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December 22, 2000
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Hung jury ends Kubby medical marijuana trial
WASHINGTON, DC -- The medical marijuana trial of Steve and
Michele Kubby has ended in a mistrial after a "hopelessly deadlocked"
jury voted 11-1 in favor of acquitting the former Libertarian Party
gubernatorial candidate and his wife.
After deliberating for 21 hours over five days, the eight-
woman, four-man jury in Auburn, California said on Thursday it could
not reach a verdict on the most significant charges against the
Kubbys -- conspiracy, cultivation, and possession of marijuana with
intent to sell.
After the trial, a jury spokesman said even though there was
overwhelming consensus that the Kubbys were not guilty of the marijuana
charges, one lone juror refused to agree, and "there was no way she
could be convinced."
However, Steve Kubby was convicted of what a local newspaper
called "comparably minor" drug charges of possession of a controlled
substance, psilocyn and peyote. Michele Kubby was acquitted of those
charges.
During the four-month trial, the Kubbys had argued they were
legitimate medical marijuana patients who took the drug under doctor's
orders, and were protected by Proposition 215, the state law that
legalized medical marijuana.
"We stood and fought and defended the rights of sick people,"
said Steve Kubby after the trial. "We hope this [decision] creates a
bright line for law enforcement."
Steve Kubby was the LP's gubernatorial candidate in California
in 1998, and sought the party's vice presidential nomination in 2000.
He also played a key role in Proposition 215, which was passed by
voters in 1996.
The 11 members of the jury who voted to acquit were apparently
swayed by the so-called Oakland Guidelines. Written by the city of
Oakland, the guidelines allow patients to grow up to 144 marijuana
plants for medical reasons.
"The important thing is the jury upheld the Oakland
Guidelines," said Steve Kubby. "Everything else is really superfluous."
Other California counties have more restrictive medical
marijuana guidelines, and the failure to convict the Kubbys could
convince them to reconsider those policies, said the Kubbys' lawyer, J.
Tony Serra.
The mistrial decision was "mostly good news" for the medical
marijuana movement, said Libertarian Party National Director Steve
Dasbach.
"It's great news that 11 of 12 jurors voted in favor of medical
marijuana, and voted against the government's effort to put sick people
in jail," he said. "It's bad news that the 12th juror didn't have the
good sense or compassion to agree, and refused to acquit the Kubbys of
all charges.
"But after spending two years attacking the Kubbys, and
hundreds of thousands of dollars on the trial, the hung jury will make
prosecutors leery about arresting and charging future medical marijuana
patients."
California Libertarians have a "mixture of elation,
disappointment, and caution" after the Kubby mistrial, said LP State
Chair Mark Hinkle.
"We extend congratulations to Michele for her acquittal, but
today's outcome is a mixed blessing," he said. "We share outrage with
thousands of others over Steve's conviction on two senseless charges.
"We are very pleased and encouraged that in a county as
politically conservative as Placer -- where Proposition 215 was
rejected by 52% of voters -- 11 jurors would vote to follow the law
approved by all Californians four years ago. The real tragedy is that
countless other Americans continue suffering due to the government's
failed drug policy."
Hinkle also predicted that the Kubbys would be found innocent
if the case went back to trial.
"As far as we're concerned, Steve and Michele Kubby's use of
medical marijuana has been vindicated," he said. "There is no doubt in
our minds that Steve and Michele were using medical marijuana lawfully.
"There is no doubt that Steve was targeted by law enforcement
authorities following his high-profile gubernatorial campaign -- in
which he openly testified that taking marijuana was the only thing
keeping a rare form of cancer from killing him. And there is no doubt
that he will eventually be completely exonerated."
Prosecutors have not announced whether they will retry the
case.
"Considering [the] 11-1 outcome, they would be foolish to retry
the case," said Hinkle.
Steve Kubby is scheduled for sentencing on February 2 for the
psilocyn and peyote charges. He faces a maximum of three years, eight
months in prison, or a minimum of probation.
The Kubbys' long legal odyssey started on January 19, 1998,
when police raided their Olympic Valley home and arrested them.
Both pleaded not guilty to all charges, arguing that they used
marijuana in accordance with the law -- Steve Kubby to treat adrenal
cancer under doctor's orders and Michele Kubby to alleviate irritable
bowel syndrome.
Attorney J. Tony Serra suggested during the trial that the
Kubbys were targeted for prosecution because of their political
activity.
Steve Kubby is "a lightning rod for medicinal marijuana
activism," he said. "He was, and is, a symbol of medical marijuana --
and a symbol of false prosecution."
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