ATTORNEY FILES TO DISMISS POT CASE

State Office Will Not Appeal Judge Eves' Ruling

CEDAR CITY -- Iron County Attorney Scott Garrett has filed a motion to
dismiss the case against three San Francisco men arrested 20 months ago on
drug charges after the state attorney general's office announced it will
not appeal a judge's ruling that the search of their motel room was
unconstitutional.

Garrett said he learned Thursday that the Utah Attorney General's Office
will not appeal a decision by 5th District Court Judge Philip Eves that the
Fourth Amendment rights of Dennis Peron, 57, John Entwistle, 37, and Kasey
Conder, 20, were violated during a November 2001 arrest at a Cedar City
motel. They were charged with possession of marijuana with the intent to
distribute.

Eves ruled that police violated their Fourth Amendment rights by not first
obtaining a search warrant before entering the motel rooms shared by the
men and that any evidence seized would not be admissible in court.

The attorney general's decision persuaded Garrett to dismiss charges
against the three men who are activists in the campaign to legalize
marijuana for medicinal purposes. Peron wrote California's Proposition 215,
a measure to legalize medicinal marijuana that was approved by voters in
1996. Ten other states have liberalized laws regarding medicinal use of the
drug.

"Obviously, we're disappointed that the motion to suppress the evidence was
granted and that there will be no appeal, but we respect the attorney
general's position and understand the decision he has made," Garrett said.

Dale Sessions, attorney for the defendants, said he wasn't surprised that
the state decided to drop the appeal process on Eves' ruling.

"My impression of this process is that all of the people are men and women
of integrity," he said. "This is how the system protects all of us. I know
there will be some people who are not happy with the decision, but this
sustains our expectation of a right to a private place, like a motel room,
and sustains our constitutional rights as we enjoy them."

Garrett said the disposition of approximately $4,500 in cash that was
seized from the men at the time of their arrest has not been made.

"That's still an issue," he said. "We'll try to fight that (the return of
the money.)"