Jury
Seated in Federal Medical Marijuana Trial of Ed Rosenthal
Proceedings begin Tuesday,
January 21st in U.S. District Court
The jury was finally selected today in the federal
marijuana-cultivation trial of best-selling author and activist
Ed Rosenthal. It took an unprecedented two days -- the first of
which saw half the prospective jurors excused because of their strong
feelings about the legalization of Marijuana, their experiences
with its medical use, or their frustration with federal interference
in state laws -- but twelve jurors and two alternates were empaneled
by Federal District Court Judge Charles Breyer to begin hearing
the case next Tuesday, January 21st, following the Martin Luther
King Jr. holiday.
Prospective jurors were again questioned about their feelings and
beliefs related to marijuana, and the court was again filled with
poignant stories of family members who had sought relief from the
symptoms of HIV or cancer through the use of medical marijuana.
Potential jurors also took the opportunity to denounce the federal
laws on marijuana as "grotesque," to question the imposition of
jail time for marijuana offences, and to suggest that the medicinal
use of marijuana was a matter for science not the courts.
Even Judge Breyer acknowledged that the cultivation of marijuana
for use by patients may be the "noble" thing to do, the "humane"
and right thing. But he repeatedly reminded the prospective jurors
that he would be instructing them that marijuana cultivation was
a federal crime no matter what the purpose, and to sit on the jury
they had to be willing to set aside their conclusions or beliefs
and follow his instructions, even if they believed he was wrong
about the law, or the law itself was unjust.
Many of those called declined to be bound by such instructions,
but, ultimately, 14 people agreed. Trial commences Tuesday,
January 21, 2003 at 8:30 a.m. in U.S. District Court, Northern District
of California, Courtroom of Justice Charles Breyer, 19th Floor,
450 Golden Gate, San Francisco, California.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Updates and background information
on Ed Rosenthal’s case are available on the web at www.green-aid.com or www.safeaccessnow.org.
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