KanMan
04-15-2007, 02:17 PM
San Francisco, CA -- Federal prosecutors said Friday they would retry marijuana grower Ed Rosenthal on cultivation charges, even after a federal judge urged them to drop the case and chastised the government for lodging charges solely to punish the self-proclaimed "guru of ganja."
U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer demanded to know who in the Department of Justice decided to continue pursuing Rosenthal, who had his original conviction overturned last year.
Rosenthal can't be sentenced to prison even if he is convicted because the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the one-day prison sentence ordered by Breyer in 2003.
Newly appointed U.S. Attorney Scott Schools made the decision, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney George Bevan, who said he was unsure if Justice Department officials in Washington were involved.
The judge said the government's position to go forward left him no choice but to hold a trial, which he scheduled for May 14.
"This isn't a criminal case, this is a political case," said Rosenthal, who appeared in court dressed in a blue wizard's robe with a golden marijuana leaf emblazoned over the breast. "I may as well get my money's worth and have a trial."
U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer demanded to know who in the Department of Justice decided to continue pursuing Rosenthal, who had his original conviction overturned last year.
Rosenthal can't be sentenced to prison even if he is convicted because the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the one-day prison sentence ordered by Breyer in 2003.
Newly appointed U.S. Attorney Scott Schools made the decision, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney George Bevan, who said he was unsure if Justice Department officials in Washington were involved.
The judge said the government's position to go forward left him no choice but to hold a trial, which he scheduled for May 14.
"This isn't a criminal case, this is a political case," said Rosenthal, who appeared in court dressed in a blue wizard's robe with a golden marijuana leaf emblazoned over the breast. "I may as well get my money's worth and have a trial."