Pubdate: Tue, 01 Apr 2003 Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA) Copyright: 2003 San Jose Mercury News Contact: http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/390 Author: David Kravets Related: please visit http://www.green-aid.com/ for updates from activists Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Ed+Rosenthal Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California) CONVICTED POT GURU WANTS NEW TRIAL, ALLEGES JUROR MISCONDUCT SAN FRANCISCO -(AP) Lawyers for marijuana guru Ed Rosenthal, convicted in January of federal pot cultivation charges, urged a judge Tuesday to grant a new trial amid allegations of juror misconduct. Rosenthal, who says he was growing medical marijuana under a 1996 law approved by California voters, alleges that at least two jurors incorrectly believed they had no choice but to convict him. A founder of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, Rosenthal once wrote the "Ask Ed" column for High Times magazine and has written books with titles including "The Big Book of Buds" and "Ask Ed: Marijuana Law. Don't Get Busted." Rosenthal, 58, could spend the rest of his life in prison when sentenced in June. His prosecution underscored the federal government's position that there is no medical value to marijuana and that the will of California voters has no affect on federal drug law. In a recent interview, California Attorney General Bill Lockyer said Rosenthal's actions were legal under state law. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer is not expected to rule on the new trial request for at least a week. Federal prosecutors declined comment but have opposed a new trial. During a nearly two-hour hearing Tuesday, one juror testified that another juror had consulted an attorney during deliberations to ask whether jurors could vote their conscience and ignore the overwhelming evidence before them - - Rosenthal was caught with a warehouse full of marijuana plants. A vote of conscience is referred to as jury nullification and allows jurors to acquit based on their beliefs that the crimes charged should not be criminal offenses. The practice dates at least to colonial times, when publisher John Peter Zenger was acquitted of seditious libel against the British government. During Rosenthal's trial, marijuana advocates handed out literature to passers-by urging jury nullification. Rosenthal juror Pamela Klarkowski testified that fellow juror Marney Craig consulted with an "attorney friend" during the trial who counseled Craig that she could not vote her conscience. When Craig told Klarkowski of the advice during the trial, "I felt that there was only one choice," Klarkowski testified. On Tuesday, Craig invoked her Fifth Amendment right against compelled self-incrimination, fearing she could be held in contempt for refusing to obey Breyer's orders that she not discuss the case with outside experts during the trial. "I might hold her in contempt," Breyer said. Attorneys for Rosenthal argued that Craig and Klarkowski's discussion tainted the trial. In addition, the advice Craig obtained from the unnamed attorney was false, Rosenthal's attorney Dennis Riordan said. "Any external evidence like that is a basis for a new trial," Riordan said. After the trial, jurors said that although they were not told Rosenthal was growing medical-marijuana, they suspected he was. Many said they would have acquitted had they known that Oakland city officials sanctioned his operation. Rosenthal's lawyers are also seeking a new trial on allegations that the judge wrongly prevented Rosenthal from presenting those and other facts to jurors. The case is United States v. Rosenthal, 02-053. - --- MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk