cannabisnews.com: Trinity County Judge Appointed To Sheriff's Case





Trinity County Judge Appointed To Sheriff's Case
Posted by FoM on March 04, 2000 at 08:04:30 PT
By Kimberly Bolander, Record Searchlight
Source: Record Searchlight
A Trinity County judge has been appointed to rule whether Shasta County Sheriff Jim Pope was in contempt of court for failing to obey a court order to return marijuana plants to their owner.The state Judicial Council has assigned Judge John K. Letton to review the contempt of court petition against the sheriff, Court Administrator Donna Regnani said Friday.
The petition was filed Feb. 3 after Pope turned over 1 pounds of processed marijuana to a federal agent instead of to Richard Levin, 49, of Redding, who was acquitted in December of marijuana cultivation for sale. Levin's attorney, Eric Berg of Redding, successfully argued that he used the drug medicinally, to treat back pain and hepatitis C.Judge Bradley Boeckman had twice ordered the pot returned to Levin. The second order came Jan. 14 when Pope and Undersheriff Larry Schaller sought clarification.All nine Shasta County justices have removed themselves from the case, leading court administrators to seek a judge from outside the area.Letton has acted as Trinity County's presiding judge since his appointment in 1984, Regnani said. He has also practiced law in San Francisco and Trinity County.Letton, one of two justices in Trinity County, is also Shasta County's specified out-of-county judge, meaning he appears every other Friday to hear cases Shasta County judges have dismissed themselves from.Since a local official is involved in the Shasta County case, it is not unusual for the county's judges to remove themselves even if there might only be the appearance of impropriety, County Counsel Karen Jahr, who represents Pope, said Friday.Berg, who filed the petition for Levin, declined to comment Friday about Letton's appointment.Jahr said her office has no information leading her to believe Letton will recuse himself, although he has the right to do so.The judge may deny Berg's petition based on his written argument and Jahr's opposition, or he may call a hearing that would be held in Shasta County Superior Court, Jahr said. No hearing date has been set.Reporter Kimberly Bolander can be reached at 225-8339 or at kbolander redding.comPublished: March 4, 2000© 2000 Record Searchlight - The E.W. Scripps Co. Related Articles:Sheriff's Case Still Lacks Judgehttp://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4910.shtml Levins Sue Over Pot Arresthttp://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4758.shtmlSheriff Target in Contempt Case http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4587.shtml 
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Comment #3 posted by kaptinemo on March 04, 2000 at 14:20:21 PT
Tammany Hall justice(s)
This reminds me of the Thomas Nast cartoon showing the corrupt politicos of New York standing in a circle, all pointing to the person on their left, and say, "I'm not guilty, it was him!" So these justices recuse themselves, thinking they can back out of their sworn duties, hmmm? They probably think they are very clever, getting away unscathed by not having to be the first judge to publicly rap the knuckles of the sheriff for his failure to carry out *his* duties and attempting to abridge the rights of his *employers*. I wonder if Californians can impeach and remove sitting judges for failure to uphold the law? 
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on March 04, 2000 at 10:37:24 PT
Hello & Welcome Kim!
Hello Kim,It is nice to see you post here. I have been following the news releases closely. Please feel free to add your insite.Peace, FoM!PS: Do you have a web site? If you do I would really like to see it. Here is mine. Cannabis News is mine too but these are my personal pages.
FoM's Freedom Page
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Comment #1 posted by kim levin on March 04, 2000 at 10:15:10 PT:
Trinity Judge assigned Contempt Case
This assignment is somewhat interesting, due to the fact that Friday, Trinity County issued their medical marijuana patient guidelines (2 plants outdoors, 6 indoors, 1.3 pds processed) which are the exact guidelines Sheriff Pope issued on Tuesday to Shasta County patients. hmmmm, alittle pressure in Trinity County from the neighboring Shasta County Sheriff Pope?? -kim
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