Canada - Pivotal pot case smoulders until man finds lawyer

[Euphoric]

Pivotal pot case smoulders until man finds lawyer

Other prosecutions are adjourned pending appeal by Crown of man's acquittal over $40 of marijuana
Jun 19, 2008 04:30 AM


The case of Clifford Long and the constitutional validity of Canada's pot possession law remains up in the air while the 30-year-old tries to find a lawyer and the funding to defend himself.

Long was charged in 2005 with having 3.5 grams of marijuana, which is worth about $40. But Ontario Court Justice Howard Borenstein acquitted him last summer after ruling the country's pot law is unconstitutional.

The Crown appealed and yesterday the case was to proceed – except there were snags. The tattooed man, in custody on unrelated matters, animatedly told Superior Court several times he has been unable to hire a lawyer and has been turned down for legal aid.

The Law Society of Upper Canada website says the lawyer who successfully argued his case has been suspended for administrative reasons. Long told the court he called the lawyer's office and was told he was no longer practising.

At one point, Long told Justice Eva Frank he didn't care if he had counsel and, in fact, didn't care about the case anyway.

Later, informed of the broader implications of his acquittal, he punched his fist in the air and cheered.

Federal Crown Lisa Csele said an unspecified number of prosecutions have been adjourned pending the outcome of Long's case. "Judges are refusing to take guilty pleas ... and it's affecting the administration of justice," she said.

But about 30 minutes into the bizarre proceedings – at one point Long volunteered that he was served notice of the appeal while standing in line at Tim Hortons – another lawyer, Indra Bhaggan, entered the courtroom as representative of the firm Long has tried unsuccessfully to retain.

At first she said the firm needed the funding issue sorted out. After a break, she said it appeared it was.

Frank adjourned the case until July 16 to ensure things are on track.

In his decision last year, Borenstein agreed that a 2003 decision to allow access to medical marijuana was made by a policy statement, and this informality makes the pot possession laws invalid.

An Oshawa judge last fall similarly dismissed charges against three young men.

http://www.thestar.com/article/445760