cannabisnews.com: Jurors Who Convicted Grower Seek New Trial





Jurors Who Convicted Grower Seek New Trial
Posted by CN Staff on February 04, 2003 at 22:40:02 PT
By Dean E. Murphy
Source: New York Times 
In an unusual show of solidarity with the man they convicted last week, five jurors in the trial of a medicinal marijuana advocate issued a public apology to him today and demanded that the judge grant him a new trial.The jurors said they had been unaware that the defendant, Ed Rosenthal, was growing marijuana for medicinal purposes, allowed since 1996 under California state law, when they convicted him on three federal counts of cultivation and conspiracy. He is to be sentenced in June and faces a minimum of five years in prison.
"I'm sorry doesn't begin to cover it," said one of the jurors, Marney Craig, a property manager in Novato. "It's the most horrible mistake I've ever made in my entire life. And I don't think that I personally will ever recover from this." The judge in the case, Judge Charles R. Breyer of Federal District Court, had barred Mr. Rosenthal's defense from mentioning the state law because he was indicted under federal law, which does not allow the growing of marijuana for any purpose.When he was arrested last February, Mr. Rosenthal was cultivating starter plants in a warehouse that were to be distributed to seriously ill patients by medical marijuana clubs in the San Francisco Bay Area. Mr. Rosenthal, who lives in Oakland, was acting in his official capacity as "an officer of the city" under Oakland's medical marijuana ordinance, Oakland officials said.In a statement read outside the federal courthouse here, the five jurors, joined by an alternate, said they would not have voted to convict Mr. Rosenthal if they had been allowed to consider the California law. The group said they represented the views of at least two others who had served on the 12-member panel."In good faith, we as jury members allowed ourselves to be blindfolded to weigh the evidence before us," the statement said. "But in this trial, the prosecution was allowed to put all of the evidence and testimony on one of the scales, while the defense was not allowed to put its evidence and testimony on the other scale. Therefore we were not allowed as a jury to properly weigh the case."One by one, the jurors stepped up to a lectern and apologized to Mr. Rosenthal, his wife, Jane Klein, and their daughter, Justine, who stood nearby."We as a jury truly were kept in the dark," said Charles Sackett of Sebastopol, who was the jury foreman. "I never want to see this happen again."In a striking demonstration of how deep the divide remains between federal and California laws on medicinal uses of marijuana, the jurors were joined by the San Francisco district attorney and two members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.Eight other states allow the sick and dying to smoke or grow marijuana with a doctor's recommendation. "This is really a travesty," Matt Gonzalez, the board's president, said of the court's decision to exclude the state law from Mr. Rosenthal's defense. The jurors "have been violated by this court," Mr. Gonzalez said. Before holding the news conference, the jurors attended a hearing during which the United States attorney's office asked that Mr. Rosenthal's bail be revoked. Judge Breyer, ruled, however, that Mr. Rosenthal was not likely to flee and let him remain free on $200,000 bond pending his sentencing.Though none of the jurors made their feelings known to the judge at the hearing, where the five of them and the alternate sat at the front of the courtroom, Mr. Sackett said he was certain their presence helped persuade the judge to allow Mr. Rosenthal to remain free."We did not say a word," Mr. Sackett said. "We were not disrespectful. We just wanted to make a statement."Mr. Rosenthal's lawyers said they had filed a motion to have the indictment against Mr. Rosenthal dismissed. If that fails, they said, they will file a motion for a new trial. If that should also fail, the lawyers said, they will appeal the verdict to the United States Court of Appeals.Complete Title: Jurors Who Convicted Marijuana Grower Seek New TrialSource: New York Times (NY)Author: Dean E. MurphyPublished: February 05, 2003  Copyright: 2003 The New York Times Company Contact: letters nytimes.com Website: http://www.nytimes.com/ Related Articles & Web Sites:Green-Aid.comhttp://www.green-aid.com Ed Rosenthal's Trial Pictures & Articleshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/trialpics.htmMisguided Marijuana Warhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15365.shtmlGrower of Medical Marijuana Is Convicted http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15343.shtmlClash on Medical Marijuana Puts a Grower in Court http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15236.shtml
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on February 09, 2003 at 22:39:11 PT
New York Times Letters To The Editor
Medical Marijuana CaseTo the Editor:Re "Jurors Who Convicted Marijuana Grower Seek New Trial" (news article, Feb. 5):You report that Judge Charles R. Breyer of Federal District Court barred Ed Rosenthal's defense from mentioning California state and local law because he was indicted under federal law, which does not allow the growing of marijuana for any purpose. When Mr. Rosenthal was arrested, he was acting in his official capacity as "an officer of the city" of Oakland, Calif., under its medical marijuana ordinance. The judge's action seriously erodes the credibility of federal prosecutors everywhere.Jurors in California and the eight other states where local laws permit the growing of medical marijuana will be understandably reluctant to convict dealers accused of peddling the drug for fear that they, too, are being misled by the federal authorities. I would hate to see excessive zeal undermine the hard work of the police and prosecutors who fight daily to keep drugs out of our neighborhoods. MERYL RAYMARWatchung, N.J., Feb. 5, 2003To the Editor:Your support for medical marijuana is timely and welcome ("Misguided Marijuana War," editorial, Feb. 4).Since 1999, I have been successively through unemployment, divorce, Chapter 11 bankruptcy and lymphatic cancer.All the while, medical marijuana has been a true wonder drug to ward off depression, anxiety, pain and nausea. I finished 18 weeks of chemotherapy in the fall without being nauseous or losing my appetite, not even once. The oncologist and his staff gave knowing smiles when I shared this with them. CHARLES SYKESSan Jose, Calif., Feb. 4, 2003
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Comment #4 posted by Truth on February 05, 2003 at 11:34:00 PT
honesty
The truth hurts when one uses lies, when one uses only the truth it feels wonderful.
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Comment #3 posted by Ethan Russo MD on February 05, 2003 at 06:22:12 PT:
A Shift in Policy
Remember that educational collaboration of the NY Times with the feds a few months back to provide select stories on drugs to kids?I bet this one isn't included! The truth hurts.
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Comment #2 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on February 05, 2003 at 04:45:21 PT
LTE of thanks
Sirs,  This is a fascinating story. Please continue to give it the coverage it deserves.-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=I usually write LTEs to correct factual errors or point out logical flaws in prohibitionist arguments - in other words, to make a point. That requires, however, an article or a major unchallenged quote therein which I can be politely cantankerous about. And, perhaps I missed some - but there's been scant few articles that fit the bill of late! Often, I will feel a LTE coming on at the beginning of an article, only to find the author giving space to pro-reform philosophy at the end which says what I was going to say. However, from time to time it's good to write to a news organization and say, "Right on!" If the Times covering Ed's trial doesn't qualify, I don't know what does...
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Comment #1 posted by The GCW on February 05, 2003 at 04:10:47 PT
Another from the NYT
This is really good to see the coverage this issue is getting. Not really enough... but more than what We've seen in the past.This issue is going to only grow.All the time this is going on... California is still moving foward with its interest in using cannabis for medicine.On the next election We may see more states join in making cannabis legal for medicine. It even sounds like there are a few like Hawaii, that may do so on its own...
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