Federal Courts

The DEA agent helped police in a Missouri do some COPS-style raids earlier this year. There was only one problem: He wasn't a DEA agent. Now the people busted are suing.

Once upon a time, a jury's acquittal was the final word for a defendant facing punishment. Thanks to the "war on drugs," that is no longer the case, and defendants can be punished for crimes of which they were never convicted or even acquitted. Sometimes the charges don't even need to go to court at all.

A federal judge in Wisconsin added 15 years to a man's sentence for a crack cocaine charge, even though a jury acquitted him on that count. Now, the Supreme Court has declined to hear the case.

Dr. Molly Fry and her companion, attorney Dale Schafer, were sentenced last week to five years in federal prison as marijuana traffickers for providing marijuana to patients in compliance with California's Compassionate Use Act. At least -- and unusually -- the judge let them out on bail pending appeal.

The US Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether police need a search warrant to enter a residence after an informant has gone in and made a drug buy. Some federal courts have held that by allowing the informant in, the resident has consented to a police search.

The US Supreme Court Monday agreed to hear a case about whether police may search a vehicle after arresting a driver or occupant.

The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday in a case where the government is claiming that hiding money constitutes money laundering. The justices seemed skeptical.

A cop who smells marijuana smoke coming from an apartment still needs a search warrant before entering, the conservative US 4th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.

In the latest installment of an ongoing snitch scandal in northeast Ohio, a federal judge has freed 15 men sentenced to prison on crack conspiracy charges based on perjured testimony from a DEA informant. Now, the informant is in prison, and the DEA agent is in the crosshairs.

Marc Emery, Canada's "Prince of Pot," announced this week that he has accepted a plea deal with US federal prosecutors that will spare his associates jail time but will see him do at least five years in prison -- mostly in Canada -- for selling marijuana seeds to customers in the US. The trio had faced mandatory minimums of 10 years and the possibility of life.