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Appeals Court: Cops Acted Illegally, Dispensary Entitled to Seized Money

Wed, Oct 21, 2009 6:12 pm

more: headline news, news hit, medical marijuana, medical news

The bad news is that police sometimes circumvent laws in order to make raids and seizures at the expense of legitimate medical marijuana dispensaries.

The good news is, in at least one case, they’re not going to get away with it.

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that an L.A. medical marijuana dispensary was entitled to the $186,400 that was taken from them during “an illegal police search and then claimed by the federal government.”

That’s right. The appeals court found that the LAPD acted illegally, ruled “the government should not be allowed to ‘profit from illegal activity by law enforcement,’” and is returning the money to the clinic in question.

It all went down like this:

Back in March of 2005, an L.A. police sergeant decided to check out United Medical Caregivers Clinic. After speaking with United Medical Caregiver’s chief executive and seeing patients at the clinic buying medical marijuana with doctor recommendations, the sergeant seems to have gotten it into his head that this would be an easy mark. He got his station to obtain a warrant (“without telling the judge that the clinic was a medical marijuana dispensary”). The clinic was then raided with this BS warrant and cops seized $186,400 from its register and safe – no one was charged with a crime.

Sounds a bit like a robbery, right? Well it gets worse.

United Medical Caregivers went to court to reclaim the seized money but the government claimed “the cash was the proceeds of activity that violated federal law.” And even though the original judge to hear the case found that the search was illegal – you know, because police failed to mention they were getting the warrant to raid a medical marijuana dispensary – he ordered the disputed $186, 400 to be forfeited to the government.

So, even though the cash was seized as evidence stemming from an illegal search, the government still gets to keep it?

Fortunately, the appeals court got it right, saying, “the evidence wasn’t independent and was a byproduct of wrongdoing by the Los Angeles police, who ‘misled a state judge into perceiving (the clinic’s) conduct as criminal.’”

The ruling was unanimous and Judge Richard Clifton added his dismay that the federal government would have handed the cash over to the police.

The clinic’s lawyer sums it up: “Police were being paid (a percentage of the funds) to lie to a Superior Court judge [who issued the search warrant].” …sfgate.com

» add a comment

i agree with alex

Nov 15 2009, 8:56 am

stop talking shit and do something to forward the movement. im so tired of getting on pro marijuana sites and listening to a bunch of manbaly pambaly idiots. try being respectfull and maybe if every word wasnt f this and that. ask yourself what makes you so special and what youve done to earn the right to talk that way about anyone. one more thing for the people who arent on here and cant defend themselves you can f*** off.

anonymous

Oct 28 2009, 9:26 pm

wow.....
cops are just hopeless these days....

higher higher bayyyyyybe =)

I've been laid...

Oct 28 2009, 1:34 pm

Tinfoil hat fuckmaster writes:"they never got me laid." well, dumbass, i wonder why you've never been laid. Could it be that your so over the cliff mentally insane that no woman in her right mind would want to be near you. I bet even whores on the street turn you down once you open your fucking stupid goddamned mouth. "they never got me laid"...your beyond pathetic pal. "they never got me laid"..look in the mirror clown and you can see why you've never been laid. Now spend all day on here typing your bullshit that no one cares about. Obviously high times dosen't give two shits about it.

Anti Tinfoil hat

Oct 28 2009, 1:29 pm

no doubt, alex jones...that one dude on here is a certified RETARD. And i'm not talking about mentally handicapped people, they are good people in my book. I'm talking about this straight up tin foil hat racist/homophobe/antismeite retard who obviously has never been employed, gone to school, or done anything productive besides making these comments sections straight up dogshit. I hope this guy just offs himself one day. The world would be a better place.

ALEX JONES

Oct 27 2009, 9:45 pm

People are fuckin nuts. Your all kooks!! GET A LIFE!

