SACRAMENTO — In a ruling by California’s chief justice nominee, a state appeals court has barred a school district from drug testing all students in extracurricular activities such as choir, the school band and Future Farmers of America. The Shasta Union High School District in Northern California began the testing in 2008, saying the prospect of being disqualified from a favorite after-school activity would discourage youths from using drugs or alcohol. The district noted that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2002 that random drug tests of all students in extracurricular programs did not violate [...]
Bud’s note: Today’s must-read is this fascinating story by Julia Prodis Sulek of the San Jose Mercury News. Every courtroom drama needs a twist. ============ Defense lawyers in the Los Gatos murder-for-hire trial tried to put their first chink in the prosecution’s case on Thursday when they accused District Attorney-elect Jeff Rosen of withholding information they believe could help support their theory that the killing of Mark Achilli was actually a drug-debt collection gone bad. The argument arose during what seemed like routine testimony from a Santa Clara police officer about what he found in [...]
A federal grand jury in Sacramento indicted 10 people in four separate cases of marijuana growth operations on public land, according to a Thursday news release by United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner’s office. Authorities said the defendants operated large marijuana grows in three different counties. In all, agents found more than 36,000 plants being cultivated by the defendants, Chelsea Phua reports in Sacto 9-1-1. More than 3,000 marijuana plants, each about 5 feet tall, were found on Bureau of Land Management lands south of Cache Creek in Yolo County in early August. Agents raided [...]
The suspect in the killing of one man and the wounding of another on Aug. 25 pleaded not guilty in Humboldt County Superior Court Wednesday to charges of murder, attempted murder, and cultivation and possession of marijuana for sale. The 28-year-old Eureka man, Mikal Xylon Wilde — whose first name has also been spelled by officials as Mykal — allegedly killed Mario Roberto Juarez-Madrid of Santa Rosa, Guatemala, during an argument at a marijuana grow outside Kneeland. He also allegedly shot Fernando Lopez, according to the district attorney’s complaint, the Eureka Times-Standard reports. The two [...]
Two local lawyers are taking on the cause of MyCaregiver medicinal marijuana cooperative in Monterey. Richard Rosen and Jeanine Strong say they will not only prove the nonprofit co-op is operating legally, but will go after the “real violators” — local governments and law enforcement agencies that have refused to implement the medicinal marijuana law. In the 14 years since the Compassionate Care Act legalized medicinal marijuana in the state, Rosen told the Monterey County Herald, not one medical marijuana facility has been authorized in the county. “While the rest of the state is following [...]
A Nevada City man’s pot conviction remains in limbo — and could drag on for at least a year. Eric Engstrom’s legal quagmire started after he was found guilty in March of unlawfully growing marijuana, Liz Kellar reports in The Union of Grass Valley. The verdict was set aside by Nevada County Superior Court Judge Candace Heidelberger after she found clear evidence of misconduct by the jury, but the Nevada County District Attorney’s Office has filed a notice of appeal with the state of California. The District Attorney’s Office “is asking the Court of Appeals [...]
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Humboldt County Judge Marilyn Miles on Monday set bail at $1 million for the suspect in a pair of shootings that left one dead and another wounded in Kneeland on Aug. 25. The arraignment for Mykal Xylon Wilde, 28, was put off for two days at the request of attorney William Bragg, making a special appearance on Monday. Wilde has been charged with murder, attempted murder, cultivation of marijuana and possession of marijuana for sale. The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office alleges that Wilde shot two men who were working for him on a Kneeland-area pot [...]
He runs a small pediatrics practice in Marysville and has been busy lately with back-to-school checkups and vaccinations. Dr. Chukwuemeka Ndulue said when he received a lawsuit two weeks ago from the city attorney with his name on it, “I couldn’t believe it.” The suit, filed with the Yuba County Superior Court on behalf of Marysville, names Ndulue in connection with Norcal Health and Wellness Collective — a medical marijuana dispensary — which opened on I Street late last year. It also names Carothers Investments of Roseville, Sonoma National Bank and Alliance National Trustee. All [...]
A state appeals court Wednesday declined to decide whether California’s medical marijuana laws prevent cities and counties from outlawing dispensaries, sending the closely watched dispute over Anaheim’s 3-year-old ban back to the lower court for more hearings. Cities and dispensaries had been anxiously anticipating a major decision, the Los Angeles Times’ John Hoeffel reports, because the 4th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana had asked for additional information and took an unusually long time to reach a ruling: a year rather than the usual three months. “We thought this case would cause things to [...]
Marysville officials are trying to snuff out a medical marijuana dispensary they say is a nuisance. City officials filed a complaint in Yuba County Superior Court in late July requesting a temporary and permanent injunction against Norcal Health and Wellness Collective, along with more than $25,000 in fines. “They are trying to shut us down,” said Tony Taylor, who described himself as a volunteer at the dispensary. The Marysville City Council approved an interim ordinance in January that forbids marijuana dispensaries within 500 feet of a residence or 1,000 feet of a school, child-care facility, [...]
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