DRUG TRIAL BEGINS FOR SCIENTOLOGY CRITIC

CLEARWATER - A Misdemeanor Marijuana Case Is Cast As A Battle Between
A Church And One Of Its Fiercest Critics

The marijuana cultivation trial of a prominent critic of the Church
of Scientology opened Wednesday with the prosecutor telling jurors
they will hear a simple ``cops-discover-plant'' case and the defense
lawyer advising them, ``You are in for a rough ride.''

Neither side disputes that Largo police found a healthy-looking
marijuana plant growing on Jesse Prince's pool deck in August.

But defense lawyer Denis de Vlaming has spent months gathering
evidence the church hired private investigators to tail Prince, meet
him socially and ultimately report him to police as a marijuana and
cocaine dealer.

Prince, a former high-ranking church official, is listed as an expert
witness in a pending lawsuit against the church. The suit stems from
the death of longtime church member Lisa McPherson.

Assistant State Attorney Lydia Wardell told jurors none of that
matters. Once Largo police dispatched an undercover officer to check
out the tip, it became academic.

Posing as a marijuana smoker, Sgt. Howard Crosby twice visited
Prince's home, Wardell said. On both occasions, he saw what he
believed to be marijuana growing on the pool deck. When police raided
the home, they found what proved to be a plant, she said.

``That's the case, as simple as that. On three separate occasions law
enforcement observed marijuana growing in Mr. Prince's home,''
Wardell said.

But de Vlaming told jurors the church went to extraordinary lengths
and expense to get a vocal critic arrested on what turned out to be a
misdemeanor charge.

As for the plant at Prince's home, de Vlaming cautioned jurors to
listen carefully to Crosby's testimony.

During one of Crosby's visits, Prince told him that when he moved in
a few months before, there were marijuana plants growing all over the
deck and throughout the back yard, the defense lawyer said.

Prince told the undercover officer he had pulled up more than a dozen
plants, only to have others sprout in their places.

``He never touched that plant, he never watered that plant, he never
fertilized that plant,'' the defense lawyer said. ``It wasn't Jesse's
plant.''

The trial is expected to conclude today.