Rhode Island DUI Lawyer, RI DUI, Criminal Defense Attorney, Domestic Assault & Battery, Personal Injury

Rhode Island Criminal Defense Attorney

S. JOSHUA MACKTAZ, Esquire

A Former Rhode Island State Prosecutor

 

18 Years of Successful Rhode Island Criminal Law Experience. Don’t Settle for Less.

Rhode Island Marijuana Attorney Interviewed by Lawyers Weekly

 

Profiled TWICE by Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly, Rhode Island Marijuana Lawyer S. Joshua Macktaz talks about developments with RI Law's and landmark cases regarding marijuana and medicial marijuana in Rhode Island.

October 2010 Interview - CLICK HERE

September 2009 Interview - CLICK HERE

 

october 2010

A quick word with ... S. Joshua Macktaz

Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly

Published: October 14, 2010

By Matt Yas

Age: 42

Graduated: Suffolk University Law School (1993)

Bar admission: 1993

Job: Sole practitioner, Providence

Practice area: Criminal defense, including marijuana crimes

 In 2009, Lawyers Weekly spoke to S. Joshua Macktaz, an experienced defense lawyer in cases involving marijuana possession and distribution, about the effect of the Legislature’s approval of marijuana “compassion centers” and the drug’s recent decriminalization in Massachusetts.

A year later, Macktaz has found himself at the center of a case that could serve as an important wake-up call to authorities in this new era of marijuana-friendly legislation.

Lawyers Weekly’s Matt Yas recently spoke to Macktaz about the case and the potential hazards of trying to navigate the corresponding new regulations and procedures.

Q. Tell me about the case.
A. My client is a Massachusetts resident who went to California on a job search. While he was there, he obtained a medical marijuana license. He returned home and was stopped for speeding by police in Cranston. He explained that he had 29.5 grams of marijuana in the car and showed them his license. But when the officers found $4,400 in $20s and $50s in the glove box — money given to him by family members for an investment — he was arrested and charged with simple possession. The police seized the marijuana and turned the money over to the federal authorities — the DEA — for forfeiture.

Q. The police were suspicious. How was the procedure improper?
A. The AG’s Office has its own forfeiture unit. The state can’t just turn over [suspected drug money] to the feds on a simple possession charge. The judge [Pamela Woodlock-Pfeiffer] said she had never seen it happen before, that it never should have happened. It was unprecedented.

Q. There was another first in the case, regarding the marijuana itself.
A. Yes. After a Cranston prosecutor dismissed the drug charge, the judge ordered the marijuana returned to my client. As far as I know, this was the first time in Rhode Island that any narcotic has ever been ordered returned by a judge. The medical marijuana bill was passed quite recently here, and it honors every other [medical marijuana-related] state law, including California’s, which allows the licensee to carry up to two ounces legally.

Q. What’s the status of the money?
A. While two different judges have said the money never should have gone to federal agents, they can’t return what they don’t have. Even though the case was dismissed, the civil forfeiture standard does not require proof beyond a reasonable doubt, just a preponderance of evidence. But, of course, it never should have happened in the first place, because the statute requires something more serious than simple possession for forfeiture.

Q. Do you think this case will serve as a template on how to handle this emerging area of law going forward?
A. Frankly, no, I don’t think so. The case was resolved with a settlement; it didn’t go to the Supreme Court. But I think it may have the effect of having this city review its procedures and re-train its officers. RILW

 

Published on October 14, 2010 in the RI Lawyers Weekly Blog and found on newstands through out Rhode Island in the Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly's September 14th publication. RILawyersWeekly.com is a subscription based online publication available to the public.

Contact Rhode Island Marijuana Lawyer S. Joshua Macktaz by Email or call today at (401) 861-1155 and we will respond to you as soon as possible.

For more information on Marijuana Crimes and Defense Lawyer services in Rhode Island visit our pages dedicated to Marijuana Laws and Criminal Defense in Rhode Island:

• Rhode Island Marijuana Information - Marijuana Possession and other Marijuana Crimes Defense in Rhode Island
• Drug Laws and Penalties In Rhode Island
• Rhode Island Criminal Defense

 

 

September 2009

A quick word with ... S. Joshua Macktaz

Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly

Published: September 10, 2009

Printed: September 14, 2009 issue

By Matt Yas

Age: 41

Graduated: Suffolk University Law School (1993)

Bar admission: 1993

Job: Sole practitioner, Providence

Practice area: Criminal defense, including marijuana crimes

A former special assistant attorney general, S. Joshua Macktaz has handled more than a thousand cases involving misdemeanor and felony marijuana possession, sale and distribution. In 1997, he left the AG’s Office and became a defense attorney. He discussed with Lawyers Weekly’s Matt Yas the issue of marijuana decriminalization and the Legislature’s passage of a bill earlier this year approving marijuana “compassion centers.”

What draws you specifically to marijuana cases?

For one thing, they’re easy to defend. They’re just not treated as harshly anymore. Since the changes in the laws, offenders are much more likely to have their cases dismissed or receive community service and expungement of the charges.

So the recent legislative changes have had a tangible effect?

No question. I am constantly citing the Massachusetts decriminalization of marijuana and the Legislature’s approval of compassion centers here in Rhode Island, a bill that passed on an override of the governor’s veto. These examples of the changes in perception about marijuana serve as effective arguments in court, particularly in the towns.

Can you cite an example of this turning tide toward more compassionate rulings?

I had a case involving two professional clients — one a special needs teacher — who attended the annual Charlestown Music Festival. An undercover cop witnessed what appeared to be a joint being passed around. He observed my clients partaking in, then disposing of and stomping out, the cigarette — so, clearly guilty. The case was dismissed in exchange for community service and a donation to the City Solicitor’s Victims’ Fund.

What are your feelings, as a citizen first and a lawyer second, about the illegal status of marijuana?

What are your feelings, as a citizen first and a lawyer second, about the illegal status of marijuana?

Finally, are you aware that if an Internet user types “marijuana lawyer Rhode Island” into a Google search, yours is the first and only name to come up? Has that been a key to your steady stream of business?

A. I have a good web optimizer — I have to credit him for that one. But the business has been consistent regardless, because I have been able to resolve so many cases in this area favorably.

 

Published on September 10, 2009 in the RI Lawyers Weekly Blog and found on newstands through out Rhode Island in the Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly's September 14th publication. RILawyersWeekly.com is a subscription based online publication available to the public.

Contact Rhode Island Marijuana Lawyer S. Joshua Macktaz by Email or call today at (401) 861-1155 and we will respond to you as soon as possible.

For more information on Marijuana Crimes and Defense Lawyer services in Rhode Island visit our pages dedicated to Marijuana Laws and Criminal Defense in Rhode Island:

• Rhode Island Marijuana Information - Marijuana Possession and other Marijuana Crimes Defense in Rhode Island
• Drug Laws and Penalties In Rhode Island
• Rhode Island Criminal Defense

 

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