WHAT: Verdict expected in federal retrial of author
and medical marijuana advocate Ed Rosenthal. Press conference
to follow.
WHEN: Wednesday, May 29, 2007. Jury returns at 8:30am;
verdict expected by midday
WHO: Ed Rosenthal and his attorneys, Robert Amparan,
Shari Greenberger and Omar Figueroa
WHERE: Federal Building, Courtroom of U.S. District
Judge Charles Breyer, 19th Floor, 450 Golden Gate, San Francisco
Jury Deliberating in Retrial of Rosenthal Medical Marijuana
Case
Verdict Expected Wednesday on Five Federal Felony Counts
The jury in the federal retrial of medical marijuana advocate
and author Ed Rosenthal adjourned for the day without reaching
a verdict.
Closing arguments were completed midday; the jury took a
lunch break and then picked a foreperson and began deliberations.
A verdict is expected Wednesday.
Rosenthal and his attorneys will hold a press conference
in the plaza of the federal building following the verdict.
To receive notice of the verdict, contact William Dolphin
by sending an email to mail@williamdolphin.com or calling
(510) 919-1498.
Rosenthal is fighting a retrial on three charges related
to cultivating medical marijuana, as well as two additional
counts related to distribution of marijuana to patients.
An appeals court last year overturned Rosenthal's 2003 conviction
on three felony marijuana counts. The U.S. Attorney's Office
brought new charges against Rosenthal last October, but Judge
Breyer dismissed the bulk of them as "vindictive prosecution."
If convicted of the remaining marijuana charges, Rosenthal
faces no time or other penalty, as he has already served his
one-day sentence and three years of supervised release.
Following the verdict in the first trial, the jury learned
that Rosenthal was providing medical marijuana to patients
as part of a City of Oakland program, and the majority publicly
recanted and denounced the trial for not providing the whole
truth. The case led to the introduction of legislation that
would allow medical defenses in federal trials, but the bill
failed to achieve majority support.
