Apr 30
Fightin’ the Man - and winning, a little
By Denise Ross
Regular Hoghouse Blog readers might remember the saga of Eric Sage, the attendee of the Sturgis motorcycle rally who wound up charged with drug paraphernalia possession - and later ingestion - after the cops found a pot pipe in the purse of a traveling companion riding in a seperate vehicle. (I swear it’s true.)
Mr. Sage was riding behind this vehicle on a motorcycle and was pulled over for crossing the center line. The accompanying vehicle pulled over to wait for him, and a slew of misdemeanor charges ensued.
Bob Newland over at www.sodaknorml.org has compiled the resulting round of complaints filed by Sage with the SD Highway Patrol, the Pennington County Commission and the SD Bar.
Sage found some traction with the state bar, and the prosecutor who handled the case has been formally admonished for violating bar rules against prosecuting a case not supported by probable cause and for unnecessarily burdening a third party.
Read it all here. (Pour yourself a big bowl of Cherrios. It’s a long read, but worth the time and worth taking in both sides.)
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Looks like Newland had a ball writing Eric’s letters. How fun it must have been. Keep “up” the good fight Bob.
Having been unjustly railed by the law myself on a few occasions, I can completely understand Eric’s plight. You have my full support my friend. You know you do.
This is one reason I support Ron Paul. Let the police concentrate on crimes that damage people and property! The war on drugs reminds me of the war in Iraq. Tax drugs and we could pay for Social Security and Iraq. There might be some left over to maintain our roads and bridges. I plan on dropping a small check, in the mail, for Eric and Bob Newland. I wish I had their guts and persistance. “Dare” to buck the system. It’s the American thing to do.