cannabisnews.com: Pot-Trial Jurors Express Anger Pot-Trial Jurors Express Anger Posted by CN Staff on February 04, 2003 at 10:28:47 PT By J.K. Dineen of The Examiner Staff Source: San Francisco Examiner Questions surrounding the controversial conviction of medical pot advocate Ed Rosenthal continued to swirl Monday as jury members expressed outrage over how the trial was conducted and a prominent legal scholar said the case belongs before the U.S. Supreme Court. Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz called the Rosenthal case "a great issue for the Supreme Court" and predicted the justices would overrule federal Judge Charles Breyer, whose brother is U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. "I suspect Charlie's older brother will overrule him," said Dershowitz, who worked on O.J. Simpson's defense team. Rosenthal, the author of numerous books about the virtues of marijuana, admitted to growing the plants for distribution under California's medicinal marijuana law, known as Proposition 215, which was passed by voters as an initiative in 1996. While Rosenthal had been deputized by Oakland city officials to grow medical pot, Judge Charles Breyer banned testimony related to state medical marijuana laws because federal law forbids cultivation of the plant. Dershowitz argued that Breyer should have allowed the issue of medical marijuana into the testimony. "When there's a conflict between federal and state law in a criminal case, the jury ought to know about it," said Dershowitz. Dershowitz said the conservative-leaning Supreme Court has tended to side with states rights in recent years, which could be good news for Rosenthal. He cited a case involving the possession of a handgun near a Texas school, which is illegal under federal law, but allowed under Texas law. The court sided with Texas law, saying the regulation of schools is a state issue rather than a federal issue. "Here we're talking about healthcare, which is very much a state issue, too," said Dershowitz. Meanwhile, five or six jurors are expected to speak out today after Rosenthal's custody hearing, at which the judge will determine whether Rosenthal remains in prison until his sentencing, scheduled for June. Juror Marney Craig called the trial "the most horrible experience I've ever been through." "It's the biggest mistake I've made in my life and a lot of jurors feel the same way," she said. "It was a very unfair trial and not impartial at all. How can we be fair and impartial since the judge wasn't fair and impartial? This man was not a criminal." Craig said she had not heard of "jury nullification" where jurors basically ignore the judge's instructions and do what they want. "Jury nullification -- that was a possibility nobody knew about," she said. But Golden Gate Law School Dean Peter Keane said there's little the jury can do now. "They had their chance, they had the power to nullify," said Keane. "Once they rendered the verdict, they were too late." Keane defended Breyer's decision to ban the discussion of state marijuana laws from the federal courtroom. "He would have been violating his oath if he had (allowed it)," Keane said.Source: San Francisco Examiner (CA)Author: J.K. Dineen of The Examiner StaffPublished: February 04, 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.htmMedical Pot Jury May Speak Outhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15361.shtmlJury Left in Dark at Marijuana Trial http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15359.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #6 posted by FoM on February 04, 2003 at 14:38:06 PT Does This Information help? Conant vs. Walters in PDF: http://freedomtoexhale.com/conant.pdfConant vs. Walters & Judge Kozinski's Opinion: http://www.freedomtoexhale.com//cw.htmCourt Protects Doctors' Pot Discussions: http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14592.shtmlCourt Protects Doctors Who Recommend Marijuana: http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14595.shtml [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by Morgan on February 04, 2003 at 14:36:05 PT Tiger by the tail Interesting point malleus2. I have heard that Alcohol prohibition was repealed, in part, because the states could no longer afford it, as they were going through tough economic times back then, as we are now.Did lawsuits occur after that time?Does anybody know how all that worked out?I suspect that since they weren't arresting people back then just for having a beer, that things would be different. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by malleus2 on February 04, 2003 at 14:07:29 PT What's Dershowitz smoking? His comment that the very same Supreme Court, which earlier had made the highly inaccurate statement of cannabis having no medicinal uses, would somehow reverese course after aiding and abetting so much misery, and admit that they were wrong, is laughable.The Supremes know what anybody with any sense would have realized long ago; the feds are riding a litigation tiger that has grown to enormous size. Try to get down off of it, and it will eat them. When cannabis is legal again for *any* purpose, that tiger is going to start chowing down on the careers of all those 'tough on drugs' politicians and cops and prosecutors and anybody who had a hand in or got a paycheck from this farce of a War on Drugs. The states think they have budget probs now? Wait till everybody who was ever arrested sues the states in court for wrongful imprisonment. THAT'S what the 'antis' are scared of.And in these very tight times, which are going to get worse, you can bet the feds and the states are going to do everything they can to suppress relegalization. To fail is to take up residence in the poorhouse.Where they put everybody they hurt with their prosecutions. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by FoM on February 04, 2003 at 12:53:18 PT Good News! Rosenthal Remains Free as Pot Case Jurors Decry Their Own Verdict: http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread15370.shtml [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Sandino on February 04, 2003 at 12:47:07 PT: Impeach Geroge W. Bush "To announce that there must be no criticism of the rResident, or that we are to stand by the pResident, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally TREASONABLE to the American people."...Theodore RooseveltRegime Change Begins At Home:IMPEACH The Unelected Criminal pResident:Send A Free Fax To Yout Congressperson:http://votetoimpeach.org [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Ethan Russo MD on February 04, 2003 at 12:09:15 PT: Bad/Worse Things are difficult here. Try Thailand right now:http://www.mapinc.org/newscc/v03/n180/a05.html?397http://www.mapinc.org/newscc/v03/n180/a07.html?397It couldn't happen here, could it? Why is there no outcry in the UN about abrogation of human rights? [ Post Comment ] Post Comment