Jail House Lawyer Blog
Oregon's Court Cash Cow
by Donald Nelson on 01/28/12
The United States formally ended the practice of
imprisoning citizens for failure to pay debts in 1833. But Oregon and I suspect
many other states as well have managed to keep this practice alive and well and
in full use today.
The Oregon judicial system is fully aware of the
illegality of the debtor's prison concept. Oregon legislators, most of them
attorneys themselves, have simply renamed Debtors Prison as Contempt of Court
or Failure to comply thereby allowing an arrest warrant if you do not pay.
Oregon Courts are extremely vociferous on what
they will do to you if you don’t comply with their financial terms. They have
been even quieter on the remedy afforded by law to ease the financial burden on
inmates and their families. The silence of the courts can only be interpreted
purposeful. One possible reason for their silence is that by capitalizing on
your ignorance of the law and fear of going back to jail puts them in a “pay up
or go to jail” and the court knows you had rather be out of jail working, going
to school, taking care of your family and other affairs than go to jail.
Here is a likely scenario you might encounter
when the court assesses a fine and what they often do when you are too poor to
pay.
The Court: So, Mr. Jones, we’re here today for
you to explain what you’re going to do to pay this off.
Mr. Jones: I can’t pay your Honor.
The Court: Okay, but you’re going to.
Mr. Jones: But your Honor I can’t do it.
The Court: Okay, Mr. Jones.....For some reason
we’re not communicating alright? You’re not hearing me for some reason. I am
telling you that, yes, you will pay the fine. You’re going to tell me how
you’re going to go about doing that. And I’m not going to accept I cannot. If
the next words out of your mouth are I cannot, Mr. Jones, then you’ll set in
the Sheriff’s Jail until you find a way that, yes, you can. So what kind of
payments can you make to pay this down?
Mr. Jones: Five dollars ($5.00) a month.
Mr. Jones: That’s all I can afford your
Honor........... I live on social security disability and after I pay my
rent/utilities and food for survival I don't have a nickel left over. (Or in
other instances I don't have a job, I have no means of income, I am homeless,
etc.).
The Court: I’m going to order you pay
twenty-five dollars ($25.00) a month until this is paid off. I’m going to show
that we are to come back March 12, at 1 o’clock, at which time the clerk is
going to tell me that she has already received fifty dollars ($50.00) towards
this.
Mr. Jones leaves the court hearing assured that he
will sit in a jail cell until his debt is paid. Does he have any recourse?
Maybe. It depends on how willing he is to stand up and defend himself. Ask
yourself this question. What does he have to lose by standing up to defend himself
against this kind of injustice? He is threatened with lockup anyway. If he
loses he hasn't lost anything. The court could also have ordered him to work off
his fines picking up trash along the road with the sheriff's inmate crews or
working on the courthouse lawns, etc. This kind of sanction is perfectly legal
and fitting. What the court cannot do is throw you in jail for non-payment if
you truly cannot pay.
Keep in mind you don't and will likely never
have a legitimate excuse for breaking the law in the first place. You need to
pay for your crime/infraction whether petty or not. The courts have a long and
successful history collecting fines and are experts in spotting your lame
attempts to scam your way out of paying.
For more information on this and other court
issues go to:
http://www.epluribusunumsite.com
How Marijuana May Cause Psychosis in A Normal Brain
by Donald Nelson on 01/20/12
How
Marijuana May Cause Psychosis in A Normal Brain
Two ingredients in marijuana have opposite effects on certain regions of the brain, according to a new
study.
One chemical, called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), increases the brain
processes that can lead to symptoms of
psychosis, while another compound, called cannabidiol, may negate such symptoms,
according to the study.
Moreover, the findings are the first to use images of the brain to
demonstrate that the reason symptoms of psychosis arise in marijuana users may
be because THC interferes with the brain's ability to distinguish between
stimuli that are important, and those that aren't, according to the study.
The results are detailed today (Jan. 2) in the journal Archives of General
Psychiatry.
Marijuana and the brain
Previous research has found that THC can induce symptoms of psychosis in
healthy people and worsen psychotic symptoms
in people already experiencing them. Long-term cannabis use is also associated
with an increased risk of schizophrenia, according to the study.
In terms of brain processing, psychotic symptoms have been linked to what
researchers call abnormal "salience attribution," meaning that the
brain has difficulty telling the difference between stimuli that are important,
and those that aren't, according to the study.
The study, led by Dr. Sagnik Bhattacharyya, a psychopharmacologist at King's
College in London, included 15 health men who had occasionally used marijuana
in the past. The researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
scans to observe the men's brains after they took pills containing THC,
cannabidiol or a placebo.
While inside the fMRI scanner, the men performed a computer task designed to
measure their abilities to respond to a certain stimulus that was different
from others. The images showed changes in the areas of the brain that are
believed to be linked to symptoms of psychosis, according to the study.
The results showed that THC "significantly increased the severity of
psychotic symptoms compared with placebo," according to the study. By
contrast, there was no difference in psychotic symptoms seen between taking
cannabidiol and a placebo.
