Charges against Ed Rosenthal dismissed

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*AMERICANS FOR SAFE ACCESS*
*MEDIA RELEASE:* Wednesday, March 14, 2007

*Federal Judge Rules Medical Marijuana Patient Vindictively
Prosecuted*

/Charges of tax evasion and money laundering against Ed Rosenthal
are dismissed
/

*San Francisco* -- Federal District Court Judge Charles Breyer ruled
today that author and medical marijuana activist Edward Rosenthal was
vindictively prosecuted, and dismissed charges of tax evasion and money
laundering. The remaining marijuana charges against Rosenthal are
virtually identical to those pursued against him in his prior 2003
trial. With an admission in court by the U.S. Attorney that it would not
seek additional punishment beyond the one-day sentence Rosenthal was
given after being convicted at his first trial, the prosecution has
little reason to proceed with the case.

"We are gratified that the court has recognized the vindictive nature of
this prosecution and has reigned in the prosecutor," said Joe Elford,
Chief Counsel for Americans for Safe Access, and author of the
successful vindictive prosecution motion. "The additional charges
brought against Rosenthal were clearly in retaliation for his criticism
of the government. Taxpayer dollars should not be wasted on a vendetta
carried out by a prosecutor against a defendant."

Judge Breyer's ruling follows a hearing last week in which the court
ordered the government to produce all prosecutorial memoranda explaining
the reason for a second prosecution of Rosenthal. The order is the
result of a motion to dismiss based on vindictive prosecution filed by
Americans for Safe Access and other attorneys with Rosenthal's legal
team. The substance of the brief was that the government was retaliating
against Rosenthal for his successful appeal and his statements to the
press that his first trial was unfair. In his ruling, Judge Breyer
asserted that "the government's deeds--and words--create the perception
that it added the new charges to make Rosenthal look like a common
criminal and thus dissipate the criticism heaped on the government after
the first trial," because he criticized the government.

"The government was clearly out of line to bring this case forward
against me," said Rosenthal. "The court's ruling is reassuring, but my
continued prosecution on the marijuana charges is still malicious. To
make me and my family go through a second prosecution to obtain, at
most, a one-day time served jail sentence seems personally motivated."

Rosenthal was recently re-indicted after his 2003 conviction was
overturned in April 2006 by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. After
finding out that medical marijuana evidence had been excluded from the
2003 trial, a majority of the jurors that convicted Rosenthal recanted
their verdict. Due at least in part to public outcry, Rosenthal was
sentenced to one day in jail. The government was relying on the new
charges of tax evasion and money laundering to justify the second
prosecution of Rosenthal. The court has now confirmed that Rosenthal's
continued prosecution is suspect.

"It is a monumental day for justice that the court has recognized the
vindictive nature of this prosecution and has dismissed all allegations
of financial misconduct," said attorney Robert Amparán, from Rosenthal's
legal team. "We feel strongly that the vindictiveness of this
prosecution will spill over from the dismissed charges onto the
remaining medical marijuana charges and that the jury will ultimately
vindicate Mr. Rosenthal." The defense team for Rosenthal includes the
following attorneys: Robert Amparán, Shari Greenberger, and Omar
Figueroa, with Joe Elford acting as co-counsel for the specific purpose
of authoring and arguing the motion to dismiss based on vindictive
prosecution.

Assistant U.S. Attorney George Bevan stated earlier in a remarkably
candid admission that the reason for this second prosecution of
Rosenthal is a direct response to "the specific comments that Rosenthal
and others made." The prosecutor further admitted in a recent legal
filing that it sought out and held its new evidence in abeyance, so it
"would be in a position to charge Rosenthal with [additional charges] if
the Ninth Circuit reversed his conviction."

At Rosenthal's first appearance on new charges, in October 2006, the
court remarked, in reference to public comments by the defendant at the
time of his 2003 conviction: "[Rosenthal] can say whatever he wants to
about the prosecution, and he can say whatever he wants to about the
judge. That is his constitutional right."

U.S. District Court Ruling on Vindictive Prosecution:
http://www.safeaccessnow.org/downloads/Rosenthal_VP_Ruling.pdf
Vindictive prosecution motion:
http://www.safeaccessnow.org/downloads/Rosenthal_Vindictive_Prosecution.pdf
Government's opposition:
http://www.safeaccessnow.org/downloads/Rosenthal_Opposition.pdf
Rosenthal's reply:
http://www.safeaccessnow.org/downloads/Rosenthal_Reply.pdf
For more information on Ed Rosenthal's cases:
http://safeaccessnow.org/EdRosenthal

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ASA is the largest national member-based organization of patients,
medical professionals, scientists and concerned citizens promoting safe
and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research. ASA works
to overcome political and legal barriers by creating policies that
improve access to medical cannabis for patients and researchers through
legislation, education, litigation, grassroots actions, advocacy and
services for patients and the caregivers. ASA has over 30,000 active
members with chapters and affiliates in more than 40 states.

--
Kris Hermes
Legal Campaign Director
Americans for Safe Access
http://www.SafeAccessNow.org
1322 Webster Street, Suite 402
Oakland, CA 94612
Phone: 510-251-1856 x307
Fax: 510-251-2036
Email: kris [at] SafeAccessNow.org

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