People who have ultimate faith in the criminal justice system are those who have never experienced it. In this case, a 15-year-old is charged with "posession of paraphernalia" because at his school, a drug-sniffing dog said that one of the 35mm film canisters in his backpack used for fishing tackle had marijuana in it. These charges were pressed in spite of a few facts:

1. Using paraphernalia is a misdemeanor, and under the state's law, all misdemeanors must be witnessed
2. No one witnessed the boy doing anything with drugs
3. Did I mention that "possession of paraphernalia" is not a crime in his state?

That's right -- to set an example and look tough, the district attorney (representing "the people") charged this kid with something that's not a crime. The DA refused to dismiss the charges, his court-appointed attorney lied to the court, the court refused to accept his father as counsel even though it's his constitutional right, and the court literally threatened the kid when forced to dismiss the non-existent charge that "we'll get you down the road."

It's not about what you did, folks, it's about what they decide to say you did. (found via MetaFilter)