** everything in italics is cassidy's pov! **

cass was kind of way in over her head with this latest challenge. i mean, she was a photographer, for goodness sake—one that had lived a relatively sheltered life in regards to this kind of stuff. what did she know about law and criminal justice? close to nothing at all.

she grew up in a cushy little town where crime was anything but prevalent—the type of place where folks left their front doors unlocked and a spare key hidden underneath their doormat. and although cassidy did move to the nearest big city as soon as she could afford her own place, things like murder and highway robbery had still never really been on her radar.

however, she did have unwavering morals and the tendency to have rather strong opinions. that, and she was pretty good at arguing her point of view; she could thank petty fights with her younger sister for that skill ;)

put those two things together (plus some light reading on legal practices—courtesy of the extensive palace library), and maybe cassidy could actually avoid making a complete fool of herself! here goes...

While the briefing for Case #144480 (regarding one Ms. Chloe Bigot) provides ample information to begin debating a sentence, I believe further investigation and/or questioning is necessary before coming to a final verdict.

The defendant is suspected of being involved in drug trafficking; however, first and foremost, I think it's important to deduce whether Ms. Bigot is just a dealer or a user as well. Her "swerving and [erratic driving]" is reason to suspect the latter, in which case I believe she should be checked into a rehabilitation facility in addition to a standard prison sentence for the possession of illegal drugs. The sentence itself is largely dependent on the exact amounts of cocaine and heroin found (as well as a solid confirmation that Ms. Bigot was involved in trafficking, and not solely possession with no intent to sell). I believe anywhere from three-and-a-half to fifteen years is appropriate, depending on the aforementioned variables.

But there's more to this case. This comes from a more personal, moral standpoint than a legal one, but I believe it's important to trace the contacts that Chloe Bigot was transporting these drugs to. (And if Ms. Bigot is cooperative with police through this investigation, perhaps they'd be willing to slightly shorten her sentence or bring up the possibility of parole.*) Being a relatively young woman, at twenty-two years old, I think it possible that she may have connections to minors—this makes it all the more important to me that we prioritize finding out where these drugs were being taken and to whom. If further investigation yields any leads, any and all of Ms. Bigot's buyers should also be taken to a rehabilitation facility.

I believe we should be sympathetic towards people who are addicted to drugs; they can face their consequences once they're clean, but it should be our civic duty to help them first. Of course, each (if there are any) of Ms. Bigot's buyers should be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, depending on their respective ages and situations.

*If parole is decided upon as a result of good behavior, my suggestion would be to perform drug tests at random intervals to ensure she is staying clean before allowing her to fully reassimilate into society.