burnin1
Well-Known Member
From marijuana.com
Costa Mesa California Police Want to Make it a Federal Case
By Duke London
Attorneys representing the Costa Mesa Police Department filed a motion on Monday to have a pending lawsuit moved from state to federal court. The lawsuit claims the Costa Mesa P.D. overstepped the lawful authority of their inspection warrant during a January raid of the now-closed Costa Mesa Collective marijuana dispensary.
Building code inspection warrants, the type CMPD Chief Sharpnack claims to have obtained before the raid, are used to grant entry in the event the occupying business is violating building, fire, zoning, or civil codes. If the owner of the business denies access to their building, an inspection warrant can be issued by the city, granting forcible entry rights. However, it is strictly prohibited for investigators to seize evidence related to a criminal case while executing an inspection warrant, according to Jen McGrath, one of the lawyers representing the dispensary.
In surveillance footage obtained by the OC Register, CMPD officers can be seen busting through the clinics doors with their guns drawn, yelling at patients and caregivers alike to get on the ground. After interrogating the patients and arresting the dispensary staff, the officers proceeded to remove surveillance equipment and various elements of the storefront, including items secured in safes.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGH2I4RVzQw[/ame]
Matthew Pappas, the Long Beach attorney representing Costa Mesa Collective, maintains the Costa Mesa Police crossed the line.
These guys were doing this to shut down a business without due process because they dont like it, said Pappas. They became judge, jury and executioner.
The citys Police Chief, Rob Sharpnack, has said that his officers were executing a code enforcement inspection and had a sufficient warrant. However, Sharpnack denied the OC Registers request to see the warrant in question. Accoding to the OC Resister, no such warrant exists in the Orange County court system.
During the raid, five employees were arrested and detained on suspicion of possession with intent to distribute marijuana a felony offense in California. Pappas said the five individuals spent four days in lockup before being released without charges.
Pappas filed a lawsuit against the Police Department last month on behalf of Costa Mesa Collective. They are seeking unspecified damages from the citys police department in addition to the recovery of marijuana products, cash, sensitive patient records, and any other improperly seized assets. The suit alleges that CMPD officers violated constitutional rights by entering with force and taking property without a proper warrant.
The warrant dispute is particularly interesting because of the precedent the ultimate decision may set. For example, if the court sides with the CMPD, other cities may get away with misusing code inspection warrants for their own agenda.
Dennis M. Cota and Daniel S. Roberts, the lawyers representing the CMPD, filed a motion with the U.S. District Court to move the case from California to a federally-governed court.
Pappas says the move is strategic, and hell respond by filing a motion to keep the case in-state.
Costa Mesas effort to move the case to federal court is meant to prevent any recovery for their illegal actions because marijuana is prohibited under federal law, Pappas explained. However, the lawsuit filed is based on state law in an area that should be decided by state courts.
(Cover Image Courtesy of the O.C. Register/Law Office of Mathew Pappas)
http://www.marijuana.com/blog/news/...fornia-police-want-to-make-it-a-federal-case/
Costa Mesa California Police Want to Make it a Federal Case
By Duke London
Attorneys representing the Costa Mesa Police Department filed a motion on Monday to have a pending lawsuit moved from state to federal court. The lawsuit claims the Costa Mesa P.D. overstepped the lawful authority of their inspection warrant during a January raid of the now-closed Costa Mesa Collective marijuana dispensary.
Building code inspection warrants, the type CMPD Chief Sharpnack claims to have obtained before the raid, are used to grant entry in the event the occupying business is violating building, fire, zoning, or civil codes. If the owner of the business denies access to their building, an inspection warrant can be issued by the city, granting forcible entry rights. However, it is strictly prohibited for investigators to seize evidence related to a criminal case while executing an inspection warrant, according to Jen McGrath, one of the lawyers representing the dispensary.
In surveillance footage obtained by the OC Register, CMPD officers can be seen busting through the clinics doors with their guns drawn, yelling at patients and caregivers alike to get on the ground. After interrogating the patients and arresting the dispensary staff, the officers proceeded to remove surveillance equipment and various elements of the storefront, including items secured in safes.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGH2I4RVzQw[/ame]
Matthew Pappas, the Long Beach attorney representing Costa Mesa Collective, maintains the Costa Mesa Police crossed the line.
These guys were doing this to shut down a business without due process because they dont like it, said Pappas. They became judge, jury and executioner.
The citys Police Chief, Rob Sharpnack, has said that his officers were executing a code enforcement inspection and had a sufficient warrant. However, Sharpnack denied the OC Registers request to see the warrant in question. Accoding to the OC Resister, no such warrant exists in the Orange County court system.
During the raid, five employees were arrested and detained on suspicion of possession with intent to distribute marijuana a felony offense in California. Pappas said the five individuals spent four days in lockup before being released without charges.
Pappas filed a lawsuit against the Police Department last month on behalf of Costa Mesa Collective. They are seeking unspecified damages from the citys police department in addition to the recovery of marijuana products, cash, sensitive patient records, and any other improperly seized assets. The suit alleges that CMPD officers violated constitutional rights by entering with force and taking property without a proper warrant.
The warrant dispute is particularly interesting because of the precedent the ultimate decision may set. For example, if the court sides with the CMPD, other cities may get away with misusing code inspection warrants for their own agenda.
Dennis M. Cota and Daniel S. Roberts, the lawyers representing the CMPD, filed a motion with the U.S. District Court to move the case from California to a federally-governed court.
Pappas says the move is strategic, and hell respond by filing a motion to keep the case in-state.
Costa Mesas effort to move the case to federal court is meant to prevent any recovery for their illegal actions because marijuana is prohibited under federal law, Pappas explained. However, the lawsuit filed is based on state law in an area that should be decided by state courts.
(Cover Image Courtesy of the O.C. Register/Law Office of Mathew Pappas)
http://www.marijuana.com/blog/news/...fornia-police-want-to-make-it-a-federal-case/
