Pubdate: Wed, 04 Dec 2002
Source: Montreal Gazette (CN QU)
Copyright: 2002 The Gazette, a division of Southam Inc.
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/274
Author: Sean Gordon

JUDGE DELAYS RULING AGAIN IN COMPASSION CLUB POT CASE

Cites  'Very  Delicate'  Technical  Evidence.  Defendants,  Who Supply 
Cannabis To The Ill, Say They Are Encouraged By Latest Wait

Their  drug-trafficking  trial ended 19 months ago, but a pair of Club 
Compassion  de  Montreal activists will have to wait at least two more 
weeks to know their fate after a Quebec Court judge postponed judgment in 
the case for a 10th time.

The  last  few  months  have  been "a little nerve-wracking," said pot 
activist  Marc-Boris  St.  Maurice,  32,  who  was  charged along with 
Alexandre  Neron,  22, after police busted the Plateau Mont Royal club in 
the fall of 2000, seizing 66 grams of marijuana.

"It's  not as bad for me as it is for the people who are sick. ... I'm 
a  patient man. It's worth waiting a while for a favourable judgment," said 
St. Maurice, the founder of the provincial Bloc Pot.

"I  think  if  (the judge) was planning to disqualify our arguments on 
the  legitimacy  of medicinal marijuana, it would have happened a long time 
ago."

The  duo's  trial  ended  in  May  of  2001,  but Judge Gilles Cadieux 
postponed his ruling five times before the case was reopened this past spring.

He was first supposed to rule in August, then September, and, finally, in 
October.

Yesterday,  Cadieux  set  Dec.  19 as the final date in a case that is 
being  watched  closely  by  pro-cannabis  and  law-enforcement groups 
across Canada because of its likely impact.

Courts  routinely  accord postponements before and during proceedings, but 
one legal scholar said it is unusual for a judge to deliberate for such a 
long time in a criminal case.

"It's  not  typical,  certainly.  But  I  hesitate to say that this is 
unheard of - we do see these types of situations once in a blue moon," 
said  Anne-Marie  Boisvert, a criminal law expert at the Universite de 
Montreal.

"It's  not  like  it's  a  complex  fraud  with  thousands of pages of 
evidence  ... but this is a complicated trial with wide implications," she 
said. "I'm not surprised the judge wants to take his time."

Cadieux,  who  is reputed in legal circles to be exceedingly thorough, 
agreed to reopen the case in May to hear new evidence based on changes in 
the government policy concerning medical marijuana.

At  that  point, he made an interim finding that Canadian laws banning 
the  sale  of  marijuana  to medicinal users were unconstitutional - a 
finding that has led to much optimism in the defence camp.

"The  evidence is voluminous and very technical," Cadieux explained in 
court yesterday.

"There  is  one section left which is very delicate that I have yet to 
completely consider, but I should be done within the next week or so."

Defence  lawyer  Pierre  Leger  said  it's encouraging that Cadieux is 
giving every consideration to the defence's argument that current drug laws 
are unconstitutional

"We've  been  working on this long enough, we're happy to wait another 
couple  of  weeks,"  he said. "This is an unprecedented case that will 
have  an impact across Canada, so it's important that the work be done well."

Leger  said the court will likely do one of three things: issue a stay 
of   proceedings,   grant   a  legal  exemption  for  Compassion  Club 
volunteers, or invalidate Canada's drug legislation.

St.  Maurice  did  chalk  up  what he termed a small victory yesterday 
after  Cadieux  amended  his  bail  conditions  to  allow  the  former 
punk-rock musician to enter the Club Compassion premises at 950 Rachel St. E.

The  club  closed for several weeks this fall because of a shortage of 
volunteers willing to help patients.

It  has  since  reopened,  and organizers are in the midst of updating 
files  on  their  patients:  those with doctors' prescriptions and the 
handful of Montrealers who hold federal-government exemptions to smoke 
marijuana for therapeutic purposes.

"There's a lot of work that needs to be done at the club, and now I'll be 
able to go help out," St. Maurice said.

"It's a big relief and I'm grateful."

Wheels of Justice

- - 23 procedural delays and postponements since November 2000.

- - 10 postponements of the judgment.

- - 9 rescheduled hearing dates.

- - 4 delays due to requests from lawyers or the court.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens