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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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US CA: With Jurors Deadlocked 11-1, Mistrial Declared In Pot Case
ccguide Friday 22 Dec 2000 Pubdate: Fri, 22 Dec 2000 Source: Auburn Journal (CA) Copyright: 2000 Auburn Journal Contact: Address: 1030 High St., Auburn, CA 95603 Website: http://www.auburnjournal.com/ Author: Gus Thomson, Journal Staff Writer Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/kubby.htm (Kubby, Steve) WITH JURORS DEADLOCKED 11-1, MISTRIAL DECLARED IN POT CASE Kubby Found Guilty Of Two Felony Charges A mistrial was declared Thursday in the trial of Steve and Michele Kubby, with a jury that leaned 11-1 toward acquittal on possession-of-marijuana-for-sales charges deciding to give up efforts to convince a lone, female juror to come over to their side. Jurors were sequestered for 21 1/2 hours over five days after hearing testimony that spanned four months. In the end, the jury could only decide to convict Steve Kubby on comparably minor felony drug possession charges involving a magic mushroom stem and peyote buttons. Steve Kubby faces a maximum exposure of three years, eight months in prison for the drug possession charges and a minimum of probation, Placer County District Attorney Brad Fenocchio said. Prosecutors will now have to consider both a sentencing recommendation and whether to retry the other charges, he said. "We respect the jury's decision - and indecision as well," Fenocchio said. The crux of the trial was the issue of possession of marijuana for sale stemming from a January 1999 raid on the Kubbys' Olympic Valley home. Jurors were unanimous in their belief, when polled by the court, that they would be unable to come back with a verdict after further deliberations. A total of 265 pot plants were confiscated from the Kubbys' indoor grow - marijuana the Placer County District Attorney's Office contended had a potential yield far above the couple's medicinal needs. Eleven jurors were willing to acquit the Kubbys on the most serious charges - counts of possession for sale, cultivating and conspiracy that could have resulted in up to 10 years in prison. Juror Floyd Marston said the hold-out member of the panel was set from the start of deliberations last Friday against acquittal. Several attempts were made to sway her, he said. "We just decided that no is no," Marston said. "She had very definite thoughts and there was no possible way she could be convinced." Steve Kubby, a medical marijuana advocate and Libertarian Party gubernatorial candidate in 1998, showed a smile after what defense attorneys described as a victory in the face of his possible conviction on the most serious charges. Both Steve Kubby and his attorney, J. Tony Serra, said the jury's 11-1 shift toward acquittal gave credence to City of Oakland guidelines for growing marijuana established shortly after passage of Proposition 215 in 1996. The Oakland guidelines allow 144 plants per person for medicinal use. "The important thing is the jury upheld the Oakland guidelines," Kubby said - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake
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