PROP.215 ACTIVIST'S CONVICTION REVERSED

Courts: Decision Is Based On Misconduct,Not The Medical-Marijuana Issue.

A state appeals court has reversed the marijuana-sale conviction of David
Herricks, the first Orange County defendant to raise a
marijuana-for-medical-purposes defence.

The Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed Herricks' conviction because of
willful misconduct by the prosecutor in the case. It did not address the
medical-marijuana issue.

Herrick,who received a four-year sentence at Soledad state prison, was among
the first in the state to raise the medical-marijuana defense under
Proposition 215, which allows the use of marijuana for medical reasons.

The court voided the conviction due to the closing arguments of then -
Deputy District Attorney Carl Armbrust.

In his closing argument in the Herrick case, Armbrust said the defense had
failed to use evidence that the trial judge had already ruled was not
admissible.

The evidence was 600 receipt slips recording donations to the Orange County
Cannabis C0-op where Herrick volunteered.

The appeals court ruled that Armbrust's misconduct "undetermined the
defense's credibility."

The state attorney general has not decided whether to appeal the decision or
to seek a second trial.

J.David Nick, the San Francisco lawyer representing imprisoned Orange County
Cannabis Co-op founder Marvin Chavez, said he had attempted to remove
Armbrust as prosecutor in that case.

"He was no longer an unbiased prosecutor, "Nick said."He was swinging his
sword in any direction he could to take the defendant down.

Armbrust, now retired, could not be reached for comment.