Eugene Davidovich Medical Marijuana Trial

Jim Finnel

Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
I'm going to use this thread to keep you all updated with whats going on in this trial. I'm expecting daily updates. If your able, please show your support by attending the trial.
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Court Support Requested - THURSDAY 3/11/2010 - 10am

Department 55 - 220 W Broadway San Diego CA 92101

Today, Wednesday March 10, 2010 all in limine motions were completed and a jury was selected in the medical marijuana trial of People v Davidovich.

On Thursday opening statement will begin from both the prosecution and the defense. This will be the first day in front of the jury and a critical day for supporters to be in court. If you are able to make it to court tomorrow
(Thursday 10am), your presence would be both helpful and very much appreciated. The jury should see that this issue affects all of us.

On Tuesday as well as today Bahar Ansari my attorney argued and defended all the motions in limine filed by the prosecution as well as presented the motions in limine from the defense. If it weren't for her efforts, superb knowledge of the law, and well formulated arguments, I would have been in a very bad position.

The prosecution came in with 9 (nine) motions in limine all with a clear intent to undermine my defense and chance for a fair trial:

Below is a brief description of the motions the DA filed, as well as a summary of how that motion was ruled on by the Judge.

1. Jury Instructions - (an interpretation of the medical marijuana law presented to the jury)

The instructions that the prosecutor filed were a very narrow interpretation of the law, and essentially professed that unless all members are cultivating together, that no other means of association to cultivate was legal. We were able to finally clarify, correct, and agree on a jury instructions this morning shortly prior to starting jury selection. The final instruction is a more accurate depiction of the law which includes a description of what a collective is. Even though the San Diego DA has posted on their website the AG Guidelines and is urging people to follow them, proclaimed to the surprise of everyone including the judge during these arguments that "AG Guidelines are not law, and we can never see a case when we would want them to apply".

2. Medical Defense

The prosecution fought vehemently for hours to have my medical defense excluded and to not allow us to mention anything with regards to medical marijuana laws to the jury. Exactly at 4:20pm it was decided by the Judge that there is evidence of an affirmative defense and that we would be allowed to discuss medical marijuana in front of the jury during jury selection as well as at all other times.

3. Recommendations of Potential Witnesses

Although the prosecution claimed recommendations written on paper and signed by the doctor were hearsay, they filed a motion to require all potential witnesses claiming to be medical marijuana patients to subpoena the written recommendations from their doctors. We had no objection to this.

4. Exclude testimony of Chris Conrad Expert Witness

The prosecution filed to excluded the testimony of Chris Conrad a well known medical cannabis dosages and yields expert who has testified in hundreds of cases. The after hearing relentless arguments from the DA, the judge denied their motion and will allow Mr. Conrad's testimony.

5. Members List should be excluded

The DA moved to exclude the mention of the list of members of the collective to the jury. This request was also denied by the judge.

6. Character Witnesses

Again the DA argued to exclude the two character witnesses from testifying at my trial. These two individuals have known me for over fifteen years and are prepared and willing to testify about their opinions of my character. The DA argued that their testimony would create an unnecessary burden on the courts time. The judge denied this request and will allow both my character witnesses to testify.

7. Surveillance Video

A request was made by the DA to show the jury the undercover video of the delivery of medicine to Jamie Conlan (Detective Scott Henderson) who was posing as a legitimate patient. We did not object and were ourselves requesting the video be shown, as it clearly shows me verifying his doctor's recommendation and drivers license.

8. Exclusion of Navy Background

Without hesitation the judge denied this request. I will be allowed to discuss my navy background.

9. Photos of Cultivation Excluded

The Prosecution attempted to exclude pictures of the collective cultivation effort from being shown to the jury. Again the judge quickly denied this request and the jury will be allowed to see ALL the evidence.

At 10:30 this morning forty eight people were brought into Department 55. Michael McCabe my defense attorney invited his friend Charles Roger Khoury Jr. a very experienced and respected attorney to assist with the jury selection process. I must say, it was a very good feeling to have three attorneys representing me in court today all out of the goodness of their heart and for their passionate belief in justice.

Jury selection began with a huge surprise for all of us. We saw the direct result from the efforts of all the medical marijuana advocacy and activism in San Diego pay off, when at least a dozen potential jurors openly voiced their concerns about the current marijuana laws in court for the entire jury pool to hear. One potential juror went as far as to talk about the current situation in San Diego with the lack of clarity in the law and the zoning issues collectives are having. She as well as most of the others who raised concerns were unfortunately dismissed by the prosecution but not before the rest of the jurors were educated. At the end of the day, the forty eight jurors were narrowed down a panel of twelve jurors and two alternates.

On Thursday opening statements begin, as well as the testimony of the Narcotics Task Force detective Scott Henderson who stars in the surveillance video provided by the DA:

YouTube - www.EuegneDavidovich.com - Operation Green RX - Collective Entrapment in San Diego

Come see Mr. Henderson talk about why how he lied to the doctor to obtain his recommendation and then used it to infiltrate local collectives.

For more information about my case visit www. eugenedavidovich. com

Get Active, Get Involved, Make a difference!
 
Some background on this case:

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Eugene Davidovich​

I am a twenty year resident of San Diego, a medical cannabis patient, and a victim of Operation Green Rx and San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis’ brutal ambition to overturn California’s Compassionate Use Act.

After having served four years in the Navy, including two deployments to the Gulf, medals, commendations and an honorable discharge I began to experience serious medical symptoms. With the use of medical cannabis I found relief from the symptoms without the debilitating side-effects I’d experienced with prescription drugs. During my treatment I was able to complete a Bachelors Degree then a Masters in Business Administration, all while building a successful career as a project manager in software development field.

Then, as a result of law enforcement’s lack of training in California law or its unwillingness to follow that law, all collectives dispensing medical cannabis in San Diego were targeted and systematically closed. After reading the newly provided State Attorney General’s (AG) guidelines for cannabis collectives I formed my own collective and began to lawfully cultivate, and collectively distribute medical cannabis to other members of this collective on a non-profit basis according to the state law of Proposition 215, SB420 and the help of the AG guidelines.

In November of 2008, I received a call from a man calling himself Jamie Conlan and asking to join the collective. After a rigorous qualification process where Mr. Conlan presented both a driver’s license and a medical recommendation which he lied to a doctor to obtain, I was duped into allowing his participation.

Some months later, my Mission Valley apartment was raided by an armed narcotics team and I was taken to the police station where I met Conrado DeCastro who revealed Operation Green Rx. I was to discover later through the prosecutor’s discloser that the officers of the operation were targeting collectives from CA NORML’s website and posing as legitimate patients to obtain cannabis recommendations from doctors and then entrap collectives.

I was shown two large binders with names and told “we are gonna’ bring all you medical pot people down.” Charged with four felonies, I was taken to jail, for legally providing a patient 120.00 worth of medical cannabis. I didn’t think things could get much worse.

Imagine my shock to find that the DA held a news conference of manufactured lies, touting the success of what they now referred to as Operation Endless Summer, depicting me as a dangerous dealer of large amounts of ******, meth, marijuana, as well as trotting out the “don’t mess with the military” and the “streets of navy housing” mantra that the San Diego DA Bonnie Dumanis has been maintaining ever since. The evening news quickly picked up the story showing video footage of me at the arraignment hearing, and again listing drugs which did not exist nor with which I had any involvement, let alone charged with selling.

As a result of the false press conference, the police refusal to follow the law and the prosecutor attempting to deny the court evidence that I am a patient protected by medical cannabis laws, I am in the fight of my life. The amount of resources being spent on this case is unbelievable. Aside from the year long NTF investigation, the DA has put together a top notch team of prosecutors and law clerks as well as has recruited the famous anti marijuana activist Steve Reed to testify as an expert against me.

I am represented by attorneys Michael J. McCabe and Bahar Ansari who have been working tirelessly on my case and have provided me with exceptional representation throughout this process. They have been able to both help steer me through the legal system in my trial, as well as protect me from the constant threats and intimidation of the DA for speaking out about my situation. My attorney’s can be reached at the phone numbers listed below.

Michael J. McCabe – 619-231-1181
Bahar Ansari – 619-787-0604

Read the Operation Green Rx Blog – "Navigating The Serpentine Roadmap"

Join the Cause to Stop Operation Green Rx – eugenedavidovich.com
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Previous news articles:

San Diego's War on Medical Marijuana Continues
The Tyranny of San Diego’s Operation GreenRX
Update: Eugene Davidovich - Operation Green Rx
Eugene Davidovich speaks to City Council on MMJ and Green Rx
Operation Green RX – Investigations of Medical Cannabis Collectives Continue
 
People V. Davidovich Trial Day 8

Department 55 - 220 W Broadway San Diego CA 92101

Thursday, March 18, 2010 I will resume the stand and continue my testimony in front of a jury of twelve peers.

Tuesday March, 15th, I spent all day on the stand being cross examined by Theresa Pham the prosecutor in my case. I am hoping that she sticks to her estimate of 30 minutes for the remainder of her cross examination on the
17th. However based on everything the DA has done to date, I am anticipating spending another day on the stand.

After my testimony, we expect to hear testimony from the landlord whom I rented the property where the collective cultivation took place. Following the landlord's testimony, we will hear from two of my character witnesses who will talk about my character traits with regards to generosity, law abidingness, and truthfulness. Both of these individuals have known me for over 15 years and one of whom was my former boss.

For more information about my case please visit www. eugenedavidovich. com

Watch the Video Trial Updates:

Day 1 -

Day 6 -

Day 7 -

I look forward to seeing you in court. The only way that we can make a change is through education and outreach. Join me in this effort. Stay united, stay strong, get involved, make a difference!

Eugene Davidovich
 
Deluding the law? Hey lady , why don't you turn that around and tell the truth, that the law it'self is the deluded party in this mess!
 
Jury Acquits Eugene Davidovich, Dispenser Of Medical Marijuana

San Diego - A jury acquitted a medical marijuana collective operator of drug possession and sales charges yesterday.

The acquittal of Eugene Davidovich after two weeks of trial in front of Superior Court Judge Kenneth So is the second time in the past four months that juries have found medical marijuana operators not guilty of drug charges.

In December, Jovan Jackson, who was the manager of a medical marijuana dispensary in Kearny Mesa, was acquitted of five counts of possessing and selling the drug. Davidovich’s case had become an important cause among medical marijuana proponents.

District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis has aggressively pursued medical marijuana dispensaries and collectives that she contends are not complying with Proposition 215, the voter-approved initiative that legalized the drug for medical purposes.

Davidovich, a former software developer, was charged with selling the drug to an undercover officer posing as a patient in November 2008 with a doctor’s prescription for the drug. The transaction was captured on videotape. Davidovich insisted he had done nothing wrong and believed that the man he sold the marijuana to was a legitimate patient and the purchase was part of the legal operations of the collective. In phone conversations before the transaction he had emphasized that the purchase was being done as part of the collective’s work and for no other reason, said Davidovich’s lawyer, Michael McCabe.

Jurors acquitted him of four charges relating to the transaction, which was part of a larger investigation of medical marijuana collectives dubbed Operation Green Rx, McCabe said.

“The jury saw this for what it was,” McCabe said. “They thought it was a trumped up case from the get-go.”

Deputy District Attorney Theresa Pham could not be reached for comment on the verdicts. Steve Walker, a spokesman for the District Attorney’s Office, said the outcome is “disappointing, but we respect the jury’s verdict.”

NewsHawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: signonsandiego.com
Author: Greg Moran
Copyright: 2010 The San Diego Union-Tribune, LLC
 
I was telling a person about this and They did not know it was going on. The shows me that I am inundated with Cannabis News; This stuff rarely gets on the mainstream media.
 
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