cannabisnews.com: A Prejudicial Judge? A Prejudicial Judge? Posted by CN Staff on January 23, 2003 at 11:31:01 PT By Warren Hinckle, Examiner Associate Editor Source: San Francisco Examiner At 8:40 last night, I had the last interview with Ed Rosenthal, I guess. If U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer sticks to his judicial guns, he will issue a gag order Thursday barring the defendant from talking to the likes of me. I spoke with Rosenthal on Wednesday night at his home in Oakland. Let the condemned man in this absurdist federal pot trial -- in which the robed judge is ever day morphing more into a nonsense character out of Godot -- have his last words: "He hates me." "Breyer has acted with utter contempt for me." "He's been blatant about it." Should the gag order hold -- newspaper lawyers, including the lawyer for the Examiner, at which the gag order is directed, will argue against it Thursday -- these may be Rosenthal's last words on the matter of his fate. What did Rosenthal do to get in such doo-doo with a preening federal judge? He wrote books -- many press accounts omit the fact that Rosenthal is the Tolstoy of marijuana writers, as he has penned a half dozen volumes on the subject. He only actually grew pot for medical marijuana purposes because the City of Oakland asked him to do it and supervised the project and the cultivation, carrying out the dictates of California voters who had approved the use of medical marijuana. Oakland officials were lined up to testify that Rosenthal only did what they asked him to do under state law. But Breyer wouldn't let them testify. The federal judge forbade the jury from even hearing that California law approved of what Rosenthal was doing. This myopic judge -- no Learned Hand, he -- insisted that the only thing presented to the jury was that Rosenthal grew some pot plants. I have covered civil rights cases in the deep South in the frenetic '60s and seen your usual demonstrer busted for walking across a sidewalk treated with more fairness and civility by Southern judges than Judge Breyer has shown the accused pot fiend Rosenthal. It is an axiom of American civility that all respect the bench. The corollary is that the judiciary behaves in a manner that deserves respect. Judge Breyer has not conducted himself in a manner -- outside the duties of respect -- that only brings community ridicule to the bench he sits upon. "I'm caught in a crucible between federal and California law on medical marijuana," Rosenthal said. The accused in his last legal statements said Judge Breyer had allowed the stiff-backed federal prosecutors -- let us not forget than Attorney General John Ashcroft draped the breasts of a marble statue -- to "weed" the jury pool of objectivity. "One of the jurors weeded out was a friend of the judge -- a medical doctor -- who said that the federal law was wrong and that he had prescribed medical marijuana for his patients," Rosenthal said last night. Enough of this, already. Breyer is making a national late-night-TV fool of the federal bench in San Francisco and disrespecting the discerning among his own. Gag orders. Jurors told to imagine there was no state law that made what Rosenthal was charged with perfectly legal. This judge had best get an eye on his place in judicial history, else he may end up ridiculed by cartoonists the way Judge Hoffman ended up a caricature in the trial of the Chicago 7 in the late '60s. That would be disrespectful to the bench. San Francisco does not wish to be. Shakespeare had it long ago that if you act the fool in the robes of authority, you will be seen as a fool without the robes.Source: San Francisco Examiner (CA)Author: Warren Hinckle, Examiner Associate EditorPublished: January 23, 2003Copyright: 2003 San Francisco ExaminerContact: letters sfexaminer.comWebsite: http://www.examiner.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:Green-Aid.comhttp://www.green-aid.com Americans For Safe Access http://www.safeaccessnow.orgEd Rosenthal's Trial Pictures & Articleshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/trialpics.htmPotshot - Ann Harrison http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15257.shtmlGag Order Draws First-Amendment Expert http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15256.shtmlThe Trial of Ed Rosenthal - Ann Harrisonhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15221.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #5 posted by The GCW on January 24, 2003 at 05:48:24 PT Reality: "He hates me." Ed knows and feels the Truth, here.It is a key observation. That the judge hates Him, is relevent.Make note.The judge hates Him.Christ loves Him.One gives cannabis the other takes it away. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by FoM on January 23, 2003 at 12:59:17 PT News Brief - Bay City News Report Bay Area News Roundup Bay City News Report Wednesday, January 22, 2003 The judge in the trial of Oakland marijuana author and activist Edward Rosenthal, who is being tried on federal charges of marijuana conspiracy and cultivation, said today that he will issue a gag order preventing Rosenthal and other parties in the case from talking to the media. After Assistant U.S. Attorney George Bevan Jr. complained about news coverage of Rosenthal's trial, which began Tuesday in federal court in San Francisco, U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer asked the prosecutor to prepare a gag order. The judge said he will sign the order later today during a break in testimony. "I've never before imposed a gag order in a case, and I'm always loathe to do so, but if a party to the case is giving press interviews during a trial, that's cause for concern,'' Breyer said. The judge said, "There are demonstrators outside the courthouse every day passing out leaflets and the question is what information may fall into jurors' hands. If there are press interviews, that information is likely to reach jurors.'' Bevan said he was upset that there is a photo of Rosenthal, 58, and his daughter Justine, 12, on the front page of today's San Francisco Examiner, with a banner headline that reads, "My dad's a hero'' The photo was taken when Rosenthal and his many supporters held a rally and spoke to reporters outside the courthouse after his trial adjourned for the day yesterday. Breyer took the unusual step of warning Rosenthal's lawyers that if Rosenthal continues to speak to the media, it would be a factor the judge could consider in imposing a sentence if Rosenthal is convicted. "A defendant's conduct during the course of proceedings is a factor in sentencing,'' Breyer said. If convicted of all three charges against him, Rosenthal would face a minimum of 10 years in federal prison and possibly even a life sentence. Rosenthal claims that he was only growing marijuana for medical use for the critically ill and believes he is caught in the middle of a conflict between the state and federal government over the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Ed Rosenthal's Trial Pictures & Articles: http://freedomtoexhale.com/trialpics.htm Picture: My Dad's a Hero [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by FoM on January 23, 2003 at 12:23:47 PT medicalpotguy I hope your parents and your doctor understand if it helps you. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by medicalpotguy on January 23, 2003 at 12:12:18 PT: Medical Marijuana Need I am 15 years old. I have had Acid Reflux Disease since I was 9 years old. It was a mild case at that time. It obviously increased due to the fact that I thought it was normal for your own food to constantly come back up. I was recently diagnosed with having Severe Acid Reflux Disease. I would use Marijuana, originally because of experimentation, but then I realized I had stopped "refluxing" foods and acids. My doctor prescribed me Nexium, but it gives me headaches and doesn't stop nausea associated with my disease. I am going to get tests done to see if I have a serious problem with my esophagus, if so, I WILL apply for medical marijuana [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Toad on January 23, 2003 at 12:03:59 PT Sick This is really pathetic. We can only hope that some of these jurors have the intelligence to make a just decision, and not follow the know-nothing Judge Breyer or our unconstitutional federal drug laws. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment