Appeals court overturns drug stamp conviction

Associated Press

MILWAUKEE (AP) A man's conviction for failing to buy a tax stamp to
place on illegal drugs has been overturned, because the state Supreme Court
ruled earlier that the law was unconstitutional.

The 1st District Court of Appeals in Milwaukee said Tuesday that the higher
court's ruling required it to reverse James D. Curtis's drug tax conviction.

The 1990 law required dealers of cocaine, marijuana, LSD or hallucinogenic
mushrooms to buy stamps from the state Department of Revenue and display
them on their drugs.

Curtis, 21, of Milwaukee, was convicted in October 1995 of the drug tax
violation, marijuana possession and obstructing and resisting an officer.

The state Supreme Court in January ruled the drug stamp law violated the
constitutional protection against selfincrimination.

Curtis had been sentenced to the maximum five years in prison for the tax
violation, but that was stayed pending the Supreme Court's ruling on the
law's constitutionality, Milwaukee County Assistant District Attorney Ron
Dague said.

It is unclear how many drug tax convictions could be overturned as a result
of the Supreme Court ruling, Dague said.

''Whether or not decisions by the Supreme Court are retroactive for people
who have not filed an appeal is often a hotly contested issue,'' he said.

People convicted of violating the drug stamp law usually also faced another
narcotics charge, Dague said.

Since the drug tax was enacted June 1, 1990, the Department of Revenue sold
$2,883 worth of stamps and collected about $1.6 million in penalties from
drug dealers.

The appeals court also ordered a new trial on the other two charges Curtis
faced, ruling that Circuit Judge Jeffrey Kremers should not have presided
over the case after Curtis requested a different judge.

Curtis was released from prison in February.

He since has been charged with possession of cocaine with intent to
deliver, resisting arrest and battery to a police officer, Dague said.
Trial is scheduled in September.

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