The psychotic brain
The study showed that men taking THC had increased activity in the brain
region called the prefrontal cortex, but lower activity in the region called
the striatum. It is possible that these changes happened because THC alters the
brain's levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine, according to the study.
"Altered prefrontal-striatal interactions are thought to be critical in
the pathophysiologic characteristics of psychosis,"
the authors wrote in their conclusion. This is consistent with evidence that
striatal and lateral prefrontal function are altered during salience processing
in patients with psychosis, individuals at ultrahigh risk of psychosis, and
persons in a drug-induced psychotic state
On the other hand, the effects that cannabidiol had on the brain suggested
it has the opposite effect on psychotic symptoms. In line with other studies,
the new results suggest the compound may have potential as an antipsychotic,
the authors wrote.
The researchers noted that in brain imaging studies like this one, there is
the possibility that a drug influences blood flow through the brain, which is
what fMRIs measure, rather than actual activity of a brain region.
Pass it on: The compound THC in marijuana may increase symptoms of
psychosis, while another compound called cannabidiol may decrease those
symptoms.
Has KROKIDIL made a leap from Siberia to America?
by Donald Nelson on 01/20/12
'Bath-Salts'
Injection Leads to Flesh-Eating Disease
MONDAY, Jan. 16 (HealthDay
News) -- The use of street drugs known as "bath salts"
can lead to flesh-eating disease, a new study warns.
It describes the first known case of necrotizing fasciitis
caused by an intramuscular
injection of bath salts.
So-called bath salts are sold as
synthetic powders that "often contain various amphetamine-like
chemicals," according to the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse, which
in February warned that injections might cause the ravaging skin condition.
Study authors Dr. Russell R. Russo,
a third-year orthopedic surgery resident at the Louisiana State University
Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Medicine, and colleagues, saw the
effects firsthand.
They treated a 34-year-old woman who
developed forearm pain and redness after she attended a party. She didn't have
any other symptoms but did have a small red puncture wound on her arm. The
woman eventually admitted that she injected bath salts two days before her
symptoms began.
The doctors reexamined her and determined
that she had necrotizing fasciitis. The disease progressed so rapidly that the
doctors had to amputate the woman's arm, shoulder and collarbone and perform a
radical mastectomy.
The woman later underwent skin grafting
and rehabilitation.
The study was published in the January
issue of the journal Orthopedics.
A Bittersweet Christmas
by Donald Nelson on 12/09/11
Christmas is a bittersweet time for families and children of
those in jails and prisons throughout our great state of
The one thing these children will share is the loneliness and pain
and most will just suffer in the quiet inner self and in silence. They will
think of these events, the missing parent and pack into their hearts those things
that will likely haunt them……. some for the rest of their lives. Some will be
strengthened and be prepared with the absolute resolve that they will be
different and enter their life with success. At the same time others will throw
their lives away and begin a path of destruction that leads to confinement.
As we begin our preparation to begin festivities with our families
in tact; as we sing along with the Christmas Carols in a warm comfortable home where our stockings are hung with great anticiaption of discovering what treasures were given out of love and tradition; it will be easy to
forget the disturbing news that among us right here in our communities and
across this great state of Oregon, inmates children will not feel the joy and
togetherness we feel as we share our blessings with our own families but
loneliness and hunger.
These realities represent the dark side of human struggles. How
sad...how true.
How many of us will pause to think of the inmate children as we
prepare to eat with our intact families from our tables overflowing before us and to think of them and ask
for a blessing of comfort on them? I will.
Will You?
Donald R. Nelson
Krokodil ........The Drug that Eats Junkies!
by Donald Nelson on 11/08/11
Krokodil is the combination of codeine tablets,
iodine, lighter fluid, and industrial cleaning oil, which creates a liquid form
of a synthetic opiate called Desomorphine. The liquid Desomorphine is then
injected into the body similar to Heroin; however, it is many times more
powerful than Heroin. The liquid Desomorphine is called Krokodil because the
user's skin starts developing unpleasant crocodile-like scales, over repeated
use. The scales eventually give way to decaying sores and gray skin. The flesh
soon starts to degenerate and peel away, leaving bones exposed.
Krokodil is such a powerful drug, that users are most often addicted
to the substance after one use. Heroin's physical withdrawal symptoms generally
last for 5-10 days while the pain caused by Krokodil can last up to a month.
The drug is used almost primarily by Heroin addicts who cannot afford the
growing cost of Heroin. While heroin costs from $30 to $100 per dose,
Desomorphine can be "cooked" from codeine-based headache pills that
cost $3 per pack, and other household ingredients available cheaply from
markets.
Krokodil first appeared in Siberia and the Russian Far East around 2002 and within three years it has consumed the entire country. Unofficial estimates indicate that there are approximately 10 million Krokodil users in Russia and the average lifespan of a Krokodil user is 2 to 3 years. There has not been any reported use of Krokodil outside of Russia; however, with the ever growing migration of Eastern Europeans into Western Europe and the availability of the cooking instructions on the internet, it is likely Krokodil use will become popular in other parts of the world. So far there are no known incidences of Krokodil being used in the United States. However with the U.S. using approximately 84% of all the illegal drugs used on the planet, Krokodil could be just one injection away.
Don Nelson, PhD
