This week America got it’s first notice that things were going to change drastically for all of us. The storied case of Roe v. Wade 410 US 113, (1973) is most certainly going to be ousted from our legal lexicon as precedent by which the lower courts must follow. Most legal scholars and people that kept a pulse on SCOTUS’ “behavior” saw this coming. But, I think, most of America has been in the dark as to what ultimately the felling of this precedent could really mean for their everyday lives. And I am not only talking about half the population here. But despite how one feels about abortion, I think the lawyers understand what this ultimately means. So, if I can say anything to the non-lawyers out there; before your mind goes off on a tangent as to what this all could or couldn’t mean for you, it’s a good idea to ask the lawyers first, please.

                  This week, I was reminded of the gifts that a legal education gave me regarding understanding the world around me. Even if I or others are not adept at certain aspects of certain areas of the law, our education gives us the tools from which to start trying to figure it out. But it is not only our legal education that gives this to us, its also our legal experience.

                 Quick example: The Legalization of Marijuana. This was once such a hot topic moral issue. Dear sweet Lord! How can we even THINK about legalizing the “gateway” drug and exposing that debauchery to our dear sweet little children! Everyone was a flutter. But, ask the lawyers. Better yet, ask law enforcement, what that could mean for a State’s criminal justice system and you may be surprised to hear what they say. In North Carolina, N.C.G.S. ⸹90-95(d)(4) it is illegal to possess an amount of marijuana up to a ½ oz. It’s a Class 3 misdemeanor (akin to a Noise Ordinance Violation) Additional subsections address if you possess more than ½ oz. Do we know how much that is? I believe it’s approximately a maximum of six (6) blunts give or take (don’t ask me how I know). So, if someone is caught with that little amount of weed, they face criminal prosecution. A criminal prosecution that has all the hallmarks (and expense) of due process and procedure as any other misdemeanor crime. That means all those charges pack up in a misdemeanor court on any given day in North Carolina. What am I trying to get at? If you ask the lawyers that actually WORK in the criminal justice system if they want to utilize their time to prosecuting/defending misdemeanor possession of marijuana charges vs. driving while impaired charges or misdemeanor child abuse charges, what do you think they are going to say? The court system is absolutely overloaded and overcrowded as it is. If you ask the lawyers, I am willing to bet you a dollar that most of them would say “Please legalize that shit so we don’t have to deal with it in court anymore!”

                 Everyone needs to start asking us, the lawyers, about shit before it hits the fan. Of course, no one likes to talk to us on the front end. We are the Debbie and Dylan Downer group that always seem to say “No” when we are asked prophylacticly about something. There is a new expungement law called the 2^nd Chance Law in North Carolina that automatically expunges dismissals, discharges, and the like from a person’s record within 24 hours of the ink drying. Sounds like a great idea, right? Someone should have asked the lawyers before this one came to pass. Yes, we don’t want these types of irrelevant mars on someone’s record causing them difficulty in moving their lives forward. However, if you asked the lawyers in advance, there is always a benefit of having SOME record of how things went down (in case the shit that went down was fucked up and wrong and we now need to fix it.)

                  If you ask the lawyers about Roe’s passing, I am sure you will get a myriad of responses. However, I hope (and pray) that all those responses are resonate of our law school constitutional law classes where we learned the overall importance of Roe and its progeny to American Jurisprudence and the American people’s everyday lives.

                  Ask the lawyers. They will tell you that Roe was controversial, important and pivotal. And, things are about to change, markedly, with its overturning….