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BREAKING: Grumbine & Byron Granted New Marijuana Trial

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on April 13, 2012 News

Joe Grumbine outside the Long Beach Courthouse with his grandchild Jojo

Joe Grumbine and Joe Byron, whose recent trial for operating a medical cannabis dispensary in Southern California attracted worldwide attention — make that horror and disbelief — for judicial and jury misconduct and prejudice, has been granted a new trial.

“This was a terrible, terrible trial,” said Long Beach Superior Court Judge Joan Comparet-Cassani, who granted the motion for a new trial.

“I read the transcript [of the previous trial]and I am appalled,” Judge Comparet-Cassani said on Friday, reports Cheri Sicard of The Human Solution, who attended the hearing along with Grumbine and other members of the group.

Medical Marijuana Trial Judge Recuses Himself For Alleged Bias

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 11, 2012 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Rory Murray/OC Weekly

Sentencing for medical marijuana defendants Joe Grumbine and Joe Byron — convicted of cannabis sales in relation to a pair of dispensaries in Long Beach, California and another in Garden Grove — has been delayed. In an unexpected, 11th-hour move, Long Beach Superior Court Judge Charles D. Sheldon removed himself from the case Wednesday morning, citing allegations of his biased behavior in the courtroom and admitting he made a serious error in sending a complimentary letter to the prosecutor prior to sentencing.

Judge Sheldon — who throughout the trial, put on one of the most unseemly displays of anti-marijuana bias in memory — denied the allegations, reports Nick Schou of OC Weekly. “The court is not biased in favor of any party or counsel,” he claimed, responding to a recusal motion by defense attorneys Christopher Glew and Allison Margolin. The recusal motion included a laundry list of Judge Sheldon’s objectionable statements.

Grumbine, Byron Found GUILTY Of All Charges In Med Pot Trial

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 21, 2011 Medical, News

The Weedly News

Joe Grumbine, above, and Joe Byron were found guilty of all counts Wednesday by a jury in Long Beach, California

Long Beach Kangaroo Court Yields Insane Jury Verdict

After what was reportedly one of the worst, most farcical and biased trials in history, led by an octogenarian judge who openly and repeatedly expressed his bias against medical marijuana — at one point even ordering a screen to be erected between the jurors and courtroom visitors — Joe Grumbine and Joe Byron, who operated Long Beach dispensaries, were found guilty Wednesday of all 13 counts.

The two are scheduled to return to Long Beach Superior Court on January 11 for sentencing. Superior Court Judge Charles Sheldon allowed the men to remain out on bail over the holidays.

Grumbine and Byron were raided and arrested two years ago this month, reports Nick Schou at OC Weekly, resulting in a long legal nightmare which culminated in today’s convictions. The jury found both men guilty of selling marijuana, tax evasion, and electricity theft.

The charges, according to supporters of the two Joes, are nothing more than an attack by overzealous police and prosecutors in violation of California’s medical marijuana law, reports Tracy Manzer at the Long Beach Press Telegram.

Grumbine Medical Marijuana Trial: ‘We Got Pounded This Week’

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 10, 2011 Dispensaries, Medical, News

Joe Grumbine

Joe Grumbine addresses supporters outside the courtroom

The out-of-control antics of an octogenarian, rabidly anti-marijuana judge continued to appall activists in Long Beach, California this week. Superior Court Judge Charles Sheldon, the 79-year-old judge in the trial of Joe Grumbine and Joe Byron, former operators of a pair of Long Beach cannabis collectives, didn’t even bother to conceal his obvious bias against the defendants, according to observers.

“We got pounded this week and especially the last half of today,” Grumbine posted on Facebook Friday night. “In spite of three motions for a mistrial due to bias, we move forward in this landmark case.”

Right at the outset of the trial, Judge Sheldon denied the two Joes their right to mention medical marijuana in their defense — upon which, of course, the whole case hinges. This prevented their attorneys from calling it witnesses who could testify that they were following California state law. But after a ruling last week by the California Court of Appeal, Sheldon was left with no choice but to allow such witnesses to testify.

On Monday, when confronted with this ruling, Sheldon refused a follow-up motion by the defense to delay the trial for a week so defense attorneys Alison Margolin and Christopher Glew could get ahold of the previously off-limits witnesses. But Judge Sheldon insisted the trial start right away.

New Zealand Group Says Yes To Trials Of Medical Cannabis

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 3, 2011 Global, Medical

Graphic: Greencross Auckland

Pro-cannabis group Auckland Greencross has endorsed the New Zealand Law Commission’s recommendations that clinical trials of cannabis are undertaken and that bona fide users of medicinal marijuana become exempt from prosecution.

