Judges Speak Out Against Drug Prohibition

Website of Judicial Opposition to the War on Drugs Launched

(PRWEB) April 28, 2004 -- Judges Against the Drug War" (http://www.judgesagainstthedrugwar.org/), a website launched today as a collaborative effort between the Center for Cognitive Liberty & Ethics and the Marijuana Policy Project, is a free online database of judicial opinions critical of the governments War on Drugs. These opinions, collected from state and federal jurisdictions since 1970 to the present date, contain first-hand observations of judges presiding over drug cases. The collection is the first of its kind and represents a unique historical record of judicial dissent against national drug policy.

When judges, the cornerstones of the American justice system, speak out against the war on drugs, they not only change public opinion, but they can also change the law itself. Yet, when brave judges express their thoughts on the drug war, it is usually in the pages of legal opinions and not in more widely read editorial pages. The fact that these forceful assessments of drug prohibition are buried in legal opinions means they often go unheard by the public and unnoticed by other judges or policy makers.

Judges Against the Drug War" aims to give these vitally important critiques new exposure. Attorney Richard Glen Boire, Director of the Center for Cognitive Liberty & Ethics, the organization that created the website, states that, judges are often isolated and unaware of what other judges are thinking about the war on drugs. We hope the website will provide a kind of support system for judges who would otherwise not speak out."

The website will serve as a resource of persuasive arguments against drug prohibition that should be of particular interest to reporters and other writers. The quotes are presented in a clear, professional format with links to the full-text opinions online, which will facilitate citation. The collection may be searched for opinions by a specific judge or those of a given court. Because legal opinions are in the public domain, they are not subject to copyright and may be freely quoted, reproduced, and distributed.

For more information contact:
Richard Glen Boire, J.D.
at the Center for Cognitive Liberty & Ethics
Tel./Fax (530) 750-7912
E-mail: info@cognitiveliberty.org

The Center for Cognitive Liberty & Ethics is a non-profit law and policy organization dedicated to promoting freedom of thought. Our mission is to develop and implement public policies respect and protect the full potential and autonomy of the human intellect. For more information on our organization and the issues we investigate, visit the CCLEs Web site at http://www.cognitiveliberty.org