See Judge Orders McCormick Released; Held Illegally Without Hearing After
Government Said He Failed Urine Test.
Now Federal Prosecutor Says, " He Was Not Aware Of The Test Results."
and links from there, and Important
Cases
April 15, 1998 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Todd McCormick Released- Federal Judge Rules, and Federal Prosecutor Admits,
McCormick’s 12-Day Incarceration Was Illegal
Press conference Thursday, April 16, 1998, 12 Noon, Hollywood
Roosevelt Hotel, Academy Room
In a stunning display of justice, Federal Judge George King released Todd McCormick
today-because there was no federal law to have had McCormick imprisoned in the first
place.
"Is there a case law I am not aware of under which we can
hold Mr. McCormick until his hearing?" Judge King asked Federal Prosecutor Fernando
Aenlle-Rocha.
"Not that I am aware of," Aenlle-Rocha answered.
In other words, on March 3, 1998, when the government asked Federal Magistrate Judge
McMahon to lock up McCormick, Assistant United Stated Attorney Aenlle-Rocha knew there was
no federal case law under which to do so.
"How could this man watch Todd led away in tears two weeks ago when Assistant
United States Attorney Aenlle-Rocha knew all along that what the government was doing was
illegal?" asked Peter McWilliams, McCormick’s publisher. "There
are four Federal Prosecutors working on McCormick’s case. None of them said,
‘Wait a minute. We’ve locked up this guy illegally.’ This was prohibited by
the Bail Reform Act of 1984. This is not new law. The government had to know it
was illegal. Apparently people can be locked up just because the government asks for it.
That’s how dangerous to all of our liberties the federal war on California medical
marijuana patients has become."
Prosecutor Aenlle-Rocha (pronounced eye-in-jah roach-a) was not available for comment.
"It’s so good to be out," said McCormick, embracing his mother who
traveled from Rhode Island after his imprisonment. "In
custody, I was placed in a room with urine and human feces on the floor, moved to a cell
with no pillow, and finally transferred to the psychiatric ward. I was tortured for twelve
days illegally by the federal government. They admit it. I hope people are made aware of
this. If it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone."
McCormick, who had cancer nine times before he was ten, was arrested in July 1997 for
cultivating medical marijuana in his rented Bel Air home. Although medical marijuana
cultivation is specifically permitted by California law (the Compassionate Use Act of
1996), the federal government is pressing for a mandatory minimum ten year sentence, a
possible life sentence, and a $4 million dollar fine.
On March 2, 1998, nine Federal Marshals broke into the
McCormick’s current residence in Laurel Canyon in an attempt to arrest him.
McCormick was not home. McCormick voluntarily turned himself in on the morning of March 3,
1998, and was immediately brought before Federal Magistrate Judge McMahon on charges of
traces of THC in his urine. Prosecutor Aenlle-Rocha was not prepared to present his
evidence. McCormick, therefore, could not present his evidence that it was, in fact, the
residue of the legal prescription medication Marinol®, not marijuana, that was in his
urine.
Although admittedly unprepared for the March 3, 1998, hearing,
the government asked for McCormick’s imprisonment until the federal prosecutors were
ready for the hearing. Not only is there no law under which McCormick could be imprisoned,
locking up defendants with a hearing is specifically prohibited by federal law (the Bail
Reform Act of 1994).
Nevertheless, McCormick was held in appalling conditions for
almost two weeks, and would still be in federal custody had Judge King not today granted
an emergency appeal hearing.
At the start of today’s proceedings, Judge King made it
clear that he would only hear evidence on whether or not McCormick should be held until
his hearing, currently scheduled for April 22, 1998, before Magistrate Judge McMahon. The
government, nevertheless, continued to point to the THC in McCormick’s urine, which
was not the subject of today’s hearing. Finally, Judge King asked if there was any
case law under which McCormick could be held, and Prosecutor Aenlle-Rocha admitted
"Not that I’m aware of."
A great deal of press attention has been focused on the plight of the Northern
California buyer’s clubs and the federal government’s civil lawsuit against
them. Until his recent arrest, relatively little press has been focused on
McCormick’s case. McCormick faces not mere civil penalties,
as do the Northern California clubs, but the most severe criminal penalty short of a death
sentence-life in prison.
Further, McCormick’s case is unique in that, unlike the buyer’s clubs,
McCormick is charged only with cultivating ("manufacturing") medical marijuana,
not with selling, distribution, or even intent to conspire to distribute.
The following Federal Prosecutors are in charge of McCormick’s case (listed in
this order on court papers):
Supported