cannabisnews.com: Pot Rap Can't Stand, Judge Told Pot Rap Can't Stand, Judge Told Posted by CN Staff on January 08, 2003 at 07:28:37 PT By Gretchen Drummie, Courts Bureau Source: Toronto Sun A Toronto lawyer will ask a judge Friday to toss out a pot possession charge arguing he should follow a Windsor ruling that there's no law in Canada barring the possession of small amounts of marijuana. "This is the first time I'm aware that any lawyer, especially in Toronto, has made the motion to try and apply the Windsor ruling," lawyer Aaron Harnett told The Sun. Last week Judge Douglas Phillips threw out charges against a 16-year-old Windsor teen agreeing with a defence argument that there are no laws in Canada prohibiting the possession of 30 grams of marijuana or less. The federal government is appealing the decision. Harnett's client is charged with dangerous driving and possession of marijuana. Yesterday's hearing was supposed to be to set a trial date, but Harnett told Justice John Moore that given the Windsor decision he didn't believe the judge had jurisdiction to do even that anymore. "There's no jurisdiction to set a trial date on simple possession of marijuana as a result of the Windsor decision," he told court. Outside court he said: "Why set a trial date for a matter that is not an offence in Ontario?" Moore, who decided on a hearing Friday, noted the feds should have a policy in place to handle these cases. Justice department spokesman Jim Leising said that "all the prosecutors have been told that if somebody indicates they want to rely on this same argument advanced in Windsor we should agree to adjourn the case until after the appeal is heard and judgment issued. "There isn't a lot of sense in having a whole series of lower court decisions going in a lot of different directions and there isn't a lot of point in having a multitude of appeals." Leising said the plan is to go in front of a judge in Windsor to schedule a hearing next week. Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON)Author: Gretchen Drummie, Courts BureauPublished: Wednesday, January 8, 2003 Copyright: 2003 Canoe Limited PartnershipContact: editor sunpub.comWebsite: http://www.fyitoronto.com/torsun.shtmlRelated Articles & Web Site:Cannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmWindsor Ruling in Pot Case Delays Local Chargeshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15110.shtmlClarify Marijuana Law - Sault Star http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15109.shtmlLocal Judge Won’t Conduct Pot Possession Trials http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15047.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Post Comment