This is an update on my case.

On March 2nd the judge held a hearing in which he rejected almost all of our motions. He threw out selective prosecution, improper conduct, lying to the Grand Jury, and prosecutorial delay.

Fortunately he left our two strongest motions.

Vindictive Prosecution -- The prosecutor's statements in court and in documents he submitted to the court clearly indicate that US Atty. George Bevan, the prosecutor, pursued this case because of statements I had made about the fairness of the first trial and the fact that he lied to the first grand jury. He also misled the superseding grand jury.

The judge is looking at prosecutorial documents in camera, that is privately, and then he will either hold a hearing or make a decision.  If he decides we were right he will probably dismiss some or all of the new charges.

Bifurcation -- Originally the judge split the trial into two parts, so we would have to go to trial twice. The judge rescinded his order based on our arguments that it put the defense in a legal liability and it was a hardship to the defendant.

Bevan made the most important statement of the day. He declared to the court that he would not challenge the 2003 sentencing decision and that the government would not seek additional time. Now, the judge, the Appeals Court, and the prosecutor are all on record that my one-day sentence is sufficient. This means that the trial has become purely political.

It's said that drama first plays as tragedy and then as farce. We are at the farce stage now. A lying prosecutor, fake charges and a Drug War that can't be won.

Still this is a pivotal trial that will help determine the fate of medical marijuana policies throughout the US. It is essential that we win this fight.

As you know, criminal cases are expensive. The attorneys will need funds to hire investigators, obtain trial transcripts on short notice, file motions with the court, and be 110% prepared.  The media used the last trial to criticize the government and support medical marijuana laws.  Let's make sure we give then another good show.  The New York Times already ran an article on March 3rd specifically about the vindictive prosecution.

We need your help in this fight. Please join us in standing up to the government for patients' rights and to keep medical marijuana legal in California. Visit http://www.green-aid.com for more information. PLEASE CONTRIBUTE, WE NEED TO WIN THIS FIGHT.

As you know I was placed on trial in 2003 for providing marijuana starter plants to medical marijuana distribution centers. The exact charges were manufacture, providing a place to manufacture and conspiracy. The jury found me guilty. Within four days of the trial eight of the jurors repudiated the verdict. They had learned the whole truth and told the media that they felt that they had been used and worse. One of the jurors revealed that she had consulted a lawyer about the trial while she was a juror.

After considering all the facts of the case the judge sentenced me to one day in prison, time served. I appealed the conviction on three grounds: improper actions by the juror, the fact that I was a city officer should have exempted me from prosecution under federal law and that even if I was not protected I had been led to believe I was by proper authorities.

The 9th circuit reversed the conviction on the basis of improper actions by the juror and held that I could be re-tried. On August 30 the judge held a status hearing and ruled that according to law the trial must start by the end of October. In addition, this time I will be tried with three co-defendants. Two of those people were subpoenaed by a grand jury and have refused to testify.

This is an extremely important case for the government. They hope that a win here against me will give them a pass to attack all providers functioning under the California Medical Law, then they will move on to decimate progress made in the other states with medical marijuana laws. As you probably know, the federal authorities closed all of the medical facilities in San Diego. If we win it will be a major setback for the government’s efforts to contain the medical marijuana phenomenon. Our success, not guilty verdicts, will send a message to the government that the public will not tolerate federal interference in the state medical program. I am attempting to assemble the legal team now. Each of the four of us is interviewing attorneys and we are planning a joint legal strategy.

As you probably guessed I am writing to you seeking funding for this very costly trial. The last trial, which cost over $350,000, used up most of my savings and a good part of my company’s working capital. It left me in a critical, vulnerable position financially. I don’t have the money to finance a trial for myself and my co-defendants are in worse positions than I am. We expect the trial to cost around $500,000. Could you help us finance this trial so that we can protect medical marijuana users throughout the country? Since my finances are depleted I don’t have the funds to mount the defense my co-defendants and I require. Unless we can raise money very quickly we will be left to federal public defenders.

We are trying to recruit qualified attorneys to work at a reduced rate. Even if they do they will need funds for various court expenses as well as publicity. This is a critical moment and I am reaching out to my friends, to political activists and to all who have voiced concern about this issue as well as my well being. Please help the four of us fight these laws. Give us the tools so we can win this battle. You have shown great courage in being so outspoken about marijuana. I’m sure you understand the importance of this case. Perhaps some of your friends who are not so outspoken could also help. Any gifts to Green-Aid, The Marijuana Legal Defense and Education Fund are tax deductible. It is a 501.(c)3 non-profit corporation. Thank you for reading this and for your consideration. I welcome all ideas and referrals.

Yours truly,

Ed Rosenthal

Green Aid – Postal Mail Box 172, 484 Lake Park Avenue, Oakland, CA 94610 Online www.green-aid.com

Also see this ARTICLE

A federal district court judge dismissed money-laundering and tax evasion charges against Ed Rosenthal Wednesday, saying federal prosecutors had vindictively re-indicted the "Guru of Ganja" after he publicly criticized them in the wake of his successful appeal of his 2003 marijuana cultivation conviction. In that case, Rosenthal was convicted after not being allowed to present evidence he was growing for medicinal purposes, but was sentenced to only one day in jail after the jury protested upon hearing the rest of the story.

Ed Rosenthal at courthouse, with supporters, September 2006 (courtesy indybay.org) The same judge who presided over Rosenthal's first trial, US District Court Judge Charles Breyer, ruled that prosecutors illegally retaliated against Rosenthal by re-indicting him for the acts that were the basis of his original conviction, which was overturned last year, and piling on with the tax evasion and money-laundering charges over a sum that amounted to less than $1,900.

Federal prosecutors tried "to make Rosenthal look like a common criminal and thus dissipate the criticism heaped on the government after the first trial," Breyer said in his opinion. That perception, he said, "will discourage defendants from exercising their First Amendment right to criticize their prosecutions and their statutory right to appeal their convictions."

While he dismissed the two financial counts, Judge Breyer let stand Rosenthal's indictment for growing marijuana for medical patients. But that doesn't give prosecutors much to work with because Breyer also noted that even if he were convicted in a new trial, they could not seek to sentence him to more than the one day that he has already served. That leaves them with the equally unpalatable options of appealing the decision to the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals -- the same court that overturned the original conviction -- or pursuing a conviction where they cannot punish Rosenthal even if they win.

Assistant US Attorney George Bevan, the chief prosecutor on the case, helped Judge Breyer prove the case for a revenge prosecution. While Bevan told Breyer he would not seek additional prison time on the marijuana counts, he said he was "committed to doing the retrial and seeing the case to a conclusion." That remark came after Bevan told the court in October that Rosenthal had complained about not getting a fair trial because he could not mention medical marijuana. "So, I'm saying, this time around, he wants the financial side reflected, fine, let's air this thing out," Bevan said. "Let's have the whole conduct before the jury: tax, money-laundering, marijuana."

In Wednesday's ruling, Breyer noted Bevan's candor but said his comments only "confirm the appearance of vindictiveness."

"The government was clearly out of line to bring this case forward against me," said Rosenthal in a statement released by his attorneys. "The court's ruling is reassuring, but my continued prosecution on the marijuana charges is still malicious. To make me and my family go through a second prosecution to obtain, at most, a one-day time served jail sentence seems personally motivated."

"We are gratified that the court has recognized the vindictive nature of this prosecution and has reigned in the prosecutor," said Joe Elford, chief counsel for Americans for Safe Access, and author of the successful vindictive prosecution motion. "The additional charges brought against Rosenthal were clearly in retaliation for his criticism of the government. Taxpayer dollars should not be wasted on a vendetta carried out by a prosecutor against a defendant."