cannabisnews.com: Jurors Denounce Their Own Verdict










  Jurors Denounce Their Own Verdict

Posted by CN Staff on February 03, 2003 at 17:35:26 PT
By Ann Harrison, AlterNet 
Source: AlterNet 

After she and her fellow jurors found Ed Rosenthal guilty of federal marijuana cultivation and conspiracy charges in San Francisco last week, Marney Craig discovered that that she had made a terrible mistake. Instead of the "businessman" she thought she had convicted, Craig learned that Rosenthal, was, in fact, a widely published marijuana advocate who had been asked to grow medical cannabis for critically ill patients. The judge had kept this information from jurors, because Rosenthal was tried under federal drug laws that do not recognize the medicinal use of marijuana. 
"What happened was a travesty and it's unbelievable, unbelievable that this man was convicted. I am just devastated," said Craig. "We made a terrible mistake and he should not be going to prison for this." Craig is not alone in her remorse. Five other jurors, including the jury foreman, are expected to join Craig to denounce the verdict in a joint press conference this week. The event will take place immediately after a hearing to determine whether prosecutors will succeed in revoking Rosenthal's $200,000 cash bond and send him to jail until sentencing on June 4. Attorneys for Rosenthal, who is facing five to 20 years in prison, say they will ask an appeals court for a new trial. "I was not allowed to tell my story," said Rosenthal. "If the jury had been allowed to hear the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, I would have been acquitted." Juror Debra DeMartini said she was distressed to discover that Rosenthal had been deputized by the city of Oakland, California to grow marijuana for its medical cannabis program. Oakland city officials testified during pre-trail hearings that they had tried to reconcile the conflict between the federal Controlled Substances Act, which bans all marijuana cultivation, and California's Compassionate Use Act (Prop. 215) which permits patients to possess, consume and grow their own medical cannabis. In an effort to provide medical cannabis to patients who could not grow their own, the city granted Rosenthal immunity from prosecution under a section of the Controlled Substances Act. But U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, halted every attempt by the defense team to directly tell jurors who Rosenthal's marijuana was being grown for and blocked city officials from explaining Rosenthal's deputization during the trial. "If I had know that he was told he could grow this by the city, that would have raised some questions for me in front of the judge," said DeMartini. "It's a waste of taxpayer money to bring these cases and prosecute people." Craig sobbed as she recounted her growing concern during the trial that Judge Breyer was withholding critical information. Craig said she became alarmed when the judge took over questioning of the witnesses, when he repeatedly cut off the defense attorney, and when she saw protest signs in front of the courthouse suggesting that jurors were not fully informed. "The more information we get, the more we realize how manipulated and controlled the whole situation was, and that we were pawns in this much larger game," says Craig. "As residents, we voted to legalize medical marijuana and now we are forced to sit here and not take any of this into consideration? "In some sense it is a major setback, and in another it is a call to arms,"said Jeff Jones executive director of the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative, one of the medical marijuana clubs that Rosenthal was growing for. Rosenthal's trail was attended by a number of medical marijuana patients, many of whom wept when the verdict was announced. Nicholas Feldman a quadrapalegic cerebral palsy patient who says he smokes medical cannabis to ease the pain and spasticity in his limbs, was one of several people who arrived in court in a wheelchair. "How can they do this to us? People are in pain and it means a lot to us as citizens not to see a person suffer." said Feldman. "I stand here to day for people who could end up in jail for helping to ease my pain." Despite the emotion surrounding the case, some jurors felt that they had no choice but to follow the court's instructions and judge Rosenthal based on the evidence in front of them. DEA agents testified that they seized thousands of marijuana plants and cuttings at a San Francisco medical marijuana club, and at an Oakland warehouse owned by Rosenthal. But jurors said they distrusted the testimony and based their convictions on video tapes of the marijuana grow sites. They found that Rosenthal conspired with others at the club to to grow not more than 1,000 marijuana plants, as the prosecutor claimed, but more than 100 marijuana plants, a fact which will affect Rosenthal's sentencing. Jurors also found him guilty of growing more than 100 plants at the warehouse and maintaining a place to grow marijuana. Shortly after the verdict was read, juror Bill Zemke walked solemnly from the courthouse past past two medical marijuana patients who sat weeping. "We considered the evidence in the case, the evidence that we could review, it was not an easy decision," said Zemke evenly. [Medical cannabis] was in the back of everyone's mind, a factor in the case, but it was not in the evidence in this case." "We have state's rights," shouted the disconsolate patient, "you can't lock all of us up."  Jurors Have Power But Not The City Jury foreman Charles Sackett agreed with Zemke that jurors came to the only conclusion that they could have given the information they were provided. But he said he supports medical marijuana and hopes Rosenthal will win his appeal. "The medical issue was not introduced into the court proceedings, it was never an issue for us," said Sackett. "We weren't allowed to discuss it amongst ourselves, ever." Sackett says he's now intrigued by the idea of jury nullification, which he says none of the jurors were aware of. Jury nullification is a legal principal which allows the jury to find a defendant innocent if the law itself is unjust or unjust in a particular application. Would jurors have taken the option of jury nullification in Rosenthal's case? "It would be speculation on my part, but it's very possible; dare I say, probable," says Sackett. "I think jury nullification is going to part of the answer regarding states' rights in future cases." Down at San Francisco City Hall, Matt Gonzalez, president of the city's Board of Supervisors, or city council, said jurors in cases like Rosenthal's should know that they can simply refuse to follow federal law. "The judge is not giving the jury any space, whatsoever, to engage in what has been an extremely long tradition in common law as it relates to jury nullification," said Gonzalez. Craig said she believed that if she had taken a stand during deliberations and said the federal law was wrong, she would have been removed from the jury. "I didn't know what would happen to us if we didn't follow the rules, how much trouble I would get into," said Craig. "I was totally intimidated into going along with the verdict because I didn't see any other way." San Francisco public defender, Jeff Adachi, noted that there have been a number of decisions involving jury nullification in which judges have removed jurors who have refused to convict. But he said a jury instruction that permitted this was ruled to be unconstitutional in the last year. "Over the past 20 years, there has been a movement to limit the power of the jury by keeping the jury ignorant of the facts," said Adachi. "Jury nullification is a constitutional right that every individual person who is called for jury duty possesses, and unless we appreciate that right, we will lose it because the courts will take it from us." In the meantime, Adachi warned that Rosenthal's conviction will encourage federal authorities to arrest more medical cannabis growers and distributors. "The kind of prosecution that we are seeing in the Rosenthal case could be multiplied 50 or 100 times over in the next year or two here," said Adachi. Despite the warning of coming prosecutions, Rosenthal's attorney Bill Simpich, noted that city officials were absent during Rosenthal's trial. While Prop. 215 passed by 78 percent in San Francisco, he said officials have been slow to comply with a recent ballot initiative ordering them to investigate a city-run medical cannabis growing and distribution system. "'The single biggest thing that hurt us is that we did not have the cities of San Francisco and Oakland by our side," said Simpich. "They were not there and if they had been there we would have won. They made a mistake and the time to correct it is now." Simpich is calling for California cities and counties to continue immunizing medical cannabis caregivers because the judge's condemnation of this tactic applies only to those cases in front of him. "I'd love to get deputized," said Bob Martin, proprietor of the San Francisco's Compassion and Care Center medical marijuana club. "We are scared every day." Gonzales says he is still meeting with officials and legal advisers to review the city's options. DEA spokesman Richard Meyer has made it clear that any San Francisco city authority involved growing or distributing medical marijuana will be subject to arrest and property forfeiture. Craig said she upheld federal law and convicted Rosenthal because she felt she didn't have any choice. But she says that following instructions was no excuse for not acting on her conscience and refusing to convict a medical marijuana grower. "Anyone who said I was just following orders ... well yeah, we just wiped out this village in Viet Nam, we were just following orders, or the Europeans turning away when the Jews were taken away by the Nazis. We are no better than that if we can't take a stand for what we believe in," said Craig. "I feel like if I had done something in this trial, even if I had been thrown off the jury, it would have made a difference because it would have been on the record that someone said 'No,' and that is something I have to live with."Source: AlterNetAuthor: Ann Harrison, AlterNetPublished: February 3, 2003Copyright: 2003 Independent Media InstituteContact: info alternet.org Website: http://www.alternet.org/DL: http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15093Related Articles & Web Sites:OCBChttp://www.rxcbc.org/Green-Aid.comhttp://www.green-aid.com Ed Rosenthal's Trial Pictures & Articleshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/trialpics.htmRosenthal's Federal Drug Trial Turns Surrealhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15303.shtmlThe Trial of Ed Rosenthal - Ann Harrisonhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15221.shtml 

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Comment #9 posted by The GCW on February 04, 2003 at 04:33:57 PT
Screwing the Holy Sprit of Truth, like Hitler.
Imagine a retrial, and the Fed. court not being able to go through so many potential jurors, through jury selection. Take the 1st, 12!If they would not have waded through that jury pool in a manner that brought big red flags to begin with, and if they are not allowed to do that again, the Feds. will have to get real work.Hitler would be proud of Bush and His urine suckers. America is very smart and if Hitler can do it, then Bush will attempt do it and get by with it. 
 Is Bush a coke theif?Clinton screwed off on His wife and the Spirit. Bush is screwing earth, all of Us and the Holy Spirit of Truth.The Bible tells Us to curse God, curse Jesus Christ, but do not curse the spirit.What did Hitler really do?He was screwing the Holy Spirit of Truth.
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on February 03, 2003 at 23:14:20 PT
Hi Nuevo Mexican 
Victory for me will only be when we win and the war on Cannabis is finally over. Until then I keep hanging on to hope. Hope keeps me going. I can't change the news that is going on from war to the Shuttle disaster but at least this important topic that could get lost in the shuffle lives on. I hope it works out for Ed and all those who are suffering from these very sad and antique laws.
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Comment #7 posted by Nuevo Mexican on February 03, 2003 at 23:01:01 PT
Victory! This is the backfire effect we spoke of!
And it is huge! Look how pissed these jurors are after being lied to and manipulated, by the judge primarily, who has been given his orders from above to stop at nothing, as he has full bushcroft support. Retrial, how about a complete dismissal, unless a retrial would garner bad publicity for the antis they need more of. How does it feel FOM to see these rapidly breaking cannabis events, parallel the other astounding stories of the day? You are and have been doing a great service at C-news, and should be feeling a wee bit victorius, as the outcome we hoped for is just around the corner, with the antis' having blown their cover wide open, never to be hidden again! Here's to 4:20 at 10:30! Don't forget to march for peace locally if you can't make a major city rally, stopping the war is first on the agenda, then we can get on with our lives again, and celebrate the coming of re-legalization! 
Peace!
go here to 
impeach bush:http://www.VoteToImpeach.orgstop war: http://www.internationalanswer.org
/news/update/013003actionplanupdate.html
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on February 03, 2003 at 21:04:26 PT
Important E-Mail News
ASA: Medical Marijuana Jurors Offer Apology to Rosenthal and Family Medical Marijuana Jurors Offer Apology to Rosenthal and Family Jurors and City Officials Express Outrage, Demand a RetrialOutraged jurors in the Ed Rosenthal medical marijuana trial will make a statement at a news conference in San Francisco on Tuesday, February 4 at the Federal Courthouse. Jury Foreman Charles Sackett will be joined by fellow jurors in apologizing to Rosenthal for a verdict they say was not just. They will also present a letter asking for a retrial.After Friday's verdict, many jurors expressed shock and outrage after learning that prosecutors blocked Rosenthal's side of the story. Jurors said they felt used and railroaded, and that the trial had been a kangaroo court. Many said that Rosenthal would have been acquitted but for the Judge forbidding Rosenthal and his attorneys to discuss his defense.Rosenthal was officially deputized by the City of Oakland under California's medical marijuana law. Prior to the trial, Judge Breyer ruled in favor of the prosecution's demand to ban the discussion of why Rosenthal was growing marijuana.San Francisco City officials will join in the call for a retrial. They will also call for the Federal Government to back off of its aggressive and deceptive campaign to block California's medical marijuana law.WHAT: Medical marijuana trial jurors demand retrial; City officials demand harmonization between state and federal law.WHEN: 12:00 noon, Tuesday, February 4WHERE: U.S. District Court, building entrance, 450 Golden Gate, San Francisco, CaliforniaWHO: Charles Sackett, Jury Foreman Marney Craig, Juror Pam Klarkowski, Juror Hon. Terence Hallinan, San Francisco District Attorney Hon. Matt Gonzales, President, San Francisco Board of Supervisors Hilary McQuie Campaign Coordinator Americans for Safe Access 1678 Shattuck Ave. #317 Berkeley, CA 94709 Phone: 510-486-8083 Fax: 510-486-8090 -- http://www.safeaccessnow.org"The best political, social, and spiritual work we can do is to withdraw the projection of our shadow onto others." ~Carl Jung
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Comment #5 posted by afterburner on February 03, 2003 at 19:28:59 PT:
Deputized: Not Yet Tested, Only Excluded 
Ed's deputy status was not discussed in Ed Rosenthal's trial due to Judge Breyer's exclusion of all references to medical marijuana (cannabis)."Valerie and Michael Corral, founders of the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana, were deputized Tuesday [December 10, 2002] by a 7-0 council vote. They now have the authority to cultivate, distribute and possess medical marijuana under the city's ordinance."Santa Cruz Council Votes To Deputize MMJ Growers http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/14/thread14950.shtml"Santa Cruz, however, is not the first city to try to use deputization of medical marijuana club members to increase their protection from federal prosecution. A similar approach was used in Oakland and San Francisco. The strategy has yet to be tested in federal court." Council Deputizes Pot Club Founders http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/14/thread14941.shtmlJust make sure to spread the word on Jury Nullification, too. JN: the antidote to the SOL. ego destruction or ego transcendence, that is the question.
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Comment #4 posted by CF Perez on February 03, 2003 at 19:21:01 PT:
Exercise of Conscience by the Jury 
Regarding Ed Rosenthal's conviction by a jury of his peers in Federal court, the jurors are remorseful and planning to support the defendant.
 
They, like many Americans trod unwillingly but resolutely to their jury duty because their number had simply come up.The same federal system of judges who assigned George W. his crown in the White House are now telling citizens how to judge a case, and not allowing a defendant to defend himself.The judge also skewed the stakes a bit by implying prison sentences for jurors who did not do as instructed, which is to make their decision purely from the federal statutes. That they had to do. They were instructed to. How does a juror extract themselves from the truth of their every day existence to make such an abstraction as to think in purely federal terms? Of course the jurors didn't "feel" this was right. Evidence germane to the case was suppressed! Bush Justice.Perhaps some of these jurors had voted for the Proposition which allowed for compassionate use of medical marijuana. But in formulating their abstraction, they were going to have to forget about their neighbor, friend or relative whose relief from pain by grace of the locally-grown herb was a relief for the whole family. Such is the consciousness that got Ed Rosenthal his credibility, and his contract for growing marijuana for the city of Oakland's own "compassion clubs." The Jury's duty to decide on a federal crime, but not look at it as if it was anything they could relate to in the normal discussions of their lives was a stacked deck in the most royal of examples of strong arm tactic to come down the pike.Only view the case abstractly? Without knowing who the man is or what motivated him to grow 100 plants, not the thousands represented by the King's Men, the jurors were going on blind.
 
Why even ask for a jury of peers? Looks like the judge took care of the whole job. Why not go someplace else or why have a jury at all? Perhaps we should have gone out-of-state for this trial, however that would not constitute a "jury of peers." Isn't it the point of a jury trial to find for unbiased justice? Apparently the judge hopped all over the witnesses himself, finishing for the prosecutor what should have been a carefully handled interview to determine the reasons for Ed's growing, his so-called crime. 
 
Jefferson's inspiration for the Constitution was based on the possibility of popular mandate, supported by a very unique and powerful word, which he describes as a juror's duty: to decide based on his conscience, no matter what the circumstance.
 
A Colorado a woman juror did uphold her right to conscience, she was jailed! There is no law in the US (or is there?) which suggests a punishment for conscience. The woman was held under no known statute prevailing at that time. The Oakland jury was (like any other jury) a group of business people eager to return to their positions in the world, their normal but abandoned responsibilities. But they didn't bargain on the proposition of jury duty resulting in possible jail time. Who has time for that? How is it that law-abiding citizens who are already sacrificing their time for the sake of their so-called democracy may kiss their family good-bye in the morning only to find himself jailed by the end of his duty? Do they get to bring their cell phones to the jail cell, or is this no longer a right? Perhaps juries need someone to remind them of their rights before they deliberate their case, just as police must do with the Miranda rights. Or perhaps the judge should attempt more sincerely to appear unbiased in the case.Add to the woes of the cause of civil rights of individuals that railroad car of legislation which a return to the monarchy would require: the so-called Patriot Act. So, if your name is middle-Eastern sounding, or if you must smoke marijuana for your health, or if you stand up for your conscience, you are jailed. That was how it was in the monarchy. 
 
Generally, the strong-arm techniques are regarded as throwbacks to a less democratic time in history. I'm an astrologer accustomed to the false accusation of wanting a return to the time of the Medievals. The jury reaction to the trial of Ed Rosenthal is one instance where such a claim is not only correct, but also more aptly descriptive. The federal "War on Drugs" is tearing into the conscience of many voters in California. The Patriot Act is seen for its McCarthy Era dimensions. This presidency was not won but gifted by the lofty and mighty "justice system," the same one which deems it fit to tell a jury what they must do, and if they fail, must face imprisonment. Perhaps King George (W.) has returned from the past. Certainly Jefferson is turning over in his grave. Possibly, a revolution comes.
The Ancient Sky, dedicated to the re-enchantment of the world
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Comment #3 posted by legalize it on February 03, 2003 at 18:23:55 PT
RUN TO CANADA ED!!!!
ED NEEDS TO RUN TO CANADA, GET UP THERE MAN QUICK!!!!!!!!
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Comment #2 posted by Nuevo Mexican on February 03, 2003 at 18:23:35 PT
This trial also about 'FIJA', the secret is out!
From the article:
Sackett says he's now intrigued by the idea of jury nullification, which he says none of the jurors were aware of. Jury nullification is a legal principal which allows the jury to find a defendant innocent if the law itself is unjust or unjust in a particular application. Would jurors have taken the option of jury nullification in Rosenthal's case? "It would be speculation on my part, but it's very possible; dare I say, probable," says Sackett. "I think jury nullification is going to part of the answer regarding states' rights in future cases." Now is the time to make everyone aware of FIJA, as this article makes the point over and over again. It's about state rights, and illegal actions taken by the judge, medical cannabis will win as soon as this case is thrown out. There will be a rally in support of Ed so let every know if you have strong feelings about his incarceration. (Entombment). His resurrection will be reported on like Christ's coming, funny, isn't that appropriate given the other article about Jesus' usage of Kaneh-bosm for healing. Fast becoming a household word, thanks to 'High Times'. Things are changing lightning quick like, and for the better, whether it appears that way at the moment or not. Ed has brought the issue to a boil, on many fronts, and just in time for the fall of the bush regime, due to fallout from 'the sky' literally!
UNbelievable: 
http://www.nasaproblems.com/#Moritorium
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Comment #1 posted by freedom fighter on February 03, 2003 at 18:13:09 PT

Pretty Biased??
Not one juror were aware of jury nullifcation?? Yeah, so Slick Fed. had to railroad a human being for growing simple plants..Feeling Safer now??We are Next!ff
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