Slog - Comments on SPD and Prosecutor's Office Blame Each Other for Seized Pot http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/spd_and_prosecutors_blame_each_other_for The Seattle Police Department and the King County prosecutor’s office have been pointing fingers at each other, trying to explain why the marijuana seized from an authorized medical marijuana patient last week still hasn’t been returned. (Background is over here.) In a nutshell, Seattle police searched Martin Martinez’s storefront on The Ave on July 15 looking for pot plants. They didn’t find any, but they did seize 12 ounces of Martinez’s pot, a laptop, and hundreds of pages of medical records for patients involved in a medical-marijuana group. But, in a statement last week, King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg announced... Copyright 2008 Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:54:19 -0800 Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:10:19 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by elswinger This is all code because the cops already smoked it or sold it to their friends.

]]> elswinger http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/spd_and_prosecutors_blame_each_other_for#c1080896 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/spd_and_prosecutors_blame_each_other_for#c1080896 City Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:09:49 -0800 Comment by SeattleExile I know this isn't really on topic, but can anyone explain why University Way is called the Ave? It's been bugging me literally all my life.

Oh yeah, and I hope the guy gets his pot back.

]]> SeattleExile http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/spd_and_prosecutors_blame_each_other_for#c1080897 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/spd_and_prosecutors_blame_each_other_for#c1080897 City Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:10:02 -0800 Comment by max solomon That's like $2400 worth of weed. I hope the cops are keeping it sealed in jars in a freezer.

]]> max solomon http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/spd_and_prosecutors_blame_each_other_for#c1080898 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/spd_and_prosecutors_blame_each_other_for#c1080898 City Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:11:29 -0800 Comment by Collin One thing that no one, at least that I've seen, has brought up is what does Martinez's landlord think of all this? If he knows and is ok with it, that's great, but his landlord could potentially kick him out of the space for this. Possession of marijuana is still a crime, at least federally, and most leases are voided by criminal conduct occurring on the premises. I wonder if the goal of the SPD was to get him kicked out by his landlord? I can't imagine that the landlord would be able to keep that building insured if his insurance company knew that one of the tenants was consistently and regularly bringing illegal drugs onto the premises, even if the local and state governments deem it ok.

]]> Collin http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/spd_and_prosecutors_blame_each_other_for#c1080911 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/spd_and_prosecutors_blame_each_other_for#c1080911 City Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:18:16 -0800 Comment by elswinger #2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ave

]]> elswinger http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/spd_and_prosecutors_blame_each_other_for#c1080915 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/spd_and_prosecutors_blame_each_other_for#c1080915 City Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:20:07 -0800 Comment by lostboy max @3's $2400 estimate is much lower than the guess from the last thread, but my response is basically the same.

]]> lostboy http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/spd_and_prosecutors_blame_each_other_for#c1080919 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/spd_and_prosecutors_blame_each_other_for#c1080919 City Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:24:11 -0800 Comment by infrequent @4 the point here is that it is not a crime.

]]> infrequent http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/spd_and_prosecutors_blame_each_other_for#c1080921 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/spd_and_prosecutors_blame_each_other_for#c1080921 City Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:27:59 -0800 Comment by ellarosa who pays for the destroyed wall? the pd, right, ie: taxpayers, right?

]]> ellarosa http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/spd_and_prosecutors_blame_each_other_for#c1080946 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/spd_and_prosecutors_blame_each_other_for#c1080946 City Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:42:33 -0800 Comment by Jubilation T. Cornball I wish they'd stop fighting and slip me some. I'm out.

]]> Jubilation T. Cornball http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/spd_and_prosecutors_blame_each_other_for#c1081006 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/spd_and_prosecutors_blame_each_other_for#c1081006 City Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:29:35 -0800 Comment by Greg @2 It was originally 14th Ave. before it was renamed University Wy.

]]> Greg http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/spd_and_prosecutors_blame_each_other_for#c1081008 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/spd_and_prosecutors_blame_each_other_for#c1081008 City Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:30:20 -0800 Comment by Will in Seattle Someone needs to get a recall petition ...

And get some police on who is leaving dog poo on my parking strip! That's supposed to be a higher priority than MJ smokers according to our LAWS.

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/spd_and_prosecutors_blame_each_other_for#c1081013 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/spd_and_prosecutors_blame_each_other_for#c1081013 City Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:32:05 -0800 Comment by Andy in this sort of situation, the cops get bud, and return leaf, stems and seeds

wait and see you all, I