DOUBLE JEOPARDY?

Drug Convictions Cost Students Their Financial Aid

Double jeopardy is more than just part of a television game show.
According to the group Students for a Sensible Drug Policy, once a
provision to the Higher Education Act was added in 2000, 200,000
students have had to face double jeopardy. If a student is guilty of
a drug conviction, he is ineligible for federal aid.

Phil DeSenze, a junior in political science and treasurer of the
local Ohio State branch of the SSDP said this has not always been the
case. DeSenze said that, until recently, a drug conviction before
entering college could prevent a student from receiving aid, thus
turning many students away from college.

In a United States district court in South Dakota, the American Civil
Liberties Union is prepared to represent the SSDP in a lawsuit
against the United States Department of Education. The ACLU filed the
lawsuit on March 22 and now the government has 60 days to respond in court.

"Basically what we're asking the court to do is rule that the penalty
is unconstitutional," said Tom Angell, SSDP campaigns director. "And
then, in terms of the individual plaintiffs, they are hoping to
become eligible to apply for aid again."

Allen Hopper, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU Drug Reform
Project said in an e-mail that the goal of the case is "to end
punitive drug policies that cause the widespread violation of
constitutional and human rights."

The Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution states that a
person cannot be punished more than once for the same crime. Some say
this process, known as double jeopardy, is what more than 200,000
students have had to face since 2000, after receiving a drug
conviction and then losing their financial aid.

"We don't think access to education should be lost as collateral
damage in the war on drugs," Angell said in reference to the punishment.

This will be the first time that a case regarding the drug conviction
provision of the Higher Education Act will be challenged in court.
Angell said this is something that the SSDP has tried to get Congress
to change, because it "would just be common sense for Congress to get
rid of this law."

Many students who lose their financial aid because of double jeopardy
end up not being able to go to college because they simply cannot afford it.

This can lead to problems in the future.

On average, those who go to college end up making more money and have
a better career than those who don't pursue any sort of education
after high school. The ACLU said in an e-mail from Hopper, "We hope
the courts will see fit to strike down this irrational and
unconstitutional barrier to education."

The general consensus of the SSDP and the ACLU is that this provision
is unfair to those who have made a mistake in life, many now cannot
receive an education unless they can completely support themselves
without federal financial aid.

When asked if the ACLU would be prepared to appeal the case in the
event that the case was lost, Hopper said in his e-mail that "the
ACLU is prepared to take this case all the way to the Supreme Court,
should it prove necessary."

The entire complaint that is being filed in court can be found online
at www.ssdp.org/lawsuit/HEA-lawsuit.pdf and more information
regarding the issue will appear in the local SSDP edition of Hempfest
Journal, which comes out April 20.