MEDICAL MARIJUANA ADVOCATE GRANTED NEW TRIAL

Supreme Court Says Instructions By Judge Denied Man Constitutional
Right To Jury Trial

A medical marijuana crusader will get a new trial on drug charges
after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled unanimously yesterday that
the judge in his original trial had reduced the jury's role to a
"ceremonial" one.

In a 7-0 judgment, the top court said Grant Krieger of Calgary was
deprived of his "constitutional right" to a trial by jury when the
judge in the case directed the jury to find the accused guilty of
possession of marijuana for the purposes of trafficking. The Supreme
Court quashed the conviction and ordered a new trial by jury.

"The trial judge's direction was not a 'slip of the tongue'," Justice
Morris Fish wrote on behalf of the court. "His purpose and words were
clear. In effect, the trial judge reduced the jury's role to a ceremonial one."

Mr. Krieger said he was overjoyed by the ruling and the prospect of a
new trial.

Mr. Krieger, who uses marijuana to help cope with his multiple
sclerosis, said he is confident a "jury of his peers" will find him not guilty.

Mr. Krieger has endured a long legal odyssey since he was charged in
1999 after police seized 29 marijuana plants at his Calgary home.

He was acquitted by the first jury to hear the case in 2001, but that
verdict was later thrown out by the Alberta Court of Appeal.

At the second trial in 2003, Mr. Krieger, 51, confessed to providing
marijuana to others in medical need, but he defended his actions,
saying he had no choice but to break the law to ensure a reliable
supply of the drug for patients who have a federal exemption to use marijuana.

Before leaving the courtroom, the judge directed the jurors to
convict, and said they were "bound to abide by that direction." He
later rejected two jurors' requests to be excused on religious
grounds and grounds of conscience.

The verdict was upheld in the Alberta Court of Appeal. Although it
said Judge Paul Chrumka made a mistake, it said a new trial would
result in the same verdict. Chief Justice Catherine Fraser dissented,
which meant the case was automatically put to the top court.

The Supreme Court ruling confirmed what Judge Fish cited as the
well-established notion that juries have the power to refuse to apply
the law when their consciences permit no other course.

John Hooker, Mr. Krieger's lawyer, had argued the Supreme Court had
formally recognized the option of jury nullification in a 1988 ruling
that upheld the jury acquittal of abortion doctor Henry Morgentaler.