California Court Overturns
Conviction Of Medical Marijuana Activist David Herrick
– Prosecutorial Misconduct Cited. No Ruling On Medical Marijuana
(Marijuananews note: The prosecutions of David
Herrick and Marvin Chavez were two of the most outrageous excesses of the "old
regime." There have been major changes in Orange County since the last election.
Although the court did not rule on a medical marijuana defense, this is a warning to
overzealous prosecutors, and is an indication that the courts will protect the rights of
patients.)See
More On the Injustice
of the David Herrick Case
September 8, 1999
From The Orange County Register
letters@link.freedom.com
http://www.ocregister.com/
By John McDonald
Prop. 215 activist's conviction reversed
COURTS: Decision is based on misconduct, not the medical-marijuana issue.
By JOHN McDONALD
A state appeals court has reversed the marijuana-sale conviction of David Herrick, the
first Orange County defendant to raise a marijuana-for-medical-purposes defense.
The Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed Herrick’s conviction because of willful misconduct by the prosecutor in the case. It did not address the
medical-marijuana issue.
Herrick, who received a four-year sentence at Soledad state prison, was among the first
in the state to raise the medical-marijuana defense under Proposition 215, which allows
the use of marijuana for medical reasons.
The court voided the conviction due to the closing arguments of then-Deputy District
Attorney Carl Armbrust.
In his closing argument in the Herrick case, Armbrust said the defense had failed to
use evidence that the trial judge had already ruled was not admissible.
The evidence was 600 receipt slips recording donations to the Orange County Cannabis
Co-op where Herrick volunteered.
The appeals court ruled that Armbrust's misconduct "undermined the defense's
credibility."
The state attorney general has not decided whether to appeal the decision or to seek a
second trial.
J. David Nick, the San Francisco lawyer representing imprisoned
Orange County Cannabis Co-op founder Marvin Chavez, said he had attempted to remove
Armbrust as prosecutor in that case.
See
Orange County’s
First Medical Marijuana Trial Stayed – Prosecutorial Misconduct Alleged
"He was no longer an unbiased prosecutor," Nick said.
"He was swinging his sword in any direction he could to take the defendant
down."
Armbrust, now retired, could not be reached for comment.
Copyright: 1999 The Orange County Register
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