Pubdate: Wed, 26 Apr 2006
Source: Express (CN BC)
Copyright: 2006 Kootenay Express Communication
Contact:  http://www.expressnews.ca
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2374
Author: Susan Hollis
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?196 (Emery, Marc)

A QUESTION OF JURISDICTION

Local man charges self-proclaimed Pot King Marc Emery: Canada's  
Attorney General trying to stay charges

For the second time in the last year,a a private citizen has laid  
charges against Marc Emery, B.C.'s King of Pot, in a bid to prevent  
the marijuana activist's extradition to the U.S.  Though the first  
attempt, made by David McCann who filed his charges in September of  
2005, failed; this around both the Slocan Valley's Patrick Roberts,  
who filed the most recent charges and his legal council, Nelson  
lawyer Don Skogstad, think they have a strong case for keeping the  
accused north of the border.

Emery, Michelle Rainey-Fenkarek and Greg Williams have been indicted  
by a U.S. federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy to distribute  
marijuana seeds, conspiracy to distribute marijuana and conspiracy to  
engage in money laundering.  Roberts charged them with the same  
offenses.  Under the criminal code, if the three are charged in  
Canada, they cannot be charged for the same crimes in the U.S.   
Roberts said he laid the charges because he believes Emery and his  
cohorts should be charged in the country where they committed their  
offences.  He is also concerned with Canada's political stance in  
relation to the United States, one he describes as "bare naked with  
hind quarters in the air."

"I believe they're guilty, they admit they're guilty, and I believe a  
Canadian should never be answerable to United States law for things  
they have done entirely in Canada," he said.  "I believe the  
sovereignty of each of us is preserved by carrying this prosecution  
out here."

Canada's federal attorney general is currently trying to stay  
Roberts' charges, which would clear the way for the accused party's  
extradition.  Roberts and his lawyer, Nelson-based Don Skogstad, both  
claim the feds are sticking their nose where it doesn't belong and  
they're taking them to Supreme Court in Nelson to prevent further  
involvement.

"There is no legal basis for their intervention, they're my charges;  
they can't drop them for me," said Roberts, who was extradited for  
marijuana charges in 2001, when he was falsely linked to a bungled  
B.C. RCMP investigation focused on an accused Shuswap smuggler.   
Roberts spent 135 days in jail after a request from the DEA's office  
resulted in him being pulled off a plane and arrested on a flight  
from Ireland to Amsterdam in 2001.  His charges were eventually  
stayed, and Roberts was acquitted, but the event left a sour taste in  
his mouth.

"I'll come right out and say I'm a little pissed at what happened to  
me, so if it does work out that America is not able to extend the  
reach of its law into our country, I'm all the happier for that,"  
continued Roberts.

If American drug-enforcement officials get their way, Emery will  
stand trial in Seattle, where his charges could end in a minimum  
prison term of 10 years to a maximum of life.  Roberts' lawyer Don  
Skogstad said the case clearly shows how the Canadian government is  
deferring to the Americans by making efforts to deliver Emery to the  
south.

"The prosecution was not brought about by the federal government or  
any of the police forces that work with them, it's private, so as far  
as we're concerned they don't have any right to intervene.  It's a  
legal question for the judge to answer," he said.  "Why should  
justice for British Columbians, and in Marc's case, who has never  
been in the United States, take place in a different country?"

A B.C. Supreme Court judge in Nelson delayed his decision regarding  
the attorney general's right to intervene on Monday, April 24.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jackl