Binky
01-27-2006, 05:05 PM
California -- A Sonoma County Superior Court judge is expected to rule in March on whether the Sheriff's Department can continue withholding medical marijuana seized from someone who isn't charged with a crime.
The case should help clarify law enforcement's obligations regarding marijuana seized in criminal investigations but later determined to be for medical use. District Attorney Stephan Passalacqua has said his office won't prosecute medical marijuana users.
But determining who is using or growing the drug lawfully and who is a criminal drug dealer has been a stickier proposition for law enforcement, particularly given conflicting state and federal laws.
"It's a very, very important ruling," Judge Raima Ballinger said in a hearing Thursday.
Ballinger said she needed to read previous court transcripts and legal briefs before determining whether the Sheriff's Department has legal standing to prevent the return of about 10 pounds of marijuana confiscated from an employee of a Guerneville pot club.
Sheriff's deputies seized 22 pounds of pot from the home of Ken Wilson, an employee of Marvin's Garden medical marijuana cooperative, in March. His lawyer said deputies had previously advised cooperative employees not to keep large amounts of marijuana at the club to discourage break-ins.
At the heart of Wilson's case is whether he had lawful possession of the marijuana, said Deputy County Counsel Anne Keck, representing the Sheriff's Department.
Most property seized when a person is arrested can be returned if no charges are filed or at the end of the case. Illegal property, including drugs, is not returned.
All but about 10 pounds of the marijuana taken from Wilson's house already has been destroyed by the Sheriff's Department.
To determine whether Wilson was an employee of the club and whether it was legally operating as a nonprofit medical marijuana facility, the county has subpoenaed business and financial records and sought to take depositions from Wilson and club owner Ben Hill.
Wilson's lawyer, William Panzer, a co-author of the 1996 initiative that legalized the use of marijuana for medical purposes, argued that the Sheriff's Department has no right to seek such records.
Indeed, Ballinger questioned Keck about whose responsibility it is to determine the facts surrounding the seizure and who may lawfully possess the marijuana.
"Isn't that the job of the district attorney?" she asked.
Ballinger set a March 9 hearing date to determine what legal standing the Sheriff's Department has in the case. If she determines the sheriff has a legal right to be involved in the case, additional dates will be set for further arguments.
Complete Title: Judge To Rule on Sheriff's Keeping Medical Pot When No Crime Charged
Source: Press Democrat, The (CA)
Author: Lori A. Carter, The Press Democrat
Published: Friday, January 27, 2006
Copyright: 2006 The Press Democrat
Contact: letters@pressdemo.com
Website: http://www.pressdemo.com/
The case should help clarify law enforcement's obligations regarding marijuana seized in criminal investigations but later determined to be for medical use. District Attorney Stephan Passalacqua has said his office won't prosecute medical marijuana users.
But determining who is using or growing the drug lawfully and who is a criminal drug dealer has been a stickier proposition for law enforcement, particularly given conflicting state and federal laws.
"It's a very, very important ruling," Judge Raima Ballinger said in a hearing Thursday.
Ballinger said she needed to read previous court transcripts and legal briefs before determining whether the Sheriff's Department has legal standing to prevent the return of about 10 pounds of marijuana confiscated from an employee of a Guerneville pot club.
Sheriff's deputies seized 22 pounds of pot from the home of Ken Wilson, an employee of Marvin's Garden medical marijuana cooperative, in March. His lawyer said deputies had previously advised cooperative employees not to keep large amounts of marijuana at the club to discourage break-ins.
At the heart of Wilson's case is whether he had lawful possession of the marijuana, said Deputy County Counsel Anne Keck, representing the Sheriff's Department.
Most property seized when a person is arrested can be returned if no charges are filed or at the end of the case. Illegal property, including drugs, is not returned.
All but about 10 pounds of the marijuana taken from Wilson's house already has been destroyed by the Sheriff's Department.
To determine whether Wilson was an employee of the club and whether it was legally operating as a nonprofit medical marijuana facility, the county has subpoenaed business and financial records and sought to take depositions from Wilson and club owner Ben Hill.
Wilson's lawyer, William Panzer, a co-author of the 1996 initiative that legalized the use of marijuana for medical purposes, argued that the Sheriff's Department has no right to seek such records.
Indeed, Ballinger questioned Keck about whose responsibility it is to determine the facts surrounding the seizure and who may lawfully possess the marijuana.
"Isn't that the job of the district attorney?" she asked.
Ballinger set a March 9 hearing date to determine what legal standing the Sheriff's Department has in the case. If she determines the sheriff has a legal right to be involved in the case, additional dates will be set for further arguments.
Complete Title: Judge To Rule on Sheriff's Keeping Medical Pot When No Crime Charged
Source: Press Democrat, The (CA)
Author: Lori A. Carter, The Press Democrat
Published: Friday, January 27, 2006
Copyright: 2006 The Press Democrat
Contact: letters@pressdemo.com
Website: http://www.pressdemo.com/