Rosenthal witnesses refuse to testify

Rosenthal witnesses refuse to testify - please check this out!

Hi All,

A while back, I was called as a gov't witness in the Ed
Rosenthal trial, along with several other members of our
medical cannabis community in California. We quickly became
known as the "recalcitrant witnesses" by the court, and another
track of the trial was started for the people who were refusing to
testify. Yesterday, we had our day in court. The following
transcript is an amazing example of how citizens can
enact their role in the important system of checks and
balances set forth in our constitution. We all stood strong
in support of our community and the truth, with amazing results.
Basically, you should start reading on page 21 (my appearance is
on page 36), and read through page 66 where Judge Breyer comments
very favorably on our efforts and points out the lessons to be
learned from this. You will also note that, in a very strange and
awesome twist, we were all charged with civil contempt and then sent
home for the weekend. The Court basically said that if going to jail
for the weekend will make us change our mind about testifying, then
they would send us. Otherwise, go home! (and this was Prosecutor
Bevins idea!).Next stop, court again Tuesday. Definitely take the
time to read pages 21 to 66 of this court transcript!

Sincerely,

Debby Goldsberry

http://www.green-aid.com/rosenthal052507.pdf
(click on the link below)

Attachment: http://drugsense.org/temp/11eAupk42zGeyI.html

askedr [at] aol.com wrote: Friends,
I want you to know the latest travesties of justice occurring regarding my
trial.

On Wednesday my lawyers and I told the judge we would be resting without
presenting any witnesses. It wasn't that we didn't have any witnesses to call
and tell our side of the story, but that the judge said that both our story
and the witnesses were irrelevant.

The judge’s bias becomes even more glaring when it is contrasted with
statements made by the six recalcitrant witnesses who were declared in civil
contempt on Friday, June 1. Each of these witnesses refused to testify
although they were subpoenaed by the prosecutor. Debbie Goldsberry's response
to the prosecutor's questioning was especially moving and summarized all of
their responses.

"I think that this prosecution is against the will of the people, against the
will of the citizens, and it's actually harming the citizens of California.
And I believe it would be illegal and immoral for me to participate in the
prosecution because of that.

It's a political movement and there is nothing that will change my mind about
the fact that I will not answer questions or participate in a travesty of
justice that will hurt my friends and the people around me and our community.
That would be illegal, and that would be immoral.

And you can't make me do that."

-- Debbie Goldsberry, Speaking to the Court as she refused to testify against
Ed Rosenthal.

Fortunately, the judge did not jail any of the witnesses for fear of further
antagonizing the community.

On Tuesday June 4, the judge will make his final parody of justice soliloquy
to the jury members. He will tell them that they promised to leave their
consciences behind and to follow his orders.

In his instructions the judge will not advise the jurors that they have the
power to make any decision they wish and to use any criteria they wish to make
that decision.

So I am left with a defense that includes only the jury’s innate
understanding of the case and its impression of the self-serving government
witnesses.

Over the past week I have referred to these proceedings as a kangaroo court.
This is an accurate description of these proceedings. The judge has
consistently helped the prosecutor and has poisoned the jury by his remarks
regarding the relevance of California’s medical marijuana laws.

In spite of all this my lawyers and I are optimistic that the jury will do the
right thing and vote against the persecution of marijuana users.

You will find the transcript of my admonishment of the judge below or you can
read all exciting proceedings, just like TV courtroom drama, via the
transcripts online at http://www.green-aid.com. There are also Court Reports
from Vanessa Nelson which make you feel like you are right there, with me,
fighting for medical marijuana.


--------- Courtroom exchange between U.S. District Judge
Charles Breyer
(THE COURT) and the defendant, Ed Rosenthal - 5/22/07
THE
COURT:
Okay.
Mr.
Rosenthal,
you
have
obviously
heard





















your
counsel's
decision
that
he
does
not
wish
to
call
any





















witnesses.

ED ROSENTHAL: My problem with this case, Your Honor, is that
I believe that the prosecutor is acting
more like a judge and you are acting
more like a prosecutor. I would like to
bring my case. My case is that this is selective
prosecution, that this was done because
of political reasons, and that I am
being selected out because of my advocacy, whereas somebody
like Bob Martin, who cooperates with the
Government in going after marijuana
users, marijuana producers, and other marijuana
suppliers, is given a privilege thing.

I would like to continue the case with the witnesses that
we have already announced that we would
like to have. And since you have
precluded those witnesses, which is the main
part of the case, from testifying, there is no reason
for anybody to testify.

Thank you.

(Witness returns to counsel table.)

THE COURT: Mr. Rosenthal, stay there, please. Now, you say
that I have a precluded the witnesses. If
I permit those witnesses to come
forward, do you want them called?

ED ROSENTHAL: I would like the witnesses that my attorneys
have asked to testify before the jury,
not before you.

THE COURT: Okay. And do you want --

ED ROSENTHAL: For the body of the case. And the body of the
case is that this is selective
prosecution. And that -- and that I
have been selected out because of that, and also that
the Government actually has been in a Rico --
and we would like to call Mr. Bevan as
well, that the Government has actually
been in a Rico situation with Bob Martin.

And we have been precluded from tendering our theory of the
case.

THE COURT: Mr. Rosenthal, do you want to testify in your case?

ED ROSENTHAL: No, I would like to bring the witnesses that
we would like to testify in that case
because I would be precluded from
testifying. You would stop me, just as you have done
to every other witness when it hasn't -- when
it hasn't been in the Government's
interest.

THE COURT: Okay. ED ROSENTHAL: I believe that you are
prejudiced. I believe that you should
step down. And I believe that this is a
mistrial.

Thank you.

(Witness returns to counsel table.)

THE COURT: Mr. Rosenthal, please stay there.

ED ROSENTHAL: I would rather not.

THE COURT: No, Mr. Rosenthal, I need to ask you a question.
If I permit you to testify --

ED ROSENTHAL: No. I want my witnesses. I have a perfect
right to testify, I understand that. I
want my witnesses to testify.

THE COURT: Counsel --

ED ROSENTHAL: If you are not going to give me my witnesses,
I'm not putting on a case.

THE COURT: Okay.

Now, Mr. Rosenthal, if I allow you to testify and say
whatever you want to say without any
limitation, without any -- freely, that
is to say, you may say anything you want to in your defense
on the stand, do you wish to do so?

ED ROSENTHAL: Only if I can bring corroborating witnesses.

THE COURT: Okay, then I would like your counsel -- I would
like you to spend a moment with your
counsel --

ED ROSENTHAL: I would need a day to think about it, Your
Honor. I can't think about this. I
can't give you an answer right now
because I need 24 hours to think about it.

MR. AMPARÁN: May I propose witnesses to the Court to
see what the Court's reaction would be?

THE COURT: Any witnesses that you --

MR. AMPARÁN: Supervisor Nate Miley.

THE COURT: Any witness -- then I need to know what Mr. --

ED ROSENTHAL: Mr. Miley is -- I'll tell you what Mr. Miley
is going to say. He is going to say that
I was an officer of the City, and I was
allowed by the City to grow marijuana
and to provide it to patients, and also that I was told by
the City Attorney that I was free from
prosecution.

MR. AMPARÁN: We would also call Barbara Parker, City
Attorney for the City of Oakland, who would
testify that Mr. Rosenthal was advised
that as a deputy of the City of Oakland,
he would be shielded from things like Mr. Bevan and his
prosecution in Federal Court.

We would also like to call people from the Medical Marijuana
Working Group from Oakland that
discussed the issues about the
legalization of medical marijuana, setting up Oakland
-- setting up the policies and procedures that
Mr. Rosenthal was advocating, such as
for the employment of welfare mothers
in Oakland for high-paying salaried positions with benefits
and taxing and regulating medical
marijuana on a state and federal level.

ED ROSENTHAL: We would also like to call DEA Agent Steele
(phonetic) who specifically gave SAMM
[Sonoma Alliance for Medical Marijuana]
permission and said that they would not
be harassed.

MR. AMPARÁN: We could call the testimony of Joe DeVries,
Nate Miley's assistant. At the time Nate
Miley was the committee chair of the
public safety committee of Oakland. Joe DeVries
was his head aide in response to health and safety
legislation and public safety
legislation, and that he was with Mr. Rosenthal,
that he went to the Mandela Parkway grow site, and
that everything that was done was
conducted properly and under the auspices
of Prop -- the medical marijuana law and the Oakland
ordinance that was drafted and passed
in open session authorizing Mr.
Rosenthal to conduct --

ED ROSENTHAL: We would also like to call Mr. Bevan to show
that he was in a RICO kind of arrangement
with Bob Martin and was actually
violating federal law when he was doing that.

THE COURT: So your offer of proof -- well, let's --

ED ROSENTHAL: Our offer of proof will be without a proffer.

THE COURT: So, Mr. Rosenthal, let's -- let me ask this
question: If I don't permit these
individuals just identified by your
attorney to testify on the subjects that your attorney has
indicated that he wants those people to
testify, but would permit you to
testify about any of those subjects and anything
you want to say, do you or do you not want to
testify?

ED ROSENTHAL: Well, if I mention somebody like Nate Miley,
can I get Nate Miley here to corroborate
that what I said is correct?

