Legal Question in Constitutional Law in Missouri
Okay by the county.......the feds say ''no''
We are owners of a retail store. We sell contemporary tobacco accessories. Six yrs. ago we and 20 plus other retailers were raided and the tobacco products were confiscated. There were no charges, ALL inventory was replaced and the prosecuting attny. told our attny. to pretend the raid never happened. Just recently we were raided by the FEDS and they intend to charge with the sale of drug paraphernalia! How, after the county authorities okayed the sale of our inventory, can the feds say otherwise and what defenses do we have? Is criminal estoppel applicable, should the former asst. prosecutor that handled the case as well as the prosecutor of the county be indicted since they okayed the sale of the goods. Is the law itself unconstitutionally vague? We need some good legal arguments!
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Okay by the county.......the feds say ''no''
You are, unfortunately, dealing with separate soverigns. Actions by the State or County have no bearing upon actions by the feds. Possession of drug paraphernaila is a federal crime, regardless of what the State has to say about it. Read U.S.A. -vs- Tommy Chong. You are on the wrong track. Concentrate on obtaining competent representation in federal court and see what can be worked out with the prosecution.
Re: Okay by the county.......the feds say ''no''
Mr. Aspinwall is correct. Another reason why the actions of the local prosecutors are irrelevant is that Missouri officials enforce Missouri law while federal prosecutors enforce federal law. Even if you have broken no state laws (which is not necessarily true; a decision not to prosecute does not mean your actions were legal) you may still have violated some federal laws.
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