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Jason Smith charged cocaine trafficking

El Diablo

Post Whore
Messages
94,107
Of course but you still have a legal right to be represented

but you do not have to be

if you believed the gimp then everyone accused of a crime could just say they don't want a lawyer and would get off as one is required for them to be prosecuted
 

BunniesMan

Immortal
Messages
33,713
he is

you can represent yourself

you do not need a lawyer

but you do not have to be

if you believed the gimp then everyone accused of a crime could just say they don't want a lawyer and would get off as one is required for them to be prosecuted

I said "proper representation". Of course if you want to represent yourself you can. But if you want a lawyer you have to be given one or the case cannot go ahead.

For the system to work even the worst of the worst need a competent lawyer.

I was replying to the idiot who seems to think defense lawyers are inherently evil.
 

El Diablo

Post Whore
Messages
94,107
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...ed-with-cocaine-offences-20150303-13tm9p.html

WADA unlikely to impose penalties on players charged with cocaine offences

Date
March 3, 2015 - 10:00PM

Roy Masters
Rugby League Columnist

A new approach to "trafficking" under the 2015 WADA code means the supply of cocaine charges levelled against eight past and present Titans players, together with the Reds' Karmichael Hunt, means they may escape any anti-doping sanctions.

The change to the WADA code, effective from January 1, does not prohibit supply of a prohibited substance, out of competition, when it is not "intended to enhance sport performance".

Clearly, WADA has accommodated the view that a four-year sanction should not apply to athletes using the drug outside of competition for partying. This appears to be the case alleged against the Titans and Hunt.

Cocaine is illegal in Australia, meaning the players will face the Queensland court system on Thursday and next week, with the NRL certain to impose additional sanctions on the Titans still contracted to the Gold Coast club.

The Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission has already declared the players are not subject to its definition of trafficking, which is usually linked with kilogram quantities of prohibited substances.

On the other hand, trafficking under the WADA code is very broad and much different to what the public perceive to be trafficking under the criminal laws. Under WADA rules, quantity is irrelevant. An athlete can be guilty simply by transporting a prohibited substance to any third person, on only one occasion, with a minuscule quantity.

Under the new WADA policy the Titans and Hunt, if the allegations against them are proven, would not be subject to a violation of "trafficking" given it exempts trafficking of an in-competition only substance – cocaine – if the intention of trafficking was NOT for enhancing sport performance.

The new definition of trafficking is: "Selling, giving, transporting, sending, delivering or distributing (or possessing for any such purpose) a prohibited substance or prohibited method (either physically or by any electronic or other means) by an athlete, athlete support person or any other person subject to the jurisdiction of an anti-doping organisation to any third party; ... and shall not include actions involving prohibited substances, which are not prohibited in out-of-competition testing unless the circumstances as a whole demonstrate such prohibited substances are intended to enhance sport performance."

Last year's policy did not allow for these exemptions, meaning the players would be subject to a violation of trafficking and would face a four-year ban given the incident occurred in that period.

WADA's rules are non-retroactive, meaning players are subject to the rules applying at the time of the offences.

However, WADA does allow, under rule 25.2 in its code, the application of the legal principle of "Lex Mitior", meaning the player charged can ask to be given benefit of the change in the law.

It is up to the relevant sport's tribunal to allow this and even if ASADA pursued the case, the players may receive no anti-doping ban at all.

John Marshall SC, a Sydney barrister highly experienced in sports doping law, was successful in using this principle in 2006 and it has subsequently been enshrined in WADA law.

Should the Queensland court system find no case against the players, based on flimsy CCC evidence, and ASADA take no action, their fate would then rest exclusively with the NRL.
 

BunniesMan

Immortal
Messages
33,713
Smart from WADA. It does not exist to police things like cocaine. It should focus on performance enhancing substances. Not idiots dealing with the white stuff. That is for the police and courts.
 

El Diablo

Post Whore
Messages
94,107
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...n-crime-commissions-role-20150304-13uhqc.html

Timing of player arrests brings into question crime commission's role

Date
March 4, 2015 - 10:00PM

Roy Masters
Rugby League Columnist

Football bosses are puzzled by the Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission's motive and strategy in drip-feeding the arrests of past and present NRL players in a south-east Queensland cocaine ring, before abruptly truncating the investigation.

The consequent media storm raises questions whether the CCC's initial strategy was politically motivated before widespread speculation of arrests of prominent former players forced it to close the inquiry.

The execution of the arrest warrants hints of a stage-managed event. Why the CCC announced the arrest of three players on February 20 (Karmichael Hunt, Beau Falloon and Jamie Dowling), arrested three more on February 22 (Greg Bird, Dave Taylor and Kalifa Faifai Loa), issued a press release on February 24 giving the clear indication there would be more arrests, then arrested two former Titans players on February 27 (Ashley Harrison and Steve Michaels) mystifies the NRL. At that point, the CCC then said they were done, no more arrests.

