cannabisnews.com: Kubby Defense Probes Search





Kubby Defense Probes Search
Posted by FoM on September 08, 2000 at 13:00:25 PT
By Wayne Wilson, Bee Staff Writer 
Source: Sacramento Bee
A blistering cross-examination of the lead detective in the Steven Kubby marijuana cultivation case consumed most of the trial day Thursday as defense attorneys explored their theory that the prosecution of Kubby and his wife is politically based.Lawyers J. David Nick and J. Tony Serra pounded away at Placer County Sheriff's Detective Michael Lyke, challenging his credentials as an investigator and his testimony that it was his call to arrest the Kubbys only after discovering 265 marijuana plants in their Squaw Valley home.
The Kubbys, who insist their garden was being used only to meet their medical needs under the provisions of Proposition 215, are on trial in Placer County Superior Court.Each is charged with seven felonies and two misdemeanors, including conspiracy, cultivation and possession for sale. Steven Kubby is accused of illegally possessing a hypodermic needle.The couple had a key role in the passage of Proposition 215, the 1996 state initiative that allows the medical use of marijuana.Their trial, after two days of testimony, will be in recess until Oct. 11 for several reasons: Nick is getting married Saturday and will be on a honeymoon. Judge John L. Cosgrove will be on vacation.In his testimony Thursday, Lyke acknowledged the Kubbys were arrested about four hours after the search began and only after Deputy District Attorney Christopher Cattran arrived at the house and conferred with him on the day of the search.But he insisted Cattran had nothing to do with the decision to take the couple into custody.Lyke said that even though this was his first marijuana cultivation raid, "I knew the difference between what (amount) would be for personal use and what was a commercial operation, and in my opinion, that grow was a commercial operation." So the defense tested his knowledge of medical marijuana.Was he aware that the federal government had recognized Kubby, 53, as a cancer patient? Did he know cancer patients require more marijuana than glaucoma patients? How many of the plants seized were flowered and how many in the nursling state?Lyke said he didn't know what Kubby's status was with the federal government. Nor did he know how many plants were in each of the various stages of growth.Did he find in the Kubbys' home 3 1/2 pounds of smokeable marijuana, an amount allocated by the government every six months to some recognized medical marijuana patients? "I don't know what the yield of the plants would have been," Lyke replied."If you don't know the yield, why did you arrest them?" Serra asked. Prosecutor Cattran's objection was sustained."You wouldn't know medical marijuana if it was staring you in the face, would you?" Serra demanded, prompting another sustained objection.The defense got Lyke to acknowledge that the seizure of hemp oil from the Kubbys' refrigerator and empty hemp oil bottles from the trash was probably a mistake, explaining that he simply didn't know until afterward that hemp oil is sold over the counter at health food stores. Published: September 8, 2000Source: Sacramento Bee (CA)Author: Wayne Wilson, Bee Staff WriterCopyright: 2000 The Sacramento BeeContact: opinion sacbee.comAddress: P.O.Box 15779, Sacramento, CA 95852Website: http://www.sacbee.com/Forum: http://www.sacbee.com/voices/voices_forum.htmlFeedback: http://www.sacbee.com/about_us/sacbeemail.htmlRelated Articles & Web Sites:The Kubby Fileshttp://www.kubby.org/American Medical Marijuana Association http://www.drugsense.org/amma/Kubbys Say Pot Was for Medicinal Use http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6965.shtmlCannabisNews Search - Kubbyhttp://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=KubbyCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archives:http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml 
END SNIP -->
Snipped
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Comment #5 posted by Tim Stone on September 08, 2000 at 19:21:51 PT
"Not Guilty"
I share freedom fighter's optimism about this case. Specifically, this appears to be a case where the prosecution has not been able to so totally control admissible evidence and testimony that the outcome is fore-ordained. The only way the gov't can win is to rig the trial and deny the defendents any chance of using medpot as a legitimate defense, to depict the case as just another "drug dealer" case and exclude all 215 medpot arguments. In this case, even with the prosecution cherry-picking the jury members, I think the Kubbys will at least get the appearance of a fair trial, with medpot arguments finally allowed into court. And any jury, however cherry-picked by the prosecution, when they actually, _at long last_ get to hear a legit medpot defense in court, coupled with the Placer County law enforcement community's over-zealous, get-even bust of the Kubby's for the sole "crime" of challenging Authority, any jury will use its common sense and acquit. 
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #4 posted by freedom fighter on September 08, 2000 at 17:43:05 PT
Kubby will 
win! My heart tells me that they are going walk out of the court a free couple!The defense did such a good job! Resonable doubt! If a detective thinks he can tell it is a commerical operation and cannot tell what yield will be. Oh why, it is a resonable doubt.This is a good news. Spread the word!\/
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #3 posted by rabblerouser on September 08, 2000 at 15:22:29 PT:
peace and justice
No Peace, No Justice
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #2 posted by kaptinemo on September 08, 2000 at 15:12:52 PT:
Go after them, hammer-and-tongs!
I hope that this is going to be televised on Court TV. As much as I dislike such shows, it would be well worth it to watch Nick and Serra skewer these Nazi-wannabes in public.And educate a sadly ignorant viewership on the nature of the California *law* that allows medicinal cannabis. Or that *medicinal cannabis*, is PRESCRIBED by the Feds to 8 members of the old Compassionate Use Program. They receive their bundles with *prescriptions* detailing their specific usages to alleviate specific maladies. And the Feds are concerned about sending the 'wrong message' to The Chil-drun. The Feds have already *blown* that one. The Feds have already ADMITTED it's a medicine! This brings to mind something I've been harping on lately; the collusion between the Feds and local LEOs. This collusion undermines local control of local LEOs. You can bet that the Feds told these local goons, "Don't worry, we'll protect you with Federal law" and probably masterminded the operation to begin with, egging them on to act as a test case. To see just how far they can get away with intimidation via 'legal murder' murder (They killed one activist; now they are trying for another two. Withholding cannabis from these two and so many others who have spoken out when it so obvious that cannabis is what has been keeping them alive is *exactly* the same thing they did to Peter McWilliams. Bloody criminals!)It's time to say "No quarters asked or given!" (No mercy!) to these twerps. They've killed an American citizen in cold blood, with malice aforethought, to make an example of him. Now they weren't satisfied with that; they to taste some more.This time, let it be their own that they taste, drawn in a court of the law that they think they own lock, stock and barrel. 
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #1 posted by FoM on September 08, 2000 at 13:57:41 PT
Related Article
Testimony Continues in Kubby Trial Source: Auburn Journal (CA)Copyright: 2000 The Auburn JournalContact: Jessica Towhey jessicat goldcountrymedia.comAddress: 1030 High St., Auburn, CA 95603Website: http://www.auburnjournal.com/Author: Jessica R. Towhey, Journal Staff WriterPhone: (530) 885-6585, ext. 143Testimony continued Thursday in the marijuana trial of Steven and Michele Kubby, who face a combined 19 counts of illegal drug possession, cultivation of marijuana for possession and possession of paraphernalia.But with the completion of the second day of testimony, the trial was suspended until Oct. 11.Detective Mike Lyke of the Placer County Sheriff's Department took the stand for a second day of testimony about the investigation that led to the Jan. 19, 1999 raid on the Kubbys' Squaw Valley home.Additionally, Mitch Pier, an investigator with the state of Nevada Division of Investigations, testified on the execution of the search warrant on the Kubbys' home. During the search, police seized 265 marijuana plants in various stages of growth, computer hardware that contained accounting records and books that prosecutors claim prove the Kubbys were involved in illegal drug activities. Pier was not questioned by the defense Thursday, and the cross-examination will not take place until court resumes in October.The Kubbys, who possess physician recommendations to use marijuana for medicinal reasons, have said the case against them is nothing more than political prosecution. Steven Kubby, the 1998 Libertarian Party gubernatorial candidate, was instrumental in the success of the Compassionate Use Act of 1996.He suffers from a rare form of adrenal cancer, and contends that smoking marijuana staves off the usually fatal symptoms of the disease.Michele Kubby suffers from irritable bowel syndrome, which her attorney described Wednesday as a debilitating illness that is a precursor to colon cancer.Court will be in recess until 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 11. 
[ Post Comment ]

Post Comment


Name: Optional Password: 
E-Mail: 
Subject: 
Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message]
Link URL: 
Link Title: