By GLENDA ANDERSON
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
A Mendocino County judge has dismissed marijuana charges against Laura Hamburg, a community activist and daughter of a former congressman.
The Thursday ruling follows a judge’s decision two weeks ago that quashed evidence found in October during a search of the Hamburg family compound near Ukiah.
The property is owned by former Congressman Dan Hamburg and his wife, Carrie.
The evidence was quashed because officers’ sworn statements in support of the search warrant failed to mention that Hamburg had provided them with county-issued medical marijuana documentation.
At the time of the raid, law enforcement said there were at least 50 mature pot plants, about 50 pounds of processed marijuana and $10,000 cash.
Laura Hamburg’s attorney, former prosecutor Keith Faulder, said Hamburg had medical marijuana documentation for two other people and was within the growing limits for that number of medical marijuana patients.
Hamburg marijuana case dismissed
ReplyDeleteBy BEN BROWN The Daily Journal
Article Last Updated: 03/14/2008 08:39:53 AM PDT
Mendocino Superior Court Judge Ronald Brown dismissed marijuana charges against Laura Hamburg Thursday, two weeks after a judge quashed evidence found in a search of Hamburg's home in October.
"At this point the people are unable to proceed without that evidence," said Deputy District Attorney Brian Newman.
Brown ordered that the case be dismissed, but the prosecution has the option to refile the charges at a later date.
Hamburg was charged with marijuana possession following the Oct. 27, 2007 search of her home. Mendocino County sheriff's deputies said Hamburg had as many as 50 plants in her backyard garden and at least 10 pounds of processed marijuana in her house.
Hamburg said she had 39 plants and fewer than 10 pounds of marijuana in the house, all covered by the three medical marijuana recommendations she had on the property.
"I can finally breathe a sigh of relief," Hamburg said after Thursday's ruling.
Hamburg said she was growing medical marijuana for herself, her sister, her mother and a woman named Jean North who lived on Hamburg's Boonville Road property, all of whom had medical marijuana recommendations.
When sheriff's deputies arrived on the property looking for her brother and saw the marijuana plants, Hamburg said she showed them her garden.
"I felt I had nothing to hide," she said.
When deputies questioned her about the size of her marijuana garden, Hamburg said she showed them evidence of two medical marijuana recommendations, one for her and one for her sister. The medical marijuana recommendations were not included in the affidavit the deputy swore out for the search warrant.
"This is not a technicality," Hamburg said. "A judge found there was an intentional omission, which is a legal word for lying."
Hamburg's attorney, Keith Faulder, asked that the judge order the court to return the property sheriff's deputies seized as evidence, which included a substantial amount of cash, but Newman objected, saying the prosecution would need that evidence if it intended to refile charges against Hamburg.
Newman also said the prosecution was looking into appealing the decision of Mendocino County Superior Court Judge James Luther, who threw out the evidence gathered with the search warrant.
Luther found that the sheriff's deputy who wrote the affidavit for the search warrant made an "intentional omission" by not telling the judge who issued it that Hamburg had provided law enforcement with evidence of two medical marijuana recommendations when she was questioned about the marijuana growing in her back yard.
Brown gave the prosecution 10 days to decide whether to file charges against Hamburg and, if it did not, said he would hear arguments for the return of her property.
That hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. March 24.
Ben Brown can be reached at udjbb@pacific.net.
http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/ci_8573084