Update on Rosenthal Hearing

*From William Dolphin, Communications Director:*

On Wednesday, October 25, Ed Rosenthal and Rick Watts appeared before
federal judge Charles Breyer for a status conference on the superseding
indictment filed against them by the US Attorney's office in San Francisco.



The hearing was largely an occasion for Judge Breyer to dress down AUSA
George Bevan. While he took no definitive action, the Judge Breyer
stated that he would be dismissing the primary charges against Watts for
being in violation of the Speedy Trial Act; he indicated his strong
inclination was to dismiss with prejudice -- meaning he could not be
charged again.



AUSA Bevan tried to argue that Rosenthal's appeal was one reason, or
that it was Watts' responsibility to present himself for trial once he'd
recovered from the auto accident that had made him unavailable for the
original trial, or that it was even somehow the court's responsibility,
not the prosecutor's. But Judge Breyer was having none of it, saying
that a co-defendant's appeal was no justification for not bringing
charges, and that what the prosecutor was describing were just ways to
circumvent the Speedy Trial Act.



Judge Breyer instructed Watt's attorney to file motions seeking
dismissal of the remaining conspiracy and tax evasion charges under the
6^th and 5^th Amendments. Those motions are due November 22, the
government's response December 1, and a hearing on the remaining charges
against Watts will be held December 6.



Judge Breyer then turned his attention to the Rosenthal charges, noting
that the primary counts against him were identical to those for which
he'd already been convicted and already served his sentence. So, Judge
Breyer mused, turning again to AUSA Bevan, "One wonders, what is the
purpose of this prosecution?"



Bevan's answer was that Rosenthal had left the courtroom and gone in
front of the microphones claiming his trial had been "unfair," that even
jurors had been in the press saying it was unfair, and that had made him
"personally very uncomfortable."



This occasioned a lecture from Judge Breyer on First Amendment rights,
but Bevan retreated only so far as to say that he wanted to present a
more complete case that showed all of Rosenthal's conduct, including
that behind the allegations of money laundering and filing false tax
returns.



Judge Breyer then noted that money laundering is a crime of intent.
Money laundering is only those case where someone is converting what
they think to be illegal proceeds to something that looks legal, so
Rosenthal's state of mind would have everything to do with guilt or
innocence, meaning all the evidence that was excluded from the original
trial -- Ed's deputization by the city of Oakland, the fact that the
clones he was growing were only for qualified patients, all the
information about state law, etc. -- would have to be heard by the jury,
the information that the original jury told the press would have led to
an acquittal, had they been told.



On the issue of whether everything was full reported on tax returns,
Judge Breyer suggested that the tax charges might be tried separately
from the others, noting that the facts were far simpler and could be
decided more quickly, since the legality or illegality of the enterprise
is irrelevant to the obligation to pay taxes. He then asked for written
responses from the attorneys on the question of severing the tax
charges. Those papers are due to the court November 3, with a hearing on
separate trials to be held November 18.

-Wm.

--
Alex Franco
California Campaign Coordinator
Americans for Safe Access
Phone: 510-251-1856 x321
Fax: 510-251-2036
Email: alex [at] SafeAccessNow.org