cannabisnews.com: With Jurors Deadlocked 11-1, Mistrial Declared With Jurors Deadlocked 11-1, Mistrial Declared Posted by FoM on December 22, 2000 at 06:00:45 PT By Gus Thomson, Journal Staff Writer Source: Auburn Journal A mistrial was declared Thursday in the trial of Steve and Michele Kubby, with a jury that leaned 11-1 toward acquittal on possession-of-marijuana-for-sales charges deciding to give up efforts to convince a lone, female juror to come over to their side.Jurors were sequestered for 21½ hours over five days after hearing testimony that spanned four months. In the end, the jury could only decide to convict Steve Kubby on comparably minor felony drug possession charges involving a magic mushroom stem and peyote buttons.Steve Kubby faces a maximum exposure of three years, eight months in prison for the drug possession charges and a minimum of probation, Placer County District Attorney Brad Fenocchio said. Prosecutors will now have to consider both a sentencing recommendation and whether to retry the other charges, he said."We respect the jury's decision – and indecision as well," Fenocchio said.The crux of the trial was the issue of possession of marijuana for sale stemming from a January 1999 raid on the Kubbys' Olympic Valley home. Jurors were unanimous in their belief, when polled by the court, that they would be unable to come back with a verdict after further deliberations.A total of 265 pot plants were confiscated from the Kubbys' indoor grow – marijuana the Placer County District Attorney's Office contended had a potential yield far above the couple's medicinal needs.Eleven jurors were willing to acquit the Kubbys on the most serious charges – counts of possession for sale, cultivating and conspiracy that could have resulted in up to 10 years in prison. Juror Floyd Marston said the hold-out member of the panel was set from the start of deliberations last Friday against acquittal. Several attempts were made to sway her, he said."We just decided that no is no," Marston said. "She had very definite thoughts and there was no possible way she could be convinced."Steve Kubby, a medical marijuana advocate and Libertarian Party gubernatorial candidate in 1998, showed a smile after what defense attorneys described as a victory in the face of his possible conviction on the most serious charges.Both Steve Kubby and his attorney, J. Tony Serra, said the jury's 11-1 shift toward acquittal gave credence to City of Oakland guidelines for growing marijuana established shortly after passage of Proposition 215 in 1996. The Oakland guidelines allow 144 plants per person for medicinal use."The important thing is the jury upheld the Oakland guidelines," Kubby said. "Everything else is really superfluous."Serra said the fact 11 jurors' backed the use of the Oakland guidelines as de facto standards shows counties with more restrictive policies should seriously consider the standards.The lone hold-out against acquittal "seems an unreasonable voice," Serra said.Steve Kubby will return to Placer County court Feb. 2 for sentencing on the peyote and magic mushroom charges."While we feel badly that Steve Kubby was convicted on the other counts, we were here for a marijuana contest and we won that," Serra said. He added that it is unlikely the case would be retried.Chris Cattran, the lead prosecutor during the marathon trial in North Auburn, had attempted to convince jurors that the Kubbys sold their excess crop to Bay Area cannabis buyers clubs. The clubs were set up after the passage of Prop. 215 but have since been shut down. Yet the prosecution could produce no witness to testify that they had seen a transaction take place, been involved in a transaction with the Kubbys or heard the Kubbys talk about their alleged role as growers."The jury has spoken – we'll take it from there," Cattran said. As to a possible retrial, Cattran said the District Attorney's Office would decide after evaluating the trial and its outcome.J. David Nick, Michele Kubby's attorney, said he wasn't disappointed to have the major charges left without a verdict."I believe this is a great victory for medical marijuana patients," he said. "Eleven of the jurors concluded that the amount the Kubbys possessed was reasonable."Prosecutors "utterly failed to prove their case," Nick said. Law enforcement and government officials should consider the Kubby trial outcome a signal to find common ground with the medical marijuana community, he said.The Kubby trial began in September in the DeWitt Center courtroom of Judge John Cosgrove. The proceedings rippled with drama as Serra and Nick's combative natures tested the patience of Cattran and Cosgrove. After one remark against Cattran, Nick was sanctioned