cannabisnews.com: Kubby Defense Lawyers Move to Disqualify DA 





Kubby Defense Lawyers Move to Disqualify DA 
Posted by FoM on October 06, 2000 at 08:11:44 PT
By Wayne Wilson, Bee Staff Writer 
Source: Sacramento Bee
Harsh words filed this week in Placer County Superior Court by defense attorneys accuse District Attorney Bradford Fenocchio of prosecuting medical marijuana activists Steve and Michele Kubby for "improper political and blatantly biased purposes."The allegations are contained in a motion asking the court to disqualify Fenocchio and other attorneys from prosecuting the Kubbys' criminal trial, which is scheduled to resume Wednesday before Judge John L. Cosgrove.
Attorneys J. Tony Serra and J. David Nick claim that a "careful review of the testimony received" during the first two days of the Kubby trial revealed "an impermissible conflict of interest that cannot be cured without recusal."Deputy District Attorney Christopher M. Cattran, the lead prosecutor in the case, dismissed the motion as "specious, baseless and meritless.""It misstates the facts that have been presented at trial so far. We will be prepared to litigate the matter on Wednesday," Cattran said.The motion claimed that prosecutors used a "charging process that was tainted by not only a desire to discriminate against medical marijuana users, but by a design to eradicate from Placer County supporters of medical marijuana that the Kubbys so openly represent."The Kubbys were arrested in January 1999 after a police raid turned up a garden of 265 marijuana plants at various stages of growth in the couple's Squaw Valley home.Steve Kubby, 53, a former Libertarian candidate for governor, and Michele Kubby, 34, insist the pot was being cultivated as medicine to help Steve fight cancer and Michele to ease symptoms of a bowel disorder.The motion by their attorneys claims that prosecutors did not act evenhandedly in their approach to the Kubbys, alleging that they: "Actively took part in the six-month costly and intrusive investigation. "Assured that the Kubbys would be charged even when sheriff's investigators did not find evidence of illegal activity. "Drove out to the scene when the search warrant was executed to guarantee that the Kubbys would be arrested. "Oversaw collection of evidence at the Kubbys' residence. And "questioned the Kubbys themselves." The defense alleges that since the deputy district attorneys were so actively involved in the investigation and arrest, they are witnesses to conduct that may prove the Kubbys innocent and therefore should not be permitted to continue as prosecutors.Serra and Nick said the first detective assigned to the investigation was "let go" when he "failed to find sufficient evidence to justify searching or arresting the Kubbys." And in his place, authorities "brought on board as case agent" a "young and inexperienced detective ... as a puppet for the District Attorney's Office," the defense alleged. Source: Sacramento Bee (CA)Author: Wayne Wilson, Bee Staff WriterPublished: October 6, 2000Copyright: 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 Articles - Kubby:http://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=KubbyCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archives:http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on October 07, 2000 at 18:02:18 PT:
US CA: Web: Steve Kubby's Trial Continues
Newshawk: Steve Kubby Author: Curtis Buncale Pubdate: Sat, 07 Oct 2000 Source: Cannabis Culture Online (Web) Copyright: 2000, Cannabis CultureRedistributed by MAP by permission Contact: ccmag cannabisculture.com Address: Box 15 - 199 West HastingsVancouver, BC, Canada, V6B 1H4 Fax: (604) 669-9038 Website: http://www.cannabisculture.com/ California Med-Pot-Activist Fights Charges In High-Profile Trial. Midway through his landmark medical marijuana case, Steve Kubby and his wife Michele took advantage of a trial an unusual recess in an unusual way, with unusual results. The trial, which has attracted the attention of major television networks and newspapers, opened in September, with the Kubbys represented by a legal team headed by two of California's fiercest "marijuana attorneys," David Nick and Tony Serra.  Click the link to read the complete article.http://mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1494/a10.html
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Comment #2 posted by EdC on October 07, 2000 at 05:26:04 PT
Mica
He pisses me off so much, I have to change the channel. Watching him stand there talking nonsense is bad enough, but when the camera angle shows that he's talking to himself...I feel that I've been had. Those poor people from Florida must feel worse.
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on October 06, 2000 at 16:27:46 PT
DrugSense Weekly, October 6, 2000 #169
Hi Everyone,DrugSense Weekly's feature article isn't really big enough to make an article to post on Cannbis News this week so I'm posting it here!Nations Drug Deaths DO NOT Exceed Murders as Congressman Mica Claims by Doug McVay, Projects Coordinator - Common Sense for Drug Policy, http://www.csdp.org/ The latest spin from Chairman Mica:http://www.house.gov/reform/cj/pressrelease.htm SEPTEMBER 22, 2000 Nations Drug Deaths Now Exceed MurdersWASHINGTON, DC - - At a hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives, John L. Mica, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources, disclosed an alarming report showing that in 1998 drug deaths exceeded the number of murders for the first time in US history."Over the past weeks, Administration officials have attempted to put a happy face on an increasingly sad situation. From 1992 to 1998, drug deaths have increased an astounding 45% in this country. This is a startling statistic and a national tragedy. Unfortunately, law enforcement officials have told me that the death statistic for drug deaths would be worse if it were not for improvements in emergency room treatments of overdoses. Our hospitals and treatment facilities are being deluged with record numbers of drug overdose admissions," Mica said. Recent figures released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that drug induced deaths soared to a record 16,926 people in 1998. The murder rate, as reported by the FBI, is 16,914. Mica further commented, "Considering the fact that nearly half the murders are drug related, we have a national catastrophe that is being ignored." DrugSense Weekly, October 6, 2000 #169http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2000/ds00.n169.html
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