BILLS AIM TO GIVE JUDGES LEEWAY

Officials Mixed On Whether Mandatory Minimum Drug Sentences Should Be
Scrapped, As New Legislation Proposes

TRAVERSE CITY - Legislation to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for
drug offenders would be a victory for justice and judicial discretion or
would invite downstate drug dealers to ply their trade in northern Michigan,
people of varying opinions in the law enforcement community say.

The bills passed overwhelmingly Tuesday in the House and now move to the
Senate.

The legislation requires judges to follow state sentencing guidelines when
sending drug criminals to prison. But it gives judges more discretion by
eliminating minimum sentences.

"I think this is great, just as a matter of public policy," said Randy
Smith, an attorney who represented one of two men sentenced to 20 to 30
years in prison after police arrested them in possession of cocaine after a
shooting at an East Bay Township hotel in June 2001.

Smith believes that if the judge would have been allowed to exercise
discretion and take into account the circumstances involved in the crime,
his client would have been sent to prison for a much shorter term because he
was a 22-year-old, low-level drug dealer.

"You have kids from the inner city who were attracted because of the ability
to make a lot of money in a short time and they didn't even realize the
breadth of what they're getting into," Smith said.

Traverse Narcotics Team Lt. Kip Belcher said he supports mandatory minimums
because he believes they have a deterrent effect in northern Michigan.

The hefty sentences handed out in the aftermath of the East Bay hotel case
sent a message and investigators have seen smaller amounts of cocaine in the
area since then, he said.

"It's had a dramatic impact. Grand Rapids, Detroit and Chicago dealers think
twice (before) sending up large volumes," Belcher said. "We've sent notice
to the people that were responsible that we aren't going to tolerate it in
this area."

Under the mandatory minimum law, for instance, someone possessing 225 to 650
grams of cocaine must be sentenced to at least 20 years and up to 30 years
in prison. The bills would eliminate the 20-year minimum, allowing the judge
to sentence the criminal for any time up to 30 years.

Bill sponsor Rep. Bill McConico, D-Detroit, said Michigan's mandatory life
law for criminals possessing more than 650 grams of drugs was meant to
target drug kingpins, not first-time offenders.

"For too long our prisons and judicial system have been clogged with petty
drug criminals while the system has not the time or the resources to
seriously deal with much more serious crimes," he said. "We should allow
judges to do their job and ensure that the time fits the crime."

The bills eliminate lifetime probation in favor of five-year probation for
some drug criminals. They also change sentencing guidelines to increase
points against those who are repeatedly convicted of selling drugs or are
convicted of selling to minors or in the presence of minors.

McConico said the bill could apply retroactively to thousands of prisoners.
He said Gov. John Engler has promised to sign the bill if it passes the
Senate.

Circuit Judge Philip Rodgers, who this year chairs the legislative committee
for the Michigan Judges' Association, said he supports the bills because
they allow judges to consider a variety of factors when passing sentence,
such as culpability, a person's criminal record and how far up a defendant
is in the supply chain.

On Monday, Rodgers departed from a mandatory minimum sentence in a cocaine
case in Leelanau County, saying he felt he needed to take into account the
46-year-old woman's lack of a prior criminal record and her minimal
involvement in the crime.

The bills "would allow you to fashion a sentence that's appropriate to the
individual," Rodgers said. "These are not bills that are designed to let
significant drug dealers out of prison."