CLARK CO. D-A WON'T FOLLOW COLLEAGUE'S LEAD
Tuesday, July 6th, 2010 -- 12:06 PM
Jackson County?s head prosecutor made headlines late last week when he said he will no longer prosecute people for certain gun-related offenses. Clark County?s District Attorney says he won?t be following suit.Jackson County District Attorney Gerald Fox said a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling made clear that it's every law-abiding American citizen's right to arm themselves for self defense.
Therefore, Fox says his office won't take any cases police might refer that are solely about gun violations, such as concealed carry, uncased or loaded weapons in vehicles, guns in public buildings or where alcohol is served. Fox also won't prosecute the possession of switchblade and or other easy-opening knives.
Clark County District Attorney Darwin Zwieg has known Fox for years, first in his capacity working for the state's Public Defender?s office, and now as D-A.
"I'm not surprised," Zwieg says.
Now, don?t get him wrong, Zwieg likes guns. In fact, he says he owns ?quite the number? of them, but as a prosecutor, Zwieg doesn?t feel refusing to charge people with offenses is the right tact.
"The case law in Wisconsin indicates that statutes are presumed constitutional until there is a ruling otherwise," he explains. "I don't believe, as District Attorney, I should make that ruling."
The Jackson County Sheriff says his department won't change the way it responds to citizen complaints, but they?ll definitely be on a heightened state of alert responding to matters, knowing the D-A has made this announcement.
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