<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; ">Courtesy of the Tacoma News Tribune at:</div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; "><br></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; "><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; white-space: nowrap; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; "><a href="http://www.thenewstribune.com/2013/04/25/2573492/judge-again-orders-tacoma-police.html">http://www.thenewstribune.com/2013/04/25/2573492/judge-again-orders-tacoma-police.html</a></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; "><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; white-space: nowrap; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; "> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; ">-------------------------------------</div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; "><br></div><div><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto; margin: 0px 0px 0.66em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-hyphens: auto; "><span style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 30px; line-height: 39px; text-align: left; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Judge orders Tacoma police to return man's pot</span><div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-align: left; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); font-family: sans-serif; "><br>Read more here: <a href="http://www.thenewstribune.com/2013/04/25/v-printerfriendly/2573492/judge-again-orders-tacoma-police.html#storylink=cpy">http://www.thenewstribune.com/2013/04/25/v-printerfriendly/2573492/judge-again-orders-tacoma-police.html#storylink=cpy</a></div></p><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto; margin: 0px 0px 0.66em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-hyphens: auto; "><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Give the man his marijuana. That was the gist of a simple order Tacoma Municipal Court Judge Jack Emery gave to Tacoma police two months ago.</span></p><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto; margin: 0px 0px 0.66em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-hyphens: auto; "><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Police refused.</span></p><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto; margin: 0px 0px 0.66em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-hyphens: auto; "><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Thursday, Emery repeated himself with emphasis: Police have seven days to comply with his Feb. 28 order and return the pot to Tacoma resident Joseph L. Robertson, or face a possible order of contempt.</span></p><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto; margin: 0px 0px 0.66em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-hyphens: auto; "><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“Appeal or comply,” Emery told assistant city attorney John Walker. “Or next week, show up, and I would advise you to bring counsel.”</span></p><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto; margin: 0px 0px 0.66em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-hyphens: auto; "><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The ruling was a small procedural victory for Robertson, but it could set the stage for a precedent-setting debate, and a collision between state and federal laws governing marijuana.</span></p><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto; margin: 0px 0px 0.66em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-hyphens: auto; "><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Police seized the pot in May 2012 after pulling Robertson over for speeding. The officer who made the stop reported smelling marijuana inside Robertson’s car and later found a small amount.</span></p><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto; margin: 0px 0px 0.66em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-hyphens: auto; "><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Robertson was cited for driving without a valid license and misdemeanor marijuana possession and released. City prosecutors dismissed the possession charge in December after the state’s vote to legalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana.</span></p><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto; margin: 0px 0px 0.66em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-hyphens: auto; "><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Robertson then asked for his pot back, and provided proof of medical marijuana authorization. The city refused, which prompted Emery’s Feb. 28 order.</span></p><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto; margin: 0px 0px 0.66em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-hyphens: auto; "><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Thursday, Robertson and his attorney, Jay Berneburg, were back in court, complaining that the city hadn’t complied. Robertson, a big man with a pony tail, wore an old Oakland Raiders jersey and sunglasses. Berneburg, also pony-tailed, wore a suit.</span></p><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto; margin: 0px 0px 0.66em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-hyphens: auto; "><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“Contemptuous” was the word Emery used to describe the city’s response to his earlier order. He held up a thick stack of legal briefs from the city, delivered one day before Thursday’s hearing. The city had blown the deadline to make such arguments, even if they had merit, the judge said.</span></p><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto; margin: 0px 0px 0.66em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-hyphens: auto; "><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The next step is uncertain – the next hearing is set for May 2. The matter could be resolved by then, or it could bounce up another legal level.</span></p><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto; margin: 0px 0px 0.66em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-hyphens: auto; "><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Emery’s order requires the city to fill out a release form and transmit it to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, which operates the property room where seized evidence (including Robertson’s pot) is stored.</span></p><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto; margin: 0px 0px 0.66em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-hyphens: auto; "><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The city could fill out the form and transmit it, leaving the onus of the decision on Pierce County. If the county refuses to return the pot, that could set up an appeal to Pierce County Superior Court.</span></p><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto; margin: 0px 0px 0.66em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-hyphens: auto; "><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Pierce County Sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said Tacoma police could collect the pot; but the sheriff’s office won’t hand it to Robertson.</span></p><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto; margin: 0px 0px 0.66em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-hyphens: auto; "><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“It’s Tacoma’s case,” Troyer said. “If they want it, they can come and get it.”</span></p><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto; margin: 0px 0px 0.66em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-hyphens: auto; "><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Emery was careful to point out the jurisdictional tangle as he gave his ruling Thursday; he has legal authority over the city, but not the county.</span></p><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto; margin: 0px 0px 0.66em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-hyphens: auto; "><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“I am going to order that you fill out the appropriate release and transmit it to the sheriff’s department,” Emery said, addressing Walker. “Then I’m going to set a hearing next week. I think there’s contemptuous behavior here.”</span></p><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto; margin: 0px 0px 0.66em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-hyphens: auto; "><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Emery added that the case was “a quagmire,” due to the conflicting provisions of state and federal law.</span></p><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto; margin: 0px 0px 0.66em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-hyphens: auto; "><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">After the hearing, Berneburg said that if the county refuses to return his client’s pot, he would file an appeal.</span></p><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto; margin: 0px 0px 0.66em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; -webkit-hyphens: auto; "><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“This isn’t gonna end,” Berneburg said. “This is not gonna end.”</span></p><div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-align: left; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden; "><font><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Read more here: <a href="http://www.thenewstribune.com/2013/04/25/v-printerfriendly/2573492/judge-again-orders-tacoma-police.html#storylink=cpy">http://www.thenewstribune.com/2013/04/25/v-printerfriendly/2573492/judge-again-orders-tacoma-police.html#storylink=cpy</a></div></font></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; "><br></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; ">-------------------------------------<br><br><div>Seeya round town, Moscow, because . . .</div><div><br></div><div>"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)</div><div><a href="http://www.MoscowCares.com">http://www.MoscowCares.com</a></div><div> </div><div><div>Tom Hansen</div><div>Moscow, Idaho</div><div><br></div><div>"<span style="font-size: medium; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); ">There's room at the top they are telling you still</span><span style="font-size: medium; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); "> </span></div><span style="font-size: medium; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); ">But first you must learn how to smile as you kill </span><br style="font-size: medium; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); "><span style="font-size: medium; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); ">If you want to be like the folks on the hill."</span></div><div><font size="3"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469);"><br></span></font></div><div><font size="3"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469);">- John Lennon<br></span></font><div> </div></div><div><br></div></div></body></html>