Surely a more professional way of doing this would have been to arrest the eight players on February 27 and to announce the immediate investigation ended.

The CCC would still have attracted massive publicity, while avoiding the national speculation and innuendo, fuelled by social media, regarding prominent past players, clubs and codes.

The NRL was forced into a proactive course of asking questions of the Broncos, based on the Brisbane club's close geographical proximity to the cocaine ring and the association of Hunt with their players. The Broncos board followed a similar course. The AFL Suns were asked to come forward if they had been subject to CCC interviews.

The CCC's strategy was either incompetent or designed to dominate media coverage.

If the CCC arrested a few players early in order to ignite an incriminating talkfest on their mobile phones and therefore implicate others, they didn't wait very long to see if was successful. Furthermore, this was the approach taken by the Australian Crime Commission and ASADA in February 2013's "blackest day in Australian sport", and that was a failure.

Lawyers for the football codes will be keeping a close watch on the court lists at Southport Magistrates Court over the next week, given what we have been told about the nature of the cocaine syndicate. Are the only people buying cocaine from these major criminals eight past and present NRL players and one rugby union player recently transferred from AFL? If this is so, the dealers were plying their trade in a very small addressable market.

If the main evidence against the players is phone intercepts, then it must also be the case that multiple conversations and texts were also recorded. Yet of the three press releases on the CCC website, only one of the arrests relate to non-NRL person, a 22-year-old female identified in the February 20 release. Can this really be the only non-NRL person caught in this net, other than Hunt?

The CCC may have misjudged the media frenzy it created. Perhaps they had more targets in other sports and then got cold feet. Maybe the lawyers for the players are correct in what they are saying publicly - the cases are not strong and the CCC has backed off pursuing the other charges because they may not stick.

Finally, there will be a lot of people sweating on the serious charges - John Touma, Matt Seers and Jason Smith. If the cases are as weak as the lawyers say, then there will be significant pressure to firm up the evidence, which would be achieved by a supplier giving evidence for the crown.

The power game and the powder game have been linked for 25 years. The then NSWRL chief, John Quayle, ambushed the Rabbitohs at a training session, testing for illicit drugs. His successor Neil Whittaker sprung a test on all NRL players over a 24-hour period.

If players are slow learners that cocaine is illegal and addictive, it can be argued the CCC hasn't changed its ways. It was formally called the Crime and Misconduct Commission but changed its name to the CCC after Campbell Newman was elected premier. An external review was conducted in 2013 that was not flattering, including a comment that it "failed badly in 'information management' in respect to the Fitzgerald Inquiry documents".

Perhaps, with a new government in power in Queensland, the CCC is also feeling the political blowtorch.
 

Brutus

Referee
Messages
26,354
What's this thing about a Souths premiership ring being found in a drug bust in Darwin?
 
Messages
14,731
20 players/coach rings made for the day and apparently accounted for.

53 extras made for support staff, sponsors and hangers on. Take your pick.
 

Danish

Referee
Messages
32,018
Well judging by what happened in the Souffs Arizona thread that ring story will be deleted post haste for some reason.
 

Snappy

Coach
Messages
11,844
The NRL was forced into a proactive course of asking questions of the Broncos, based on MY BS ARTICLE WHERE I MADE UP ALMOST DEFAMATORY ALLEGATIONS FOR A STORY BASED ON MY BS ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING the Brisbane club's close geographical proximity to the cocaine ring and the association of Hunt with their players. The Broncos board followed a similar course. The AFL Suns were asked to come forward if they had been subject to CCC interviews.

Quote digitally altered
 

BunniesMan

Immortal
Messages
33,713
So at least 73 have been made. The majority of which are not owned by players. Gee some of you like a witchhunt.
 

BunniesMan

Immortal
Messages
33,713
Wowee. Hunt expected to plead guilty:

UPDATE: QUEENSLAND Reds star Karmichael Hunt is expected to plead guilty to

four counts of supplying cocaine this morning.

This morning Hunt and Titans players Beau Falloon and Jamie Dowling faced court on supply cocaine charges for the first time.

In court solicitor Chris Nyst, who represents Falloon, called for the matter to be adjourned to an early date as it was a “matter of some urgency”.

That application was refused and the matter was adjourned to the first available date, May 8.

Falloon’s girlfriend Elise Abood has had her case adjourned to May 8 also.

Barrister Alistair McDougall, who represents Hunt, told the court his client wanted to plead to the charges.

http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au...-cocaine-charges/story-fnje8bkv-1227248743789

Fascinating after all the talk from the lawyers about there being nothing to these flimsy allegations.
 

Thomas

First Grade
Messages
9,658
Reduced sentence and a hefty fine from the ARU.

Free to play next week probably...
 

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