The 2nd Republican presidential debate was held a few weeks ago, on Wednesday September 16th. The top 11 candidates presented their opinions on a wide range of issues, and four candidates spoke about criminal justice reform. All agreed that the current criminal justice system in this country isn’t working, and that reforms need to be made as soon as possible.
Republican presidential candidate, Carly Fiorina, emphatically summarized the importance of this issue this way:
“We do need criminal justice reform. We have the highest incarceration rates in the world. Two-thirds of the people in our prisons are there for non-violent offenses, mostly drug related. It’s clearly not working.”
Legalization of marijuana was one hot-button issue among the candidates. The issue of states’ versus federal jurisdiction arose several times. Senator Rand Paul said that he would like to see more states focus on rehabilitation and less on incarceration, and that the federal government has overstepped by passing legislation for or against legalization. He also mentioned the devastating racial consequences of the war on drugs (many more black and Hispanic people are incarcerated versus white people).
“Not only do the drugs damage them, we damage them again by incarcerating them and then preventing them from getting employment over time.” This one statement sums up a large part of the criminal justice system problems in this country perfectly.
Governor Jeb Bush spoke about his personal experience of using marijuana when he was young, but quickly moved on to say that this country is dealing with a serious drug problem. He said it’s the government’s role to provide more treatment, more prevention measures, and more drug courts to give people second chances, instead of just sending them to jail. “That’s the best way to do this”—meaning curbing drug use rates, including marijuana.
Then the conversation turned to corrections reform measures, when Governor Chris Christie highlighted that New Jersey is the first state to mandate that non-violent, non-dealing drug users be sent to mandatory drug treatment, not to jail, like other states. “I think the war on drugs has been a failure,” and implementing reform measures like the ones in New Jersey is the best approach.
However, he then took a more traditional Republican stance by saying that states shouldn’t legalize gateway drugs like marijuana because the individual is not the only victim—their families and employers are too. So he advocates for enforcing current federal laws in all states, even if certain ones, such as Colorado, have laws in place allowing for its legal use.
Carly Fiorina mentioned how she and her husband lost a child to drug addiction, and emphasized investing more in drug treatment programs. She also spoke about educating young people about the dangers of drug use—explaining that smoking marijuana isn’t just like having a beer. She said the federal government should honor states’ rights while addressing drug addiction as an epidemic that must be stopped.
It’s great to see the Republican presidential candidates taking the issue of criminal justice reform so seriously. It appears that it’ll be one of the forefront issues this presidential election season, since the Democratic debates have also touched on it as well. So many states have passed criminal justice reform measures, especially California with the passage of Proposition 47 last year.
If you have a criminal case that may be affected by this shifting political climate, capitalize on it by getting the best criminal defense attorney in all of Southern California on your side—Dan Chambers of the Chambers Law Firm. He always stays up-to-date on political and policy updates that could be beneficial for his clients.
Schedule a free initial appointment today to see what Attorney Chambers could do for you—and get personalized legal counsel right away! Call 714-760-4088, email dchambers@clfca.com, or use the chat box below to set up a time to talk with Attorney Chambers ASAP.
Check back to this blog often to see more news about upcoming Republican and Democratic presidential debates, as well as criminal justice reform developments that could affect your case.
