EXPOSED: U.S. Attorney Caught Cheating in Marijuana Case

SD ASA Rally – Federal Courthouse

SAN DIEGO, CA – According to Article 10 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights; “Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.”

After a completely unfair trial and a severe berating by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Laura Duffy, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of California made a shocking admission of misconduct (sandbagging of material evidence) by her office and filed a Motion to Summarily Reverse the Conviction, Vacate the Sentence and Remand to the District Court the case of United States v. Maloney.

See the entire 1 hour video of the en banc oral argument at the Court of Appeals  here, or just skip to the severe berating (25:05) – where the panel can be heard making lighthearted fun of the US Attorney – and then chiding the government for its practices.

In the motion to reverse the conviction, Duffy represented that after viewing the video of the en banc oral argument – and the chiding – she and several senior attorneys in her office had reconsidered the offending closing arguments made in the district court by her office.

From The Atlantic “When Prosecutors Admit to Cheating” author Will Baude wrote;

The story goes like this: A few years ago, federal prosecutors in San Diego convinced a jury to convict John Maloney of the felony charge of “knowing possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.” The feds did so by cheating during the closing argument of the trial. During the rebuttal part of their closing argument to jurors, when they knew that neither Maloney nor his attorney could respond, prosecutors suggested at length that the defendant must have lied about his trip because he had no luggage with him.

The inference during the closing argument was clear. If Maloney was lying about the trip, if he had no luggage with him, than he must have “known” that he had the marijuana in question and thus was guilty of the crime with which he was charged. That’s what the jury found, anyway, and it’s what the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals initially found as well. The problem was: there was no evidence introduced at trial, either way, about Maloney’s luggage on that trip. And prosecutors knew it. Click here for the full story on The Atlantic

U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy has consistently and successfully prevented fair trials of state legal medical marijuana patients by arguing against a “state law” defense – and even objects to the use of the word ‘medical’ in front of the jury.  So, it’s no surprise for medical marijuana advocates to hear that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals forced the local U.S. Attorney’s office to admit to cheating in the prosecution of a marijuana case.

Don’t miss these words from the panel’s senior justice, from the en banc video at 43:44…

“We want people to have a fair trial – and a clean trial – the trouble is with your people, they go overboard… and you know why they go overboard? Because they got too much power today! They got power over sentencing and they’re getting very few trials because of that!”

“Bullying the defendant into a plea bargain by preventing truth in a trial is the Government’s way of securing medical marijuana prosecutions”, said Court Support Coordinator, Terrie Best of the San Diego Chapter of Americans for Safe Access, “Duffy knows that jury nullification (a practice of nullifying unjust law by way of not guilty verdicts) would prevail far more often if the government provided a fair trial by allowing the truth to be told”, she continued.

Similarly in state court, San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis consistently mounts an unfair fierce fight against voter and legislature laws (Prop. 215 and S.B. 420) by arguing against a defendant’s right to a medical marijuana defense – and, in many cases – including the current case of Dennis and Deborah Little – her office is sanctioned by the court for attempting to exaggerate facts and hide material evidence from jurors.

Here’s how you can help protect patients from unfair treatment by local and federal officials…

1. On June 3rd, 2014 – vote for a new county DA!
2. Visit www.FIJA.org to learn about jury nullification – then – serve as a juror as often as possible!
3. Support Dennis Little and Deborah Little by liking both on Facebook and – attend the Little’s trial next week (*except Friday the 14th) in Department 22 of the Vista Courthouse at 325 S. Melrose Dr., Vista, CA 92081
4. Report-a-case to SDASA here…