cannabisnews.com: Sheriff's Hands Tied





Sheriff's Hands Tied
Posted by FoM on February 09, 2000 at 12:31:46 PT
By Maline Hazle, Record Searchlight
Source: Record Searchlight
Sheriff Jim Pope could have been arrested had he blocked the federal seizure of marijuana that a judge had ordered returned to a Redding man and should not be held in contempt of court, Shasta County lawyers contend.An attorney for medicinal marijuana user Richard Levin, owner of the seized pot, responds that county attorneys should be thrown off the contempt case.
The arguments are part of a continuing barrage of contempt paperwork filed in Shasta County Superior Court.In a document filed Tuesday, county attorneys counter that Levin's lawyer, Eric Berg of Redding, makes allegations that he doesn't back up by citing proper laws.''All that the sheriff and undersheriff (Larry Schaller) did was submit to a lawful seizure order issued by a federal magistrate judge,'' says a court document the county filed answering Berg's original petition on behalf of Levin.Levin, 49, was acquitted of charges of growing marijuana for sale after jurors found that his garden was legal under Proposition 215, the 1996 law that permits medicinal marijuana use with a doctor's permission.Superior Court Judge Bradley Boeckman ordered Levin's marijuana returned twice — on Jan. 7 and again Jan. 14. But when Levin and Berg went to the sheriff's office to retrieve it at 4 p.m. Jan. 21, they were told it had just been seized by a federal agent from Sacramento.On Friday, Berg asked Boeckman to find Pope and Schaller in contempt for disobeying his orders — a finding that could land the lawmen in their own jail.Deputy County Counsel John Loomis, in his response to Berg's petition, argues that Berg failed to show ''beyond a reasonable doubt that either the sheriff or the undersheriff had the ability to comply'' with Boeckman's order or that they ''intentionally'' refused to obey the court.Since federal law prohibits possession of marijuana, Loomis argued, Levin has no property rights to the pot.Loomis' paperwork prompted more from Berg. The attorney contends that Pope and Schaller are not entitled to legal representation by the county counsel's office and the county lawyers have a conflict of interest because they told Pope it was all right for him to give Levin's pot to federal agents.''They cannot act as attorneys representing the accused and at the same time be witnesses to the events. ... If nothing else, their allegiance to their clients (Pope and Schaller) will compromise their ability to relate accurately and objectively'' what they observed, Berg contended.''Members of the (county counsel's) office are in all likelihood ... co-conspirators in the very acts of contempt which the petition alleges.''But Loomis, in Tuesday's filing, says ''there is no evidence of any 'conspiracy' whatsoever,'' and that even if an attorney is a witness, the law says it doesn't necessarily cancel attorney-client privilege.On Tuesday, Boeckman notified Berg and Loomis that he will defer consideration of the petition until Feb. 18 to give the attorneys time to decide whether they think he should disqualify himself because of his official dealings with Pope and Schaller.Boeckman is the county's presiding judge, and he and Pope have been discussing courtroom security and the possible merger of the county marshal's office with the sheriff's office.Reporter Maline Hazle can be reached at 225-8266 or at mhazle redding.com.Published: February 9, 2000© 2000 Record Searchlight - The E.W. Scripps Co. Related Articles:Man's Marijuana Charge Droppedhttp://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4646.shtmlPot Pundit Disputes Cop Claims at Marijuana Trialhttp://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4602.shtmlPot Amount Issue in Trialhttp://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4489.shtmlGrandma Says She Used Pot To Ease Painhttp://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4637.shtmlLevin May Get Seized Cash Soonhttp://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4510.shtml
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