10.  The big firm lawyer: usually hired by the corporate father of the arrestee, they take the case in order to keep him from pulling away their other business, but they stick some junior associate on the case to hold hands and take whatever the prosecutor offers.

9.  The real estate lawyer:  They handled your house closing, so they have to be able to handle your DUI case, right?  Too bad 99% of house closing lawyers rarely set foot in a courthouse, let alone a classroom to learn about DUI defense.  They treat their case like a closing – follow a checklist and close it out.

8.  The “general practice” lawyer – they can handle anything, and everything – just not well.  They are trying to run a practice where they know everything about personal injury, bankruptcy, business organizations, wills, trusts and estates, and DUI.  Try being a jack of all trades and you become a master of none.

7.  The “Friend” who got a DUI.  Tells you that you don’t need a lawyer, tells you everything works out fine because their case was exactly the same.  Forgets to tell you that they don’t practice law, and can’t identify the legal issues that can mean the difference between winning and losing

6.  The Jail Mail lawyer:  sends out letters to everyone arrested saying they can help you and starts talking about how they resolve cases before ever even seeing the police report.  How can someone identify a good defense or a weakness in the states case if they haven’t done any investigation or even read the report?  They can’t – if they are telling you how it will resolve before they see these things – run!

5.  The divorce lawyer.  They bill by the hour and get paid for talking to you about your case.  They don’t have the training in the science, but they have no problem sounding like they do using lawyer talk and double speak.  The best part is that they tell you that they can handle a case when they spend their days arguing with exes about money – not keeping people out of jail.  Alimony may be a few years, but a conviction is a life sentence of a black mark.

4.  The Newbie.  Just out of law school.  Really, really needs work, and in this economy will take a case for $50 down and $50 a month.  Could be a great lawyer in a few years, once they have studied, but right now doesn’t even realize how much they need to learn.  The price is right, or so you think, but you could pay a higher price in the end.

3.  The Friend of a Friend.  The nice guy lawyer who tells you he will do you a favor.  Just meet him at the courthouse on your court date.  No money necessary – it’s just a favor for a friend.  Too bad he’s gonna put in about 5 minutes of work into your case – arriving just before you and getting a standard offer from the prosecutor, and give you all of 5 more minutes to decide what to do.

2.  The Undercutter.  Tell you he will do the case for $1000 less than the other guy.  If he values his time so poorly – can he really value you at all?

1.  The DUI mill.  Handles hundreds of DUI cases a year, yet put no time or effort into learning about the science of DUI or is ever seen on trial.  Walks you into court with a half dozen or more other clients and resolves your case exactly the same way, every time.  Come back tomorrow and you will see the same thing over and over.  Done with work by noon, and living a nice life while you ride the bus to work.

The Comprehensive Drug Abuse and Control Act of 1970 repealed most of the earlier federal anti-drug laws in favor of a comprehensive regime to combat the international and interstate traffic of illicit drugs.  The original enactment consists of three titles: Title I relates to the prevention and treatment of narcotic addicts through the Department of Health and Human Services; Title II addresses drug control and enforcement as administered by the Attorney General and the Drug Enforcement Administration; and Title III concerns the import and export of controlled substances.

Title II of the Act, codified as Subchapter 1 under 21 U.S.C.A. §§ 801 to 904, is popularly known as the “Controlled Substances Act”, or simply the “CSA.”  The CSA categorizes controlled substances into five schedules depending on their accepted medical uses, potential for abuse, and psychological and physical effects on the body.  Each schedule is associated with a distinct set of controls regarding the manufacture, distribution, and use of the substances listed therein, and the applicable provisions set forth strict requirements regarding registration, labeling, packaging, production quotas, drug security, and record-keeping.  The CSA specifies prohibited acts and penalties and sets forth administrative and enforcement provisions. The Drug Enforcement Administration enforces the laws and regulations set forth in the CSA.

While the CSA authorizes federal prosecution for almost any drug offense, the DEA tends to focus its time and resources on the most serious offenders, who engage in serious interstate trafficking of controlled substances, which leaves the majority of drug crime offenders to be prosecuted by the states.  One important aspect of the Conncticut drug prosecution scheme is that it protects defendants from being subject to the “double jeopardy” and piling on of penalties that would result from both state and federal prosecution for the same offense.  CGSA § 21a-282 provides:

 No prosecution where federal action has been taken

No person shall be prosecuted for a violation of any provision of sections 21a-243 to 21a-282, inclusive, if such person has been acquitted or convicted under the federal Controlled Substances Act [FN1] or under the federal food and drug laws for the same act or omission which, it is alleged, constitutes a violation of said sections.

It is important for any defendant facing drug charges to understand whether she is being prosecuted under state or federal law, and to employ a qualified criminal defense attorney in either case.  Fortunately, in Connecticut, she will be subject to one or the other, not both.