By: Eugene Davidovich
ASA Chief Counsel Joe Elford and defense attorney Lance Rogers successfully argued motion to keep Jackson out of jail pending appeal.
SAN DIEGO – On Thursday San Diego District Attorney (DA) Dumanis and her fierce fight against medical marijuana saw a significant setback. San Diego Superior Court Judge Howard H. Shore granted Jackson’s motion to stay out of jail pending appeal.
Jovan Jackson a medical marijuana patient, Navy Veteran, and former operator of Answerdam a medical marijuana collective in San Diego, was convicted on September 28th, 2010 after he was tried for the second time in less than a year on the same charges of marijuana possession and sale.
He was convicted in his second trial as a result of being denied the medical marijuana defense by Judge Shore, who claimed that although all were legal patients, since all 1600 members of the collective did not express that their “purpose” was to cultivate, that Jackson did not qualify for the medical marijuana collective defense.
On Wednesday, December 15th 2010 Jackson was sentenced to 180 days in jail and a fine. He was scheduled to report to jail on February 1, 2011. Also that day, Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the country’s largest medical marijuana advocacy group joined the case. Joe Elford ASA’s Chief Legal Counsel was in court officially joining, filing motions, as well as helping Lance Rogers, Jovan’s defense attorney from both trials.
On Thursday, January 27 2011 ASA Chief Counsel Joe Elford was back in San Diego in front of Superior Court Judge Howard H. Shore along with Lance Rogers arguing to keep Jovan out of Jail while ASA appeals his case.
Judge Shore heard arguments from Deputy DA Chris Linbergh who claimed that Jovan was a flight risk and should be remanded into custody. Joe Elford fired back with proof that Jackson had made every court date, that the community was behind him, as well as presented compelling case law to support keeping Jackson out on bail while his appeal was being heard.
Judge Shore agreed with the defense and explained that it would not be fair if Jackson was remanded into custody, forced to serve his time, and then later find out that he was victorious on appeal. Judge Shore further explained that this was not a typical drug case, that Jackson was not a threat, that there was no violence or weapons involved, and that this was a case where the defendant appeared to have made every attempt to follow state law.
When the DA realized that there was a chance that Jackson would not see any jail time and that Dumanis’ plan was failing, he begged the court for a bail to be set at 180 thousand dollars. Judge Shore found that to be overly excessive and reduced the bail to 50 thousand.
Judge Shore also agreed with the defense that Jackson was clearly not a flight risk and even took the time to point out that advocates for medical marijuana and other members of the community have been there for Jackson throughout the entire trial, which showed strong community ties and support.
Judge Shore moved the official date Jackson has to report to jail from February 1 to the 15, giving Jackson an extra two weeks to come up with funds necessary to stay out on bail. After the hearing advocates present in the courtroom vowed to raise the $4,500 necessary to keep Jackson out of Jail.
Within the next few months the appellate courts will decide whether to hear Jackson’s case and if the decision comes out that Jackson should have been allowed a defense during trial, his case would likely return to the superior court to be retried in front of a Jury with a medical marijuana defense as it should have been in the first place.
After this hearing the community is certain that court support works, and that the efforts of just a few can significantly impact the decisions Judges make in court and actually keep patients out of jail.
If you would like to help with the fundraising efforts to keep Jackson out of Jail contact sandiegoasa@gmail.com
Showing posts with label San Diego District Attorney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label San Diego District Attorney. Show all posts
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Court Support Requested – THURSDAY 3/11/2010 - 10am
Court Support Requested – THURSDAY 3/11/2010 - 10am
Department 55 - 220 W Broadway San Diego CA 92101
Today, Wednesday March 10, 2010 all in limine motions were completed and a jury was selected in the medical marijuana trial of People v Davidovich.
On Thursday opening statement will begin from both the prosecution and the defense. This will be the first day in front of the jury and a critical day for supporters to be in court. If you are able to make it to court tomorrow (Thursday 10am), your presence would be both helpful and very much appreciated. The jury should see that this issue affects all of us.
On Tuesday as well as today Bahar Ansari my attorney argued and defended all the motions in limine filed by the prosecution as well as presented the motions in limine from the defense. If it weren’t for her efforts, superb knowledge of the law, and well formulated arguments, I would have been in a very bad position.
The prosecution came in with 9 (nine) motions in limine all with a clear intent to undermine my defense and chance for a fair trial:
Below is a brief description of the motions the DA filed, as well as a summary of how that motion was ruled on by the Judge.
1. Jury Instructions – (an interpretation of the medical marijuana law presented to the jury)
The instructions that the prosecutor filed were a very narrow interpretation of the law, and essentially professed that unless all members are cultivating together, that no other means of association to cultivate was legal. We were able to finally clarify, correct, and agree on a jury instructions this morning shortly prior to starting jury selection. The final instruction is a more accurate depiction of the law which includes a description of what a collective is. The most disturbing part of this was that even though the San Diego DA has posted on their website the AG Guidelines and is urging people to follow them, they proclaimed to the surprise of everyone including the judge in court today during these arguments that “AG Guidelines are not law, and we can never see a case when we would want them to apply”.
2. Medical Defense
The prosecution fought vehemently for hours to have my medical defense excluded and to not allow us to mention anything with regards to medical marijuana laws to the jury. Exactly at 4:20pm it was decided by the Judge that there is evidence of an affirmative defense and that we would be allowed to discuss medical marijuana in front of the jury during jury selection as well as at all other times.
3. Recommendations of Potential Witnesses
Although the prosecution claimed recommendations written on paper and signed by the doctor were hearsay, they filed a motion to require all potential witnesses claiming to be medical marijuana patients to subpoena the written recommendations from their doctors. We had no objection to this.
4. Exclude testimony of Chris Conrad Expert Witness
The prosecution filed to excluded the testimony of Chris Conrad a well known medical cannabis dosages and yields expert who has testified in hundreds of cases. The after hearing relentless arguments from the DA, the judge denied their motion and will allow Mr. Conrad’s testimony.
5. Members List should be excluded
The DA moved to exclude the mention of the list of members of the collective to the jury. This request was also denied by the judge.
6. Character Witnesses
Again the DA argued to exclude the two character witnesses from testifying at my trial. These two individuals have known me for over fifteen years and are prepared and willing to testify about their opinions of my character. The DA argued that their testimony would create an unnecessary burden on the courts time. The judge denied this request and will allow both my character witnesses to testify.
7. Surveillance Video
A request was made by the DA to show the jury the undercover video of the delivery of medicine to Jamie Conlan (Detective Scott Henderson) who was posing as a legitimate patient. We did not object and were ourselves requesting the video be shown, as it clearly shows me verifying his doctor’s recommendation and drivers license.
8. Exclusion of Navy Background
Without hesitation the judge denied this request. I will be allowed to discuss my navy background.
9. Photos of Cultivation Excluded
The Prosecution attempted to exclude pictures of the collective cultivation effort from being shown to the jury. Again the judge quickly denied this request and the jury will be allowed to see ALL the evidence.
At 10:30 this morning forty eight people were brought into Department 55. Michael McCabe my defense attorney invited his friend Charles Roger Khoury Jr. a very experienced and respected attorney to assist with the jury selection process. I must say, it was a very good feeling to have three attorneys representing me in court today all out of the goodness of their heart and for their passionate belief in justice.
Jury selection began with a huge surprise for all of us. We saw the direct result from the efforts of all the medical marijuana advocacy and activism in San Diego pay off, when at least a dozen potential jurors openly voiced their concerns about the current marijuana laws in court for the entire jury pool to hear. One potential juror went as far as to talk about the current situation in San Diego with the lack of clarity in the law and the zoning issues collectives are having. She as well as most of the others who raised concerns were unfortunately dismissed by the prosecution but not before the rest of the jurors were educated. At the end of the day, the forty eight jurors were narrowed down a panel of twelve jurors and two alternates.
On Thursday opening statements begin, as well as the testimony of the Narcotics Task Force detective Scott Henderson who stars in the surveillance video provided by the DA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzYMHgGO_84
Come see Mr. Henderson talk about why how he lied to the doctor to obtain his recommendation and then used it to infiltrate local collectives.
For more information about my case visit www.eugenedavidovich.com
Get Active, Get Involved, Make a difference!
Department 55 - 220 W Broadway San Diego CA 92101
Today, Wednesday March 10, 2010 all in limine motions were completed and a jury was selected in the medical marijuana trial of People v Davidovich.
On Thursday opening statement will begin from both the prosecution and the defense. This will be the first day in front of the jury and a critical day for supporters to be in court. If you are able to make it to court tomorrow (Thursday 10am), your presence would be both helpful and very much appreciated. The jury should see that this issue affects all of us.
On Tuesday as well as today Bahar Ansari my attorney argued and defended all the motions in limine filed by the prosecution as well as presented the motions in limine from the defense. If it weren’t for her efforts, superb knowledge of the law, and well formulated arguments, I would have been in a very bad position.
The prosecution came in with 9 (nine) motions in limine all with a clear intent to undermine my defense and chance for a fair trial:
Below is a brief description of the motions the DA filed, as well as a summary of how that motion was ruled on by the Judge.
1. Jury Instructions – (an interpretation of the medical marijuana law presented to the jury)
The instructions that the prosecutor filed were a very narrow interpretation of the law, and essentially professed that unless all members are cultivating together, that no other means of association to cultivate was legal. We were able to finally clarify, correct, and agree on a jury instructions this morning shortly prior to starting jury selection. The final instruction is a more accurate depiction of the law which includes a description of what a collective is. The most disturbing part of this was that even though the San Diego DA has posted on their website the AG Guidelines and is urging people to follow them, they proclaimed to the surprise of everyone including the judge in court today during these arguments that “AG Guidelines are not law, and we can never see a case when we would want them to apply”.
2. Medical Defense
The prosecution fought vehemently for hours to have my medical defense excluded and to not allow us to mention anything with regards to medical marijuana laws to the jury. Exactly at 4:20pm it was decided by the Judge that there is evidence of an affirmative defense and that we would be allowed to discuss medical marijuana in front of the jury during jury selection as well as at all other times.
3. Recommendations of Potential Witnesses
Although the prosecution claimed recommendations written on paper and signed by the doctor were hearsay, they filed a motion to require all potential witnesses claiming to be medical marijuana patients to subpoena the written recommendations from their doctors. We had no objection to this.
4. Exclude testimony of Chris Conrad Expert Witness
The prosecution filed to excluded the testimony of Chris Conrad a well known medical cannabis dosages and yields expert who has testified in hundreds of cases. The after hearing relentless arguments from the DA, the judge denied their motion and will allow Mr. Conrad’s testimony.
5. Members List should be excluded
The DA moved to exclude the mention of the list of members of the collective to the jury. This request was also denied by the judge.
6. Character Witnesses
Again the DA argued to exclude the two character witnesses from testifying at my trial. These two individuals have known me for over fifteen years and are prepared and willing to testify about their opinions of my character. The DA argued that their testimony would create an unnecessary burden on the courts time. The judge denied this request and will allow both my character witnesses to testify.
7. Surveillance Video
A request was made by the DA to show the jury the undercover video of the delivery of medicine to Jamie Conlan (Detective Scott Henderson) who was posing as a legitimate patient. We did not object and were ourselves requesting the video be shown, as it clearly shows me verifying his doctor’s recommendation and drivers license.
8. Exclusion of Navy Background
Without hesitation the judge denied this request. I will be allowed to discuss my navy background.
9. Photos of Cultivation Excluded
The Prosecution attempted to exclude pictures of the collective cultivation effort from being shown to the jury. Again the judge quickly denied this request and the jury will be allowed to see ALL the evidence.
At 10:30 this morning forty eight people were brought into Department 55. Michael McCabe my defense attorney invited his friend Charles Roger Khoury Jr. a very experienced and respected attorney to assist with the jury selection process. I must say, it was a very good feeling to have three attorneys representing me in court today all out of the goodness of their heart and for their passionate belief in justice.
Jury selection began with a huge surprise for all of us. We saw the direct result from the efforts of all the medical marijuana advocacy and activism in San Diego pay off, when at least a dozen potential jurors openly voiced their concerns about the current marijuana laws in court for the entire jury pool to hear. One potential juror went as far as to talk about the current situation in San Diego with the lack of clarity in the law and the zoning issues collectives are having. She as well as most of the others who raised concerns were unfortunately dismissed by the prosecution but not before the rest of the jurors were educated. At the end of the day, the forty eight jurors were narrowed down a panel of twelve jurors and two alternates.
On Thursday opening statements begin, as well as the testimony of the Narcotics Task Force detective Scott Henderson who stars in the surveillance video provided by the DA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzYMHgGO_84
Come see Mr. Henderson talk about why how he lied to the doctor to obtain his recommendation and then used it to infiltrate local collectives.
For more information about my case visit www.eugenedavidovich.com
Get Active, Get Involved, Make a difference!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Eugene Davidovich - 995 Hearing Today - Court Support Needed
I am currently facing a Jury Trial which is scheduled to start Next Week on the 2nd of March. The trial is related to the February 2009 (Operation Endless Summer / Green Rx) raids, orchestrated by District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and her Cross Jurisdictional Narcotics Task Force (NTF).
Today I go to court for a 995 hearing, which is an attempt to get one of the charges against me dropped.
If you are able, please come out for court support as well as to see for yourself how medical cannabis patients are treated in court in San Diego.
220 W Broadway San Diego CA – Department 55 – 1:30pm
Originally I was charged with 4 felony counts, one of which about a month ago we were able to get dismissed by a judge bringing down the total charges to 3.
When my house was raided and I arrested in February of 2009, the NTF seized, 1.1 ounce of dried flowers and 14g (1/2 oz) of condensed kief (concentrated cannabis). Originally I was not charged with the possession of concentrated cannabis as clearly that amount is well within state/ city limits, as well as a very reasonable amount for any medical cannabis patient to have. One week before my trial was supposed to start in January and Theresa Pham (Deputy DA prosecuting my case) came back with another count. “Possession of Concentrated Cannabis”
As a result my trial has been moved to March 2 and today my attorneys will argue to get the Concentrated Cannabis Charge dismissed.
For more information about my story and to see the video of the delivery of medicine to the undercover narcotics task force officer posing as a legitimate patient please visit www.eugenedavidovich.com
Regards,
Eugene Davidovich
T: 619-621-8446
San Diego Americans for Safe Access
www.SafeAccessSD.org
Get Involved, get active, make a difference!
Join ASA - www.safeaccessnow.org
Today I go to court for a 995 hearing, which is an attempt to get one of the charges against me dropped.
If you are able, please come out for court support as well as to see for yourself how medical cannabis patients are treated in court in San Diego.
220 W Broadway San Diego CA – Department 55 – 1:30pm
Originally I was charged with 4 felony counts, one of which about a month ago we were able to get dismissed by a judge bringing down the total charges to 3.
When my house was raided and I arrested in February of 2009, the NTF seized, 1.1 ounce of dried flowers and 14g (1/2 oz) of condensed kief (concentrated cannabis). Originally I was not charged with the possession of concentrated cannabis as clearly that amount is well within state/ city limits, as well as a very reasonable amount for any medical cannabis patient to have. One week before my trial was supposed to start in January and Theresa Pham (Deputy DA prosecuting my case) came back with another count. “Possession of Concentrated Cannabis”
As a result my trial has been moved to March 2 and today my attorneys will argue to get the Concentrated Cannabis Charge dismissed.
For more information about my story and to see the video of the delivery of medicine to the undercover narcotics task force officer posing as a legitimate patient please visit www.eugenedavidovich.com
Regards,
Eugene Davidovich
T: 619-621-8446
San Diego Americans for Safe Access
www.SafeAccessSD.org
Get Involved, get active, make a difference!
Join ASA - www.safeaccessnow.org
Monday, December 14, 2009
Protest / Rally against Bonnie Dumanis 12/15 - 5-7pm
Where:
The Shapery Emerald Plaza Building,
400 West Broadway, San Diego, CA 92101
When:
December 15, 2009
5:00pm - 7:30pm (please come a little early)
Please join us for a peaceful and legal protest against the San Diego District Attorney Bonie Dumanis on Tuesday December 15th from 5pm to 7pm. Dumanis is holding a fundraiser for her reelection campaign at the Shapery Building next to the Hall of Justice in Downtown San Diego.
San Diegan’s from all walks of life have been affected by the shameful practices of Dumanis and are no longer willing to stay quiet about it. Bring a friend, bring a sign, get involved!
Sunday, December 13, 2009
CANDIDATE WANTED: Replacing the San Diego DA, Bonnie Dumanis
As you know Bonnie Dumanis is the current San Diego County District Attorney who is spreading her misguided anti-medical marijuana campaign throughout California. Unfortunately, Dumanis is running unopposed in the 2010 General Election for San Diego County District Attorney.
In a genuine effort to replace Dumanis, a Candidate Wanted Job Posting is being circulated through the web using internet job posting sites, pay-per-clicks, blogs and emails. 'Any' eligible candidate must be found by the January 4, 2010 filing deadline.
http://bonniedamantis.wordpress.com/2009/12/13/candidate-wanted-district-attorney-for-the-county-of-san-diego/
You can support this effort today in three ways;
- Forward this email to everyone you can, then speak with them to be sure they received your email and did the same. (Deadline is Jan 4, 2010)
- Click the share button on BOTH campaign pages to share them on your Bolg, Facebook, MySpace, iGoogle and/or other social networking site(s).
http://bonniedamantis.wordpress.com/2009/12/13/candidate-wanted-district-attorney-for-the-county-of-san-diego/
http://bonniedamantis.wordpress.com/2009/12/13/financialpledge-for-district-attorney-of-san-diego/
- Pledge your financial support and encourage others to do the same. This is an effort to convince any eligible candidate to run against Bonnie Dumanis for San Diego County District Attorney. Your pledge will be added to the Supporter Pledged Amount total listed on the Candidate Wanted Job Posting. You will not be requested to provide financial support until an eligible and committed candidate has filed for the position. Dig deep and be honest, this is important and it's worth the effort!
Make your pledge today for the total amount you will be able to donate between now and the June 8, 2010 election.
http://bonniedamantis.wordpress.com/2009/12/13/financialpledge-for-district-attorney-of-san-diego/
If you have suggestions or comments you are able to contact us by leaving a comment on one of the campaign pages or by calling 619 . 550 . 2552.
Marcus Boyd
Replace Dumanis in 2010 Coordinator
Sunday, October 11, 2009
San Diego ASA Rally and March Thursday October 8, 2009
Thursday October 8, 2009 supporters, patients, and concerned citizens alike decended on downtown San Diego in front of the San Diego Federal Courthouse to peacefully protest the recent raids orchestrated by District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis on Medical Cannabis patients and collectives in San Diego as well as the federal arrest and indictment of James Stacy a legitimate medical cannabis patient who was a member / director of the Movement in Action Collective in Vista, CA.
The rally began in front of the Federal Courthouse where James was arraigned that morning. For several hours supporters held signs, raised awareness, and sent a strong message that the continued harassment and prosecution of patients, as well as Bonnie Dumanis’ attempts to eradicate safe access will not be tolerated in San Diego.
A few photos from the Rally / March
(Marching to DA's Office from the Federal Courthouse)
(James Stacy with Supporters in front of the San Diego Federal Courthouse)
(On our way into the DA's Office)
(Marcus Boyd at the San Diego District Attorney's Office)
(Discussion with Diane Snyder from District Attorney's office after delivering letter to her)
Click below to see ALL the pictures from the rally.
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| ASA Rally for James Stacy in San Diego at the Federal Courthouse on October 8, 2009 |
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