| Graphic: Grinning Planet |
Claiming that an earlier proposed court order had been a “joke,” a judge on Wednesday formally denied a defense motion seeking the return of large amounts of seized medical marijuana to a Concow, California collective.
Assigned Judge William Lamb pointed out that none of the collective’s members had petitioned the court for the pot’s return, and that in any event, he “felt” the amount confiscated by sheriff’s offices exceeded what he thought was “medically necessary” for the group and was thus “not subject to return,” reports Terry Vau Dell of the Chico Enterprise Record.
And here we were, thinking that doctors were supposed to make medical decisions!
A jury earlier this year acquitted both Michael Kelly and his father, Sean Kelly, of identical felony charges of illegal cultivation and possession of marijuana for sale.
Michael Kelly was found guilty by the same jury on a related misdemeanor charge of illegally diverting water from a small creek to irrigate his plants.
When he failed to appear in court for sentencing on the water diversion county Wednesday, the judge postponed the matter until September 29.
Judge Lamb agreed, however, to hear a motion filed by Kelly’s attorney, Jodea Foster, seeking return of 56 marijuana plants and more than 200 clone starts, which the sheriff’s officers had removed during two successive raids in 2008 and 2009 on two Concow properties owned by Michael and Sean Kelly, the father and son.
Last month, the assigned judge had presented a “proposed order” to both sides during a meeting in chambers agreeing to return “52 ounces” of the seized pot to each member of the Concow medical marijuana collective, but weirdly, later insisted it was intended “only as an inside joke.”
Now, I don’t think it’s just me when I say that judges have never been particularly known for their senses of humor, and I don’t believe I’ve ever known of one offering a court order in a “joking” manner.
The unsigned, type document read in part: “The court does not warrant the medical efficiency of the substance provided” and added the order would “remain in effect for 30 days or as long as supplies last, which ever first occurs.”
Attorney Foster said he was not led to believe at the time that the proposed court order was anything but real.
MIchael Kelly had not shown himself during his trial to be the lawful owner of the confiscated marijuana, Judge Lamb told Foster and Assistant D.A. Helen Harberts on Wednesday, adding that no members of the collective had filed petitions asking for the return of the seized cannabis.