cannabisnews.com: Judge Orders Trial for 4 in Pot-Clinic Case Judge Orders Trial for 4 in Pot-Clinic Case Posted by FoM on November 09, 2000 at 08:36:11 PT By J. Harry Jones, Union-Tribune Staff Writer Source: Union-Tribune Four people connected with a defunct medicinal marijuana clinic in Hillcrest were ordered to stand trial yesterday by the same San Diego Superior Court judge who two months ago dismissed the charges. Saying his hand was forced and he didn't believe justice was being served, Judge William Mudd set a Feb. 7 trial date for Carolyn Konow and her son Steven Rohr, co-owners of the clinic, and Amy Toosley and Daniel O'Neil, who worked there. All face marijuana sale and possession-for-sale charges that carry a maximum six-year prison sentence if convicted. Mudd dismissed the charges on Sept. 5, saying the clinic workers had done everything they could to abide by state law, which he said is hopelessly convoluted. But last week, Superior Court Judge Howard Shore, acting on a request from the district attorney, reversed Mudd's decision, saying he had "abused his discretion" by dismissing the charges. Yesterday, Mudd made it clear from the bench he doesn't agree with Shore's ruling and said he doesn't feel "justice is being served in this case." But he said his hands are tied and that he "begrudgingly" had to bind the defendants over for trial. The case centers on Proposition 215, a 1996 measure legalizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Although it is not against the law for a doctor to recommend marijuana or for a patient to smoke it, it is still against the law to purchase pot or sell it. The Hillcrest clinic had been in operation for almost two years when police shut it down in April. Five clinic workers were arrested then after police made three undercover purchases of marijuana totaling $400. Charges against one of the workers were dismissed in September. The purchases were made by a former volunteer at the clinic who was the caretaker for a man suffering from AIDS. The former volunteer agreed to cooperate with police after detectives unsuccessfully used an undercover sheriff's deputy. Clinic officials twice refused to sell to the deputy, first because she didn't have a doctor's recommendation and then because she presented a false recommendation from a nonexistent doctor. Konow, the co-owner of the clinic, had discussed her plans to operate the business with police and with the City Attorney's Office and had even consulted with a deputy district attorney who she says gave her the green light. But Shore ruled that Konow should have gotten written permission from the District Attorney's Office, which is the only law enforcement agency that decides whether to charge felony crimes. Lawyers for the defendants yesterday said they will ask a third Superior Court Judge to dismiss the charges. If that fails, they will then take the issue to an appeals court. Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA) Author: J. Harry Jones, Staff Writer Published: November 8, 2000Copyright: 2000 Union-Tribune Publishing Co. Address: PO Box 120191, San Diego, CA, 92112-0191 Fax: (619) 293-1440Contact: letters uniontrib.com Website: http://www.uniontrib.com/ Forum: http://www.uniontrib.com/cgi-bin/WebX Related Articles: 4 From Pot Clinic To Face Charges Again http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7517.shtmlCase Against Pot Clinic Staff is Thrown Out http://cannabisnews.com/news/6/thread6953.shtmlPolice Close Down Medical Marijuana Providerhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/5/thread5450.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archives:http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #1 posted by MICHAEL on November 09, 2000 at 17:45:39 PT: Who's the boss? When is a judge not a judge? When he holds court in San Diego. It seems there is a new virus afoot. It's roots are deeply wound, with the seed planted in the craggy, desolate field we call the legal system. It seems that a district attorney, not liking a certain judgement can munipulate the higher ups. This is twisted. The case in point couldn't have come to any other conclusion given the very cloudy facts of the way the law is written. Judges used to be able to judge. Now, judges are judged. The weeds are taking over. Oh my. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: