Guru of Ganja's ordeal nears end
The federal government's vendetta against so-called "Guru of Ganja" Ed Rosenthal may finally be over. After first dismissing money-laundering and tax evasion charges against Rosenthal on the grounds that they're the result of vindictive prosecution, U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer granted the prosecution's motion for a postponement -- and then urges the government to seriously consider whether it's worth going forward with the retrial.
Rosenthal was convicted in 2003 of growing marijuana by a jury that was not informed that he had been working for the city of Oakland, California, as part of a medical marijuana program. After the fact, five of the jurors held a press conference to denounce the prosecution and call for a new trial.
The government was a little embarrassed.
Judge Breyer sentenced Rosenthal to one day in jail, which he served before his conviction was overturned. The remaining indictment against Rosenthal is the growing charge for which he already served time.
Notably, after the Rosenthal trial, the jurors were publicly asked -- by Matt Gonzalez, president of San Francisco's Board of Supervisors, among others -- why they didn't nullify the law if they suspected that the prosecution was wrongheaded. One of the jurors, Marney Craig, replied that they'd had no idea they had the power to disregard the law, and so had followed the script the government prepared for them.
It's good that Ed Rosenthal's ordeal is finally coming to an end. But he could have been spared much pain and expense if the jury had been aware that it didn't have to participate in a kangaroo court proceeding, and could free him no matter what the prosecutor and the judge said.
And Rosenthal's case was widely publicized and watched. How many other Ed Rosenthals are out there, suffering because jurors don't know their own power?
Rosenthal was convicted in 2003 of growing marijuana by a jury that was not informed that he had been working for the city of Oakland, California, as part of a medical marijuana program. After the fact, five of the jurors held a press conference to denounce the prosecution and call for a new trial.
The government was a little embarrassed.
Judge Breyer sentenced Rosenthal to one day in jail, which he served before his conviction was overturned. The remaining indictment against Rosenthal is the growing charge for which he already served time.
Notably, after the Rosenthal trial, the jurors were publicly asked -- by Matt Gonzalez, president of San Francisco's Board of Supervisors, among others -- why they didn't nullify the law if they suspected that the prosecution was wrongheaded. One of the jurors, Marney Craig, replied that they'd had no idea they had the power to disregard the law, and so had followed the script the government prepared for them.
It's good that Ed Rosenthal's ordeal is finally coming to an end. But he could have been spared much pain and expense if the jury had been aware that it didn't have to participate in a kangaroo court proceeding, and could free him no matter what the prosecutor and the judge said.
And Rosenthal's case was widely publicized and watched. How many other Ed Rosenthals are out there, suffering because jurors don't know their own power?
posted by J.D. Tuccille at
3:21 PM
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