cannabisnews.com: Mayor Brown Fires Shots in Drug War with City DA 





Mayor Brown Fires Shots in Drug War with City DA 
Posted by FoM on October 03, 2000 at 08:17:44 PT
By The Associated Press 
Source: S.F. Gate
Mayor Willie Brown is mounting a drug war against the city's own district attorney. Incensed by recent reports that street dealers find San Francisco a haven, Brown has publicly rebuked City District Attorney Terence Hallinan. Brown says that the city's top prosecutor just doesn't put enough dealers away. ``The mayor is concerned about the prevalence of felony criminal offenses being conducted openly on the streets of certain neighborhoods, and either the perception or the reality that San Francisco won't prosecute those law breakers,'' said Brown spokesman P.J. Johnston. 
The controversy unfolded after a report on local KRON-TV showed pushers and their clients conducting street-corner business in broad daylight. The report also alleged that Hallinan was letting airtight cases against dealers go flat before they ever reach the courtroom. Hallinan has styled himself as ``America's most progressive district attorney.'' He advocates rehabilitating minor drug offenders rather than sending them to prison and has defended the utility of medical marijuana. Though Brown has been a political ally of Hallinan, as an elected official the district attorney does not answer to the politically powerful mayor. Now, he appears reluctant to respond to Brown's recent criticism. ``I hope we can work things out,'' Hallinan said Monday. ``I am willing to go after drug dealers. Drug dealing is against the law and it should be against the law. We enforce the law.'' Brown, though, is not so sure. He met with Hallinan Monday to discuss unrelated matters of child custody, but the two did not discuss the recent row, Johnston said. In the meantime, Brown has asked state Attorney General Bill Lockyer for advice. San Francisco (AP)Published: Tuesday, October 3, 2000 ©2000 Associated Press Related Articles:Medicinal Pot Users Honor Hallinan http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6020.shtmlPro-Marijuana Group Honoring S.F.'s Hallinan http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6001.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archives:http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml 
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Comment #2 posted by Dan Hillman on October 03, 2000 at 12:11:50 PT
Hammer falls, but knee fails to jerk
Anti-Hallinan forces within the city have failed time and time again to get traction with the "soft on drugs" charge towards H, most recently in the dist. atty. election of 1999.  That election was preceeded by months of anti-H propaganda that harped again and again on H being "soft on drugs" in contrast to the police-backed Fazio who promised "law and order". This propaganda emanated from the SF Chronicle and its sister TV station KRON.  Much to the propagandists surprise, Hallinan won the election, despite "polls" showing that Fazio would win by a landslide.  Having repeatedly failed against H., the fascist elements within SF have now brought out what they believe to be their biggest gun: corrupt-to-the-bone Willie Brown.  It is difficult to believe that the fascists cannot learn from their repeated failures: the "soft on drugs" argument simply doesn't fly in SF anymore...they simply can't believe that a propaganda strategy that worked *so* many times in the past could possibly fail this time.  Now they are talking about bringing feds in to "clean up" the situation? I can hardly think of a "solution" that would alienate the people of SF more.
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Comment #1 posted by Mort on October 03, 2000 at 08:40:15 PT
Willie Brown
I think one of the biggest crooks in SF is "Da Mayor" Willie Brown, himself. But despite years of corruption in the CA legislature and as SF Mayor, he seems to skate. If anything, he should be investigated for his blatant corruption.Lay off Terry Hallinan!
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