Stephen McIntyre, spokesman for the medical cannabis patients’ support group, on Tuesday said both proposals would find favor with the general public, as two out of three New Zealanders support allowing cannabis for medical use.

“Sixty five percent of submissions to this report — a figure consistent with online polling — favored the establishment of a scheme allowing people suffering from chronic, debilitating or terminal conditions to legally access and use herbal cannabis,” McIntyre said.

“Most medical users of cannabis, alongside the serious condition they’re forced to cope with on a daily basis, have the added stress of finding reliable access to quality medicine from a trustworthy source, compounded by fear of being caught by the police,” McIntyre said.

Illinois House Kills Industrial Hemp Bill

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on April 1, 2011 Growing, Legislation

Photo: The Sustainability Ninja

Industrial hemp is a variety of cannabis with almost zero THC. Its fibers are useful for clothing, paper, cosmetics, and fuel.

A bill that would have allowed Illinois farmers to grow industrial hemp was badly defeated Thursday in the state House.

House Bill 1383, sponsored by Rep. Ken Dunkin (D-Chicago), would have allowed farmers to get permits to grow hemp, a low-THC varietal of the cannabis plant. Hemp fiber can be used in clothing, paper, cosmetics, and ethanol, reports Andy Brownfield at the Springfield State Journal-Register.

“This is part of the new green movement across the nation,” Dunkin said. “This will put Illinois ahead of most states.”

County’s First Medical Marijuana Trial Quickly Ends In Acquittal

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 25, 2011 Dispensaries, Growing, News

Photo: Mark Morey/Yakima Herald-Republic

Valtino Hicks waits for the jury to enter the courtroom, Thursday, March 25, 2011 during his trial in Yakima County Superior Court. He was accused of running a marijuana growing operation in his home.

Yakima County, Washington’s first medical marijuana dispensary trial quickly ended in acquittal Thursday afternoon.

The Superior Court jury that heard the charges against Valtino Hicks of Yakima returned its verdict in less than 25 minutes, reports Mark Morey of the Yakima Herald-Republic.

At least two other local medical marijuana cases are pending, and the issue remains controversial across the state. King County, home of Seattle, has declined to prosecute marijuana dispensaries, and a bill advanced this week in the Legislature which would create a legal framework for licensed dispensaries.

Feds Warn Oakland: Industrial Marijuana Farms Are Illegal

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 3, 2011 Growing, News

Photo: Adrian Rushton/Colchester Gazette

There was some more ominous saber-rattling from federal drug warriors Wednesday as a U.S. Attorney strongly warned Oakland that big industrial marijuana farms are illegal, and that the Department of Justice is considering “civil and criminal legal remedies” if the city goes ahead with its plans to permit them.

In a letter [PDF] obtained by The Bay Citizen, U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag warned that the DOJ is “concerned” about Oakland’s “licensing scheme that permits large-scale industrial marijuana cultivation and manufacturing as it authorizes conduct contrary to federal law and threatens the federal government’s efforts to regulate the possession, manufacturing, and trafficking of controlled substances.”

The central point of Haag’s letter was clear: Marijuana is illegal under federal law.

Marijuana Case Dismissed Against Four Men After $40K Trial

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 15, 2010 Global, News

Photo: Akl Seshnz

The victorious ‘Waiheke Four’ after all charges were dismissed for possession of cannabis and a bong

After a trial lasting nearly a year and which cost taxpayers about $40,000, marijuana charges against four New Zealand men were dismissed last week in Auckland District Court.

The case took a total of 11 months, required five court appearances, three legal aid lawyers, one interpreter, and two police witnesses traveling to and from Waiheke Island, according to NORML New Zealand.

The four men, dubbed the “Waiheke Four” by supporters, were arrested on New Year’s Eve last year sitting at a public picnic table on a beach on Waiheke Island. On the table and nearby, police found a bong and nine grams of cannabis.

“There was no evidence linking any of the men to the cannabis and bong, yet all four were arrested, charged and prosecuted in court,” said Stephen McIntyre, president of NORML New Zealand.

Advocates Want New Trial In San Diego Pot Dispensary Case

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 14, 2010 Dispensaries, News

Photo: K.C. Alfred/Sign On San Diego

The court deprived Jovan Jackson of the medical marijuana defense that was used to gain an acquittal in his first trial

Medical marijuana patient advocates on Wednesday will argue for a new trial in the case of dispensary owner Jovan Jackson, who was convicted on September 28 after he was tried for the second time in less than a year on the same charges of marijuana possession and sales.

After District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis failed to convict Jackson the first time, she was able to block his use of a medical marijuana defense at the second trial, virtually guaranteeing his conviction, according to patient advocacy group Americans for Safe Access (ASA).

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