THE COURT: The answer is I don't know. I need to know --

ED ROSENTHAL: Well, I need to know.

THE COURT: Oh.

ED ROSENTHAL: I can't -- I can't -- if you are not going to
make a decision, then I can't make a
decision.

THE COURT: I've made a decision. Do you want to hear the
decision?

ED ROSENTHAL: Yes.

THE COURT: You can testify about anything you want to
testify without --

ED ROSENTHAL: Can Mr. Miley testify?

THE COURT: Why don't you listen to me. -- without any
restriction at all. This is your
defense, and whether or not it's legally
admissible is not of concern. You may testify to anything
you wish.

Now, that is what you can do. With respect to witnesses,
other witnesses, other than yourself,
the Court would rule as follows: As to
those individuals that were just recited by your counsel,
and as to the testimony those people would
give, that is inadmissible.

It's inadmissible because the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
affirmed the orders of the Court, which
in the first case ruled it to be
inadmissible, and it's now the law of the case.

As to the other items of testimony that was contained in the
proffer of proof, that was filed by
your counsel at the beginning of the
trial, much of that would be admissible, if, in fact,
you want to call those individuals.

So that is what the situation is.

ED ROSENTHAL: Well, I would like to know whether I could
call Mr. Bevan?

THE COURT: Okay. That would depend, of course, on what Mr.
Bevan would say and whether or not it
would be relevant to the determination.

ED ROSENTHAL: Don't you think that it would be better for
us not to warn Mr. Bevan of what we would
be asking him?

THE COURT: Fine.

ED ROSENTHAL: So we would like to call him in front of the
jury and then see what happens.

THE COURT: You are entitled to make an offer of proof
outside of Mr. Bevan's presence as to
what he would testify to and why it
would be relevant to this determination. And I would
listen to that.

ED ROSENTHAL: Well --

THE COURT: If that is what you want to do.

ED ROSENTHAL: Unless we say -- unless I firmly know who I
can actually have as a witness, I'm not
going to play in this kangaroo charade
court, which is exactly what this is, because
you are just not letting the full story out. And if
you are not letting the full story out,
it's not worth doing.

It's just like a Soviet Stalinist trial of comrades, you
know? Why don't you just call me
Comrade and then send me off to hang?
Because that's basically what you are doing, in terms
of letting the Government full sway and not
allowing us to present any kind of
evidence that we want.

We have a right to our theory of the case. And if you don't
like the theory of the case, you are not
the judge of this. The jury should be
the judge of it, what the theory of the
case is.

Just because -- just because the Government has said that
it doesn't want me to present that theory
of the case, doesn't mean that I don't
have a right to present any theory of the
case that I want.

I do have that right. And you are not allowing me that
right. You are not allowing me the
witnesses that I have that would prove
my case. And you are allowing somebody who has been
-- where is he -- here he is -- who has been
involved in a RICO conspiracy for the
past four years to just go with his
smile and smirks and all of this, nasty -- his nasty
expressions, go to the jury without
admonishing him for it.

It just shows -- it shows what kind of court this is. My
participation in it, I want to limit it
because I know that you are -- I
believe that you, by your previous actions, are working with
the prosecutor hand in hand.

THE COURT: Okay. Well, the decision you have to make is
whether or not you wish to testify.

ED ROSENTHAL: Well, I'm saying if I testify I would want
corroborating witnesses. If you are not
going to allow me the corroborating
witnesses, then there is no sense in me testifying.

THE COURT: That's up to you.

---------------------------------


==========================================
MEDICAL MARIJUANA EVENTS (Click on the link for
Meetings OR EVENTS in your area):
http://www.oaksterdamnews.com/WebCalendar/month.php?

Richard

P.S.

Hello All,

POW Mail Service is free! Just register and write!

To help put activists in connection with people serving time for medical marijuana
we have set up a system whereby volunteers serve as proxys for those confined to
allow people to submit letters to them online, then we print and mail these
messages to the prisoner. This saves time, energy, and money for the activist and
facilitates the first steps of communication through written correspondence.

We feel connecting activists with prisoners creates a mutually beneficial
relationship. Many people who are new to advocacy will get seriously involved when
an issue is personalized for them. Correspondence can be precisely the kind of
personal understanding that often creates a politically motivated individual. Thank
you so much for your time.

Fill in this form to send your message to someone locked up for medical cannabis.
We will print and mail your message to medical cannabis prisoners of the war
against US.

http://www.medicalmarijuanaofamerica.com/component/option,com_facileforms/Itemid,84/

Regards,

Vanessa Nelson

If you wish to mail your own letter here are the Mailing addresses.

David Oakley Harde 16536-097
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Robert G. Schmidt 80579-020
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Ashland KY 41105
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