by Cosgrove and fined $200. Both Kubbys testified – setting up tense confrontations with prosecutors while on the stand and a continual stream of objections from a defense team energized by the closely watched trial. Proceedings drew a steady stream of medical marijuana patients. They sat in the public gallery offering silent – and sometimes vocal – support. More than once, the court bailiff had to remind audience members to keep their remarks to themselves.The stress of a lengthy trial took its emotional toll on Michele Kubby. She cried when a video of the raid was shown to jurors and left the courtroom every time it was played after that. She also broke down in tears and had to leave the courtroom as attorneys discussed the inevitability of a trial that was to have ended by Thanksgiving extending into December.The Kubbys have been living temporarily in Meadow Vista during the trial. They had started negotiations on purchasing their rented Olympic Valley home before the raid but filed bankruptcy later that year. Michele Kubby said her husband and two young children will leave Placer County and find a place to live where they won't be harassed by authorities."What are we supposed to do?" she said. "This trial opens up a whole new box of questions."Michele Kubby was acquitted on the two drug possession charges her husband was found guilty of.At the time of their arrest, both Kubbys had medical marijuana recommendations from doctors to grow and use cannabis. Michele Kubby's was for irritable bowel syndrome. Steve Kubby's was to arrest a rare form of adrenal cancer. Marijuana, he told jurors, kept him alive.Jurors who spoke outside the courtroom said they believed Prop. 215 has its place."What needs to happen is it needs to get more specified," said Meadow Vista's Matt Nielsen. "If you want to make it work, you need to make guidelines regarding the different needs."Another juror, Robert Pineschi, described Prop. 215 as a good law."But it's too vague," Pineschi said. "Both sides should get together because the Oakland guidelines are the only ones out there."They need to have realistic guidelines rather than just going in there and tearing it up." Complete Title: With Jurors Deadlocked 11-1, Mistrial Declared in Pot Case Source: Auburn Journal (CA)Author: Gus Thomson, Journal Staff WriterPublished: December 22, 2000Phone: (530) 885-6585Copyright: 2000 The Auburn JournalAddress: 1030 High St., Auburn, CA 95603Contact: ajournal foothill.netWebsite: http://www.auburnjournal.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:The Kubby Fileshttp://www.kubby.org/Kubby Verdict Mixed Blessing but Drug War Goes Onhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8086.shtmlLibertarian Candidate for Governor Convictedhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8085.shtmlJury Close to Verdict in Kubby Pot Trial http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8084.shtmlCannabisNews Articles - Steve Kubbyhttp://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=kubby Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #8 posted by freedom fighter on December 23, 2000 at 02:27:15 PT 12 angry jury remember that old black/white movie called "12 angry jury"?If I recall it correctly, the judge in the movie forced the jury to come to a decision. Today, here we have a judge letting the jury go home with an indecision verdict. Tonight, the 12 angry jury are not going to sleep well. The case was based on anonymous tip and I wondered why?I wondered HOW much it cost to try this case? I wondered HOW much 12 jury lost in wages and production time with their families? I wondered HOW much damage did the Amerika have done to Kubby family?All over a plant called cannabis. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by kaptinemo on December 22, 2000 at 12:32:01 PT: Another big stink brewing... The business of convicting the Kubbys on possession of mushroom stems and pieces of peyote buttons may have illustrated again the antis' predilection towards shooting themselves in the foot.The Native American Church is - albeit, grudgingly - permitted by the Federal government to use peyote as part of its' sacramental rites. Others, such as Ras Tafarians, have made the equally valid claim that cannabis is part of *their* rites. A position which the Guam Supreme Court has essentially agreed with. So, what we have here is nothing less than religious discrimination; it's okay for First Americans to use peyote, and for Rastas to use cannabis (at least, in Guam) but not okay for the rest of us. Which is a direct contravention of the First Amendment: CONGRESS SHALL MAKE NO LAW RESPECTING AN ESTABLISHMENT OFRELIGION, OR PROHIBITING THE FREE EXERCISE THEREOF; OR ABRIDGING THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH, OR OF THE PRESS; OR THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE PEACEABLY TO ASSEMBLE, AND TO PETITION THE GOVERNMENT FOR A REDRESS OF GRIEVANCES. It doesn't get any plainer than that. To favor one group by allowing it to use psychotropics as sacraments and deny the same right to others, based upon religion, is as clear a violation of the 1st Amendment as it gets.By convicting the Kubbys on what should be a truly piddling matter, the antis think that they have 'gotten over'. They must have figured that they had to walk away with *something* to show their brickheaded bosses that they really 'won'. But they have opened a much larger door than the one they sought to close; up to now, the arena was just in California, fought with California law. Now they have involved every person of faith in this country. Because what is done to one group with impunity can be done to others:Niemoller's PoemA poem by Pastor Martin Niemoller, Berlin, 1939.Niemoller was a pastor in the German Confessing Church who spent eight and one-half years in a Nazi concentration camp. First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out--because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the communists and I did not speak out--because I was not a communist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out--because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me--and there was no one left to speak out for me.Niemoller's address to the U.S. CongressThe exact text of what Martin Niemoller said, and which appears in the Congressional Record, October 14, 1968, page 31636 is: "When Hitler attacked the Jews I was not a Jew, therefore I was not concerned. And when Hitler attacked the Catholics, I was not a Catholic, and therefore, I was not concerned. And when Hitler attacked the unions and the industrialists, I was not a member of the unions and I was not concerned. Then Hitler attacked me and the Protestant church -- and there was nobody left to be concerned. " [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by TroutMask on December 22, 2000 at 10:43:34 PT If it's only a stem... I wonder what the typical sentence is for possession of one mushroom stem or a piece of peyote in California? I'd have to guess a slap on the wrist at worst, probably probation. Of course, the hardest part of probation would be the drug tests (for marijuana) and the Kubby's won't have to worry about that!-TM [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by Jr Bob Dobbs on December 22, 2000 at 10:07:26 PT MushroomS? Steve Kubby didn't have even one mushroom - he had a single stem! Which he is currently facing conviction over... is it too late to add his name to the list of pardons Clinton is working on? http://www.pot-tv.net/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by FoM on December 22, 2000 at 09:18:19 PT Proposition 36 You know what I was thinking? Steve Kubby might benefit from Prop 36 if you think about it. He is allowed to smoke Cannabis so drug testing won't be an issue. He could be given community service for the mushrooms and peyote. Anyone else think this too?Peace, FoM! [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by kaptinemo on December 22, 2000 at 09:08:15 PT: Got a question, here. 'Eleven jurors were willing to acquit the Kubbys on the most serious charges – counts of possession for sale, cultivating and conspiracy that could have resulted in up to 10 years in prison. Juror Floyd Marston said the hold-out member of the panel was set from the start of deliberations last Friday against acquittal. Several attempts were made to sway her, he said."We just decided that no is no," Marston said. "She had very definite thoughts and there was no possible way she could be convinced."'and:'The lone hold-out against acquittal "seems an unreasonable voice," Serra said.'In order to circumvent the Fully Informed Jury movement, judges have gone out of their way to try to determine which jurors believe that cannabis and other illicit drug possession should not be subject to punishment. Yet, did anyone check for rabid bias *for* punishment? [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by TroutMask on December 22, 2000 at 08:03:29 PT Hopefully... Hopefully, the idiot prosecutors will see that they have no hope in winning and will drop the case now.-TM [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Dankhank on December 22, 2000 at 07:38:52 PT: Justice As the juggernaut enexorably rolls to sanity thed journey is highlighted by "victories" such as these ...Good fortune to Steve and Michelle, you deserve it now ... HEMP n STUFF [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: