cannabisnews.com: DA Named Defendant in Pot Case 





DA Named Defendant in Pot Case 
Posted by FoM on August 08, 2000 at 19:53:40 PT
By Maline Hazle, Record Searchlight 
Source: Record Searchlight
A medical marijuana patient's wrongful arrest lawsuit against Shasta County, two sheriff's deputies and a jail doctor was amended Monday to add District Attorney McGregor Scott as a defendant.At the same time, the suit was expanded to become a class-action suit on behalf of all the county's taxpayers and medical marijuana users.
The new action asks the court to forbid criminal prosecution or other sanctions for possession or cultivation of marijuana unless it is determined that the suspect is not a medical marijuana user or caregiver."We're not asking for money. We're asking for justice from law enforcement and an end to the waste" caused by prosecuting medical marijuana patients, said Oakland attorney William Simpich, who filed the original suit in February.Simpich represents Richard and Kim Levin of Redding, who were arrested in 1998 after deputies peeked over their back fence and allegedly saw marijuana plants growing in their yard.Charges against Kim Levin, 35, later were dropped. Richard Levin, 50, who has a doctor's recommendation to use marijuana to ease back and other medical problems, was acquitted in December of growing marijuana for sale.The February Shasta County Superior Court lawsuit seeks $25,000 for the Levins, court costs and attorney's fees, but Simpich said the couple have spent much more than that to win their acquittal.In court documents Simpich filed Monday, he added allegations that Scott, whose office prosecuted Richard Levin, is violating the state Compassionate Use Act when Scott prosecutes medical marijuana patients at public expense and that he and the county are breaking the law by spending public money to prevent patients from "lawfully obtaining and using marijuana for medical purposes."Scott said Monday afternoon that he had not yet been served with the complaint, which makes specific comment "difficult."But, he added, "an unfortunate part of this job is being named as a defendant in frivolous lawsuits."A section of the state Government Code grants prosecutors immunity from civil suits that arise from their decisions to prosecute criminal cases, Scott said."I fully expect that I and my office will be out of this suit at the earliest possible time," he said.Earlier Monday, Simpich amended another suit he filed against Tehama County and Sheriff Clay Parker on behalf of seven medical marijuana patients whose crops were confiscated and destroyed by drug agents last year.In that case, two more plaintiffs, Frank and Daphne Kitchens, were added and the district attorney's office was added as a defendant. District Attorney Gregg Cohen was not named.Calling Shasta and Tehama counties "the problem counties" in California, Simpich suggested that law enforcement officers are using medical marijuana busts as "revenue enhancers" because they seize money, guns and other possessions from those arrested."If somebody is selling marijuana that's the time to arrest them," Simpich said. "They should not be harassing people who are getting their medicine. Those are investigations that are needless." Reporter Maline Hazle can be reached at 225-8266 or at: mhazle redding.comContact: letters redding.com Published: Tuesday, August 8, 2000 © 2000 Record Searchlight - The E.W. Scripps Co.  Related Articles:Sheriff's Case Still Lacks Judgehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/4/thread4910.shtmlLevins Sue Over Pot Arresthttp://cannabisnews.com/news/4/thread4758.shtmlCannabisNews Search - Richard Levin:http://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=Richard+Levin
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