For the second time in less than 10 months, prominent Bay City
criminal defense attorney Ed Czuprynski has again emerged victorious in his
fight against charges brought against him my the controversial special
police unit BAYANET. Czuprynski's motion to suppress evidence was granted
on October 17th when Judge Paul Clulo, a Midland circuit judge on special
assignment, issued a decision in Czuprynski's favor.
In a strongly worded ruling, Judge Clulo chastised the multi-county law
enforcement group, declaring "Anytime law enforcement goes after someone to
get them rather than dispassionately exercising their constitutional
responsibilities, mistakes get made."
Severely questioning the motives behind the arrest, the Judge wrote
that "there has been a concerted effort by BAYANET to 'get' Ed Czuprynski
over many years." While Judge Clulo acknowledged that Czuprynski "offered
plenty of fuel to stoke the fire and is no innocent victim" in this case he
noted that "vendetta or vengeful justice never prevails. Overkill rarely
prevails and neither should it prevail."
Clulo ruled in granting Czuprynski's motion to dismiss the evidence due to
the unlawful process used to secure a search warrant for his office. He
also cited the Attorney General's Office of Jennifer Granholm for rejecting
a plea offer that was reasonable to all parties.
BAYANET (Bay Area Narcotics Enforcement Team) originally charged Czuprynski
in May of 2001 with being "a drug dealer" based on three pounds of
marijuana found in a business suite across the hall from the defense
attorney's office. Last December, Judge Joseph Defrancesco of Saginaw, also
on special assignment, granted Czuprynski's motion to suppress the evidence
on that charge, ruling BAYANET's entry of the other business's office
containing the marijuana was unconstitutional under the warrant used to
search Czuprynski's suite of offices.
Following dismissal of that felony, BAYANET then sought a new charge
against Czuprynski for an ounce of marijuana allegedly found in his inner
personal office. The misdemeanor offense was then enhanced to a felony
crime by charging Czuprynski as a repeat offender based on a misdemeanor
conviction of 28 years ago.
Judge Clulo dismissed that second felony charge, ruling that Czuprynski's
former secretary acted as a 'government agent' in conducting a 'warrant less
search' when, at the request of BAYANET, she entered Czuprynski's inner
office and searched it early one morning, then called BAYANET to report
allegedly finding an ounce of marijuana in his personal office. "This case
is one more page in the road map of law enforcement moving forward on
emotions, not professionalism in their dealings with this defendant," Clulo
noted in reference to BAYANET.
"I've often referred to the rogue cops of BAYANET throughout this 16-month
long political persecution," noted Czuprynski. "Judge Clulo's ruling
confirms what Judge Defrancesco found: BAYANET will cross the line of
decency and constitutionality in its pursuit of destroying a feared
adversary in the courtroom."
Czuprynski said he will now focus on an ongoing, separate court case to
secure the return of $14,000 in revenues from his legal practice wrongfully
seized by BAYANET last year. He also is exploring a possible court action
against BAYANET and those responsible for crafting the illegal vendetta.
Vindicated, but still angry, Czuprynski remarked, "They arrested me, they
took my hard earned money, they intimidated my clients, they broke into my
home, my God they even raided the home of my 82-year old father. The
citizens of Bay County should not have to fear the rogue cops of BAYANET. I
pledge to do everything in my power to put a stop to this abuse of power."
This is not the first time that Czuprynski found himself the victim of
selective and overly aggressive persecution. In 1992, he was federally
indicted and convicted for possession of 1.6 grams of marijuana (the
equivalent of two cigarettes). Sentenced to 16 months (the guidelines were
0-6 months), he spent eight months in a federal prison before the U.S.
Court of Appeals ordered his release on its own motion. Nonetheless,
government prosecutors persisted. It took a total of three-and-a-half years
and a ruling by the entire Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals (15 judges)
before prosecutors abandoned their efforts and the charge was finally
dismissed.
The extraordinary vindictive nature of the prosecution caught national
attention with articles appearing in USA Today and The Atlantic Monthly
among others. Believed the only person ever federally indicted for the
possession of a small quantity of marijuana, Czuprynski remarked, "I've
become the national 'poster child' on how the present prohibition on
marijuana victimizes citizens through unlawful police and the selective
enforcement of laws. My experience teaches a lesson we should all heed.
Draconian forfeiture laws and unwarranted marijuana prosecutions are a
direct threat to the personal liberty we have too long taken for granted."
|
