From: Albertus Magnus Area: Magical Plants To: All 17 Jul 94 21:28:56 Subject: Good place to get busted UpdReq Associated Press COUNTY ATTORNEY MAKES WAVES BY DISMISSING MARIJUANA CASES Decatur--Law enforcement officers in Wise County haul offenders to jail. But if they're accused marijuana users or first-time drunk drivers, County Attorney Stephen Hale generally lets them back out. While officers say they're baffled by Hale's policy, the 41-year old county attorney says it is within his discretion to dispose of misdemeanor cases as he sees fit. "The cops don't like me for not sending everybody they arrest to jail, but I'm just being realistic," Hale said. Hale supervises four legal assistants. His office handles DWI and marijuana cases, as well as cases for hot checks, juvenile crimes, speeding tickets, and protective orders--about 4,000 cases a year, he said. "It might be popular in other counties to make political stands and be tough on DWI's, but if I did that, my docket would come to a screeching halt, 'he said. "It's more honest to do what I'm doing than have a bunch of cases dismissed because you couldn't get to them in a timely fashion." Law enforcers say Hale is soft on crime. "I think he's lost," Bridgeport police Chief Larry Goss said. "If he can't uphold the office, he ought to resign." "It's like we're going in different directions," said Sgt. Robert Rankin, the top Texas Department of Public Safety trooper in Wise County. One hundred eighteen cases involving misdemeanor marijuana possession of less than 4 ounces have been dismissed completely, most "in the interest of justice," according to notations on dockets. Hale, who says he once was a "long-haired hippie," has stated openly that he believes marijuana should be decriminalized. He served a three-year felony probation in the mid-1970's for possessing "a good-sized baggie" of marijuana while he was a soldier stationed in Florida. Hale realizes that his philosophies irritate critics, but he said he has no time to worry. He has only two days a month to try all of his criminal cases before the county's only court-at-law judge. "It would take 20 years to try everything I have pending right now," he said. The court-at-law judge, Melton Cude, said he believes that Hale is doing a better job as county attorney than predecessors. Other county attorneys kept private practices on the side, while Hale, who earns $29,600 annually, devotes his full attention to elected office. 201434369420143436942014343694201434369420143436942014343694718