CASE
EXPERIENCE
Marijuanna
Marijuana Defenses
- Marijuana should be legal. It is not.
- Tests for Marijuana in blood can and should
be attacked. - Motions to dismiss based on Schedule I vs. Schedule III are too infrequently brought.
Defending Marijuana cases is an art that requires hard work, thinking outside of the box and creating local experts. The Shellow Group will move heaven and earth to avoid a conviction in a marijuana case.
The defense of a marijuana case is very different than the defense of other criminal charges. Unlike many years ago, the probabilities are that many of the jurors, judges and prosecutors have smoked marijuana and have learned that its risks were greatly exaggerated by Harry Anslinger, former Commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, and his acolytes.
The probable experience of jurors with marijuana poses a significant problem. Jurors assume that a marijuana conviction is no more serious than a conviction for speeding and, under the law, a judge cannot tell the jurors that a conviction for even minor marijuana offenses can have serious and lasting consequences for a defendant.
A conviction for a second marijuana offense is usually a felony. A felony conviction may foreclose an opportunity to practice law or medicine. It certainly will foreclose any employment in law enforcement. It will make it more difficult for the defendant to enter some of the better universities.
This is why the Shellow Group insists on defending the first marijuana charge as though the defendant’s life and career are at stake. The ambiance of the trial and the conduct of counsel must communicate to the jurors that which the judge cannot tell them: that this is a very serious matter. The defense lawyer must recognize the juror’s cognitive dissonance and resolve it in the defendant’s favor. The trial must be scripted like a passion play and the defendant must be seen by the jurors as a culturally-trapped victim.
< return to top >