BOKO

Oct 27 2009, 12:57 am

Thank the old Rehnquist court for this crap, they gutted the Fourth Amendment. Glad they got it right, tho it sounds like they deserve some damages above and beyond the cash they got back.
Peace.

HonestAbe

Oct 25 2009, 10:14 pm

Typical of Law Enforcement bully tatics. I am so tired of paying for police and then to have them waste my tax dollars. Obvious they are not as smart as attorney's are. Infact I notice the police do not set good standars like oneying the traffic laws as we all should. Also they think that some how they are above the law. A police officer should reject anyone in the department who acts on personal bias. This has got to stop! Please "treat others as you would like to be treated" This era of hate and punishment must end!

Truth

Oct 25 2009, 3:46 pm

California is full of nut jobs and kooks . Its no big mystery that some of 'em got hired on at the police department .

ganjajohnbon

Oct 25 2009, 3:38 pm

fuck tha pohleese!

Muse - Resistance

Oct 24 2009, 8:15 pm

The wavelength gently grows,
Coercive notions re-evolve,
A universe is trapped inside a tear,
It resonates the core,
Creates unnatural laws,
Replaces love and happiness with fear

How much deception can you take?
How many lies will you create?
How much longer until you break?
Your minds about to fall

And they are breaking through,
They are breaking through,
Now were falling,
We are losing control

Invisible to all,
The mind becomes a wall.
All of history deleted with one stroke

How much deception can you take?
How many lies will you create?
How much longer until you break?
Your minds about to fall

And they are breaking through,
They are breaking through,
Now were falling,
We are losing control

J.R

Oct 23 2009, 5:52 pm

id shot shot yia inn the trunk

gstlab3

Oct 23 2009, 2:13 pm

TO: Sucker.,
YOU ARE CORRECT SIR!!!
BE VERY CAREFULL TO WHO YOU SPEAK.,PROTESTING THE GOVERNMENT/POLICE/POLITICS etc... CAN RUIN YOUR LIFE IN BIG TOWNS AND SMALL ONES TOO.
THE GIG IS UP AND THE ELITISTS ARE RUNNING SCARED AND THE BIGGEST HEIGHST IN WORLD HISTORY HAS BUT A FEW MORE LITTLE BRIEF INTERLUDES BEFORE THE SYSTEM DOES INDEED COLLAPSE.
PEOPLE WILL LOOSE FAITH IN THE SYSTEM VERY QUICKLY AFTER A FEW MORE UNPLEASANT EPISODES OF INFLATION AND PRICE HIKES ON FUEL AND THE FOOD STORES WILL SHRINK AND THE FAITH IN THE FUTURES MARKETS WILL BE GONE AFTER THAT AND THEN PANIC FOLLOWED BY THE INEVITABLE IMPLOSION AND SOCIAL UNREST AND IF WE BLINK., CIVIL WAR AND THE RACE WAR WE ARE ALL LOOKING OVER THE HORIZON FOR NOW.
HEY I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO IS SICK AND TIRED OF THE STATE OF OUR IMPORTED THIRD WORLD CULTURES AND THEIR BROTHERS AND SISTERS WHO HAVE NOT YET GROWN OUT OF THE STONE AGE TRIBAL WARFARE "think gangs" AND SOCIAL EVOLUTION "think western religion and morality and marriage.,"
THAT COMES WITH TIME AND NOTHING ELSE WILL SOLVE THEIR PROBLEMS OF NOT FITTING INTO THE MODERN WORLD OF NORTH AMERICA OR EUROPE OR THE BRITISH ISLES.
WE ARE SICK OF PAYING OUR LIFES WORKS, SWEAT AND BLOOD AND TEARS FOR PEOPLE WHO DO NOT EVEN TRY TO LEARN OUR LANGUAGE OR EVEN GRADUATE HIGH SCHOOL WHEN EVERY COMFORT HAS BEEN SUPPLIED TO THEM BY THE TAX PAYERS AND WEALTHY OF THIS COUNTRY AND OTHERS LIKE CANADA AND GREAT BRITIAN.
WE SUPPLY THE UNMARRIED WITH FREE HOUSING AND FOOD AND SOMETIMERS TRANSPORTATION AND MOST EXPENSIVE IS THE GREAT MEDICAL CARE THESE FREE LOADERS GET FOR SHOWING UP ON OUR DOORSTEP PREGNANT WITH CHILDREN OF UNKNOWN PARENTAGE.
THE MEN ARE NO BETTER FOR LEAVING THE TRAIL OF BASTARDS BEHIND TO BE PAID FOR BY US THE HARD WORKING,EDUCATED THINKING AND CREATIVE PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY.
WITHOUT US THESE UNEDUCATED,AND THE IMMIGRANT WOULD NOT BE HERE NOR WOULD WE HAVE THESES GANGS SHOOTING THE PLACE AND EACH OTHER UP BECAUSE THEY ARE SO SPOILED AS TO THINK THEY ARE OWED SOMETHING FROM THE WORLD eg;"think respect and free living"
I HAVE NEWS FOR THEM.,THE SYSTEM IS BROKE AND THEY ARE SOON ENOUGH GOING TO HAVE TO GET OFF THIER ASSES AND GET A JOB AND BE PRODUCTIVE FOR ONCE IN THEIR FILTHY LITTLE SPOILED LIVES!!!!
FREEDOM IS NOT FREE YOU HAVE TO EARN IT !!!!!!!!!!

