physicians were reluctant to prescribe drugs in the amounts he needs.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A wheelchair-bound man's appeal of a drug
trafficking conviction for obtaining large amounts of prescription
drugs he said were to control severe pain should be rejected, the
state argued in papers filed Monday with the Florida Supreme Court.
Richard Paey, now serving a 25-year minimum mandatory prison
sentence, contends an appellate court misapplied the state's drug
trafficking law when it upheld his conviction in December even though
there was no evidence he ever sold or distributed the painkillers.
Lawyers for Attorney General Bill McCollum replied that Paey failed
to allege sufficient grounds to warrant the Supreme Court's jurisdiction.
They contended the 2nd District Court of Appeal's 2-1 decision did
not "expressly" declare the trafficking law to be valid, nor did it
"expressly" construe a provision of the state or federal
constitution. The state also argued it did not directly conflict with
decisions of other appellate courts or the Supreme Court.
The law at issue classifies the possession of large amounts of
controlled substances as trafficking regardless of they were sold or
distributed.
Paey's lawyers contend the justices should take jurisdiction in part
because the 2nd District misconstrued a 1981 Supreme Court ruling
that upheld the law. In that case, the high court wrote the minimum
mandatory penalty should apply "from the importer-organizer down to
the pusher on the street."
The Pasco County man contends he was not part of any trafficking
scheme and possessed the drugs strictly for medical use.
A former lawyer and father of three, Paey injured his back in a 1985
car crash and suffers from multiple sclerosis. He said only large
amounts of strong narcotics calmed his pain.
Prosecutors alleged that using forged prescriptions to obtain so many
pills meant he had to be selling them. Paey said he got undated
prescription forms from a New Jersey doctor because Florida
physicians were reluctant to prescribe drugs in the amounts he needs.
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