Both the Oregon state and the federal United States governments have criminal courts and criminal charges. In a lot of situations, there is very little overlap between the two courts. For example, something that is punishable in state court may not even be heard in federal court. However, when it comes to drug charges, it is possible for both court systems to get involved in a case.
This has recently been true in two Oregon cases. In the first case, Oregon police say that they found a 28-year-old man with $600,700 worth of methamphetamine in eight packages hidden in his car. The 10 pounds of meth were found in his car's center console.
In the second case, police searched a 29-year-old man's car just four days after the first arrest. In this search, police allege that they found 15 pounds of meth in a secret compartment within the car. The meth was in 16 packages and was worth an estimated $870,000. The police also claim to have found over $4,000 in cash.
Within days of their arrests, both of the men in these cases pleaded guilty to charges in Oregon state court. These guilty pleas were the result of plea agreements with prosecutors. Each of the defendants responded quickly in hopes of avoiding federal charges and federal sentencing since the U.S. district attorney was still reviewing their cases. In state court, each man was sentenced to almost four years in prison.
Despite the state court sentence, federal prosecutors decided to pursue drug trafficking charges for both men. Prosecutors claimed that the state court sentences were not long enough to satisfy the federal government. The men were then sentenced to an additional 10 years in prison for the federal charges.
As this case shows, it is important for defendants to understand all the potential ramifications for pleading guilty in a plea agreement. Defendants must understand the nature of the charges and the potential punishments they face.
Source: Mail Tribune, "Meth traffickers aren't able to dodge federal penalties," Chris Conrand, Jan. 23, 2013
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