cannabisnews.com: Lepp Indicted Monday





Lepp Indicted Monday
Posted by CN Staff on October 05, 2004 at 10:27:07 PT
By John Lindblom - Record-Bee Staff
Source: Lake County Record-Bee 
San Francisco -- Eddy Lepp's attorney Dennis Roberts likens the upcoming trial for the Lake County marijuana grower in San Francisco federal court to a "juggling act."On Monday, Lepp was indicted on counts of manufacturing and cultivating marijuana in the court of Chief Justice Marilyn Hall Patel. "I've never seen a case more up in the air than this one," said Roberts. "It's like being a juggler waiting for something to come down.
"The questions are, who's going to prosecute it and who's going to hear it. Dave Hall, the U.S. Attorney, who usually prosecutes, is making noises like he's not going to. Will it be judge (D. Vaughn R.) Walker or Patel? We've been before both of them."Even the law itself about the legality of medical marijuana is "up in the air," said Roberts. Roberts said Lepp's fate spins largely on the outcome of a landmark case Raich vs. Ashcroft that would protect medical marijuana growers from federal prosecution as long as they don't cross state lines.Its principals are two women caregiver Diane Monson and cannabis-using patient Angel Raich who have already successfully sued for an injunction against future prosecutions. And the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously rejected the U.S. government's petition for a review of the ruling."This trial is not about Eddy in that sense," said Roberts. "It's a war between the state and the federal government. California should be outraged that the federal government can come into California and say, Well, we don't give a s*** if you passed a law; we don't like it."'Lepp was arrested and his 40-acre marijuana crop destroyed by officers from the Federal Drug Administration and local law enforcement on Aug. 18.Asked if he believed his client will serve time in prison, Roberts said, "You don't put a yes or no answer on that one. There are so many things that we don't have control over."But regarding the possibility of a life sentence, the maximum penalties for the charges against Lepp, Roberts added, "Whether they will seek the life sentence is highly unlikely. I don't think any judge would max it out."Roberts was pleased to learn that the grand jury investigating the case did not include possession of a .32-caliber handgun in their charges against Lepp.Lepp is due back in federal court on Monday, Oct. 18."I can only tell you what my best educated guess is," said Roberts when asked to speculate on the case's outcome. "... Which is, we're going to win."Source: Lake County Record-Bee (CA)Author: John Lindblom - Record-Bee StaffPublished: Monday, October 04, 2004 Copyright: 2004 Record-BeeContact: editorial record-bee.comWebsite: http://www.record-bee.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Eddys Medicinal Gardenshttp://www.eddysmedicinalgardens.com/Lepp Ready for October Court Datehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19556.shtmlMarijuana Grower Could Face Life in Prisonhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19368.shtmlLepp Arraigned in Federal Courthttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19367.shtmlDEA Raids Lepp's Pot Farmhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19362.shtml 
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