I THINK OUR ENTIRE COUNTRY "think the urban minorities and illegals and OTHER THIRD WORLD CULTURES" HAVE GOT TO EARN IT., BECAUSE THEY ARE CERTAINLY NOT DESERVING OF IT FOR THE MOST PART.
ARE YOU READING THIS THIRD WORLD AMERICA?
I HOPE YOU DO BECAUSE THIS NATION HAS BECOME ANYTHING BUT A MELTING POT., IT'S... more like a chamber pot.,
SUCKER YOU SPEAK BUT DO YOU KNOW? DO YOU REALLY KNOW HOW MUCH TROUBLE WE ARE IN?
I HOPE YOU DO BECAUSE YOU MIGHT BE ONE OF "THE PREPAIRED"
THE SURVIVORS.,
PEACE THROUGH SUPERIOR FIREPOWER IS MY MOTTO AND TRADE.
PEACE!!GROW YOUR OWN, FREE YOUR MIND, AND FREE THE PLANET!!

frustrated

Oct 23 2009, 9:23 am

the way you people talk on here does NOT help the cause,
in fact you give cannabis smokers a bad name.
that kind of talk and thinking is why you are were you are.

Oct 22 2009, 1:29 pm

Virginia Creeper...

yeah you wouldn't have gotten caught... you would have gotten 12 gauge buckshot right to your ugly face for bein a piece of shit

sincerely,
deddog

DonP

Oct 22 2009, 1:26 pm

FUCK DA' POLICE aka PO HOssssssssssssssssss...........

MASTER BREED

Oct 22 2009, 11:56 am

EUROPE, ISRAEL, CANADA AND AMERICA ARE THE RULERS OF THE EARTH, ALL OF THE REST ARE ANKLE BITERS AT BEST!!!

virginia creeper

Oct 21 2009, 8:52 pm

if i new they had that kind of money ida stole it too

sept i wouldnt have got caught

herb

Oct 21 2009, 8:50 pm

Fucking cops

Grow more

www.hydroponicsbrew.com

a;lskdfjad

Oct 21 2009, 7:15 pm

Fucking pigs

sucker

Oct 21 2009, 7:13 pm

Sounds like organized crime, first Ben Bernanke and Geithner pulled the biggest heist in world history by splitting the federal reserve cash among friends now this is going on, sounds like they do it all the time, that is the reality, american citizens and cannabis patients are just sitting targets, very nice to see justice served by a fair judge.