cannabisnews.com: Auburn in Limelight with High-Profile Med-Pot Case





Auburn in Limelight with High-Profile Med-Pot Case
Posted by FoM on February 06, 2000 at 09:41:26 PT
By Patrick McCartney, Journal City Editor
Source: Auburn Journal
Placer County's prosecution of medical marijuana advocate Steve Kubby and his wife Michele is scheduled to resume a week from Tuesday, in what promises to be a train wreck of a trial.Headed for a collision are Placer County District Attorney Brad Fenocchio and Steve Kubby, the Libertarian Party's 1998 candidate for governor.
What is not in dispute is the fact that the multi-agency North Tahoe Task Force raided the Kubbys' Olympic Valley home Jan. 19, 1999, and seized 265 marijuana plants, computer equipment and a small amount of cash.County prosecutors cited the large number of plants, as well as the presence of hallucinogenic mescaline, psychedelic mushrooms and drug paraphernalia, in charging the couple with 19 criminal counts. To prosecutors, the case is a simple matter of the Kubbys growing pot to sell, and the facts speak to a criminal drug operation, said senior Deputy District Attorney Gene Gini, who will co-prosecute the case with Deputy District Attorney Chris Cattran."The goal is that the truth comes forward and justice gets served," Gini said on Friday.The raid came as no surprise to the Kubbys, who were tipped off after the task force launched an investigation when it received an unsigned letter claiming Kubby was selling pot to finance his campaign for governor. Indeed, the Kubbys placed fliers in their household trash for police to find, announcing that the Kubbys were growing marijuana for medical purposes and possessed an amount consistent with federal guidelines.After their arrest, Steve Kubby underwent a battery of medical tests at the University of Southern California under the supervision of Dr. Vincent DeQuattro, the oncologist who diagnosed Kubby's rare adrenal cancer 20 years earlier. The tests included a hair drug-residue test that showed the Kubbys did not take any other illicit drug in at least 18 months.Now the politically astute Kubbys will face their accusers in a Placer County courtroom in a trial that pits prosecutors against the decision by California voters in 1996 to approve Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act that legalizes the use of marijuana for medical purposes.What is clear is that Steve Kubby acts like no other criminal defendant I've ever seen. Listening to him, as I did in a phone conversation Friday, you get the sense that authorities may be in store for more than they bargained for."We didn't ask for this, but have had it thrust on us," Kubby said about what he refers to as the "Scopes Monkey Trial" of medical marijuana. "This issue is not about marijuana, but about my indignation. All we're asking for is our elected officials and law enforcement to uphold the law as it was passed by the voters. It's an American tradition to uphold the rights of others even if we find those rights repugnant."With the aid of the Libertarian Party and other medical marijuana activists, the Kubbys have raised more than $100,000 for their defense. They have also conducted a nonstop lobbying campaign, seeking intervention in their case by state and local officials. Most has gone unanswered.Over the past year, the Kubbys have filed a petition of grievance with the Placer County Board of Supervisors, a civil rights complaint with Attorney General Bill Lockyer, an internal affairs complaint with the Placer County Sheriff's Office over their treatment in jail, an 85-page complaint with the Placer County grand jury and a complaint with Secretary of State Bill Jones over what they say were misleading ballot statements by law-enforcement officials opposing Prop. 215."We've charged election fraud in that [former Attorney General and Placer County resident] Dan Lungren, with the full authority of his office, said patients would have access to medical marijuana," Kubby said about the 1996 ballot statement. "Either that's fraud, entrapment or both."The problem, as both sides recognize, is that state legislators were unable to adopt guidelines for implementing the Compassionate Use Act. Lockyer convened a task force to hammer out a set of rules, which were translated into legislation, but Gov. Gray Davis announced that he would not sign the bill and it died. Since then, the same clash over medical marijuana has been repeated in one county after another, with some counties throwing in the towel after prosecutors lost test cases.Most recently, Calaveras County supervisors named a panel last week to come up with rules to implement Prop. 215 after the acquittal of a popular local artist who grew pot to smoke for medical reasons.On Friday, Fenocchio said local guidelines do not make a lot of sense."It would be helpful for every prosecutor in the state to have statewide guidelines, rather than two, three, four or more counties promulgating their own," Fenocchio told me during a visit to his office. "One would not want to go from San Francisco to Los Angeles, traveling through several counties, and not have the same standards apply for arrest."With the political will lacking in the Legislature to implement the voter-approved medical marijuana bill, Placer County residents will be witness to one of the highest-profile tests so far of the will of California voters. Once the publisher of a popular online adventure magazine, Steve Kubby now applies his computer and political skills full-time on securing his right to the only medicine that has controlled his usually fatal cancer."Just give me a computer, the Internet and a search engine, and a regular citizen like me can navigate through a huge government beast and find new checks and balances," Kubby said of his incessant politicking. "All we're asking is for our elected officials and law enforcement to uphold the law as it was passed by voters."Fenocchio points out that his office has not contributed to the waves of publicity the Kubby case has received."If there's any political whirlwind being created, we're not the ones creating it," Fenocchio said on Friday.If the Kubby case is not enough to capture the attention of Placer residents, another high-profile medical pot case will follow on its heels. Former Rocklin dentist Michael Baldwin and his wife Georgia Baldwin in March will stand trial for a second time on charges of cultivating marijuana to sell.A jury deadlocked on charges of cultivation for sale against Michael Baldwin, and voted 7-5 for acquittal of Georgia Baldwin after Superior Court Judge James D. Garbolino cited Prop. 215 in tossing out simple cultivation charges against the couple, who later separated.So it looks like the medical marijuana controversy will dominate headline in the county for the next few months.Pat McCartney is the Journal's city editor. He can be reached at 885-6585, ext. 143, or by e-mail at elpatricio aol.comPublished: February 6, 2000Copyright Auburn JournalRelated Articles & Web Sites:The Kubby Fileshttp://www.kubby.com/215 NOWhttp://www.215now.com/AMMAhttp://www.kubby.com/AMMA.htmlUphold The Law By Steve Kubbyhttp://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3569.shtmlMichael Baldwin Article:Medical Pot Case Has New Chargeshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread3394.shtmlCannabis News Articles On The Kubby Case:http://www.alltheweb.com/cgi-bin/asearch?type=all&query=cannabisnews+Kubby
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Comment #2 posted by Dr. Ganj on February 06, 2000 at 14:56:26 PT
Trial And Tribulations
Since Peter McWilliams acquiesced, and opted for a plea bargain, he in effect relinquished his right to trial, right to appeal, and other important related constitutional rights. Yes it is frightening going against such an inexorable beast, where virtually all your defense maneuvers have been excised from your plan of defense. However, certain incarceration by the way of a pusillanimous plea bargains is how this beast stays fed. The only way to kill it, is by having the courage to stand up to evil, and have faith in a jury of your peers. Sure you say they wouldn't have been told of a medical defense, but I'll bet all the jurors would have known anyway, especially considering Peter would have been wheeled into the courtroom daily during the trial.Also, consider if he were found guilty-he could be out on appeal, called an appeal bond, and continued his quest for freedom and truth.As to McCormick, well, he made a costly error and is paying the price. That of course, is being out on bail and fleeing from the police at high speed on the freeway, while possessing marijuana. Those are things you shouldn't do. Learn from others, and don't do things like those while out on bond. He on the other hand, worked out a deal that he CAN appeal the judge's decision to block a medical necessity defense. If the judge's ruling is overturned, he can go to trial using that as a defense.But because of his vehicular mishap, he'll be waiting for the appellate decision in jail. Not too smart, Todd.Dr. Ganj 
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Comment #1 posted by kaptinemo on February 06, 2000 at 13:07:13 PT
McWilliams Trial: Lawyers! Look here!
'A jury deadlocked on charges of cultivation for sale against Michael Baldwin, and voted 7-5 for acquittal of Georgia Baldwin after Superior Court Judge James D. Garbolino cited Prop. 215 in tossing out simple cultivation charges against the couple, who later separated.'And yet the judge in the McWilliams trial refused to allow the medical defense. Seems that he has no choice but to allow it, now.I hope that McWilliams's lawyers are keeping tabs on this website. I'm no lawyer, but this just might be grounds for a mistrail claim against Judge King and McWilliams's lawyer can petition for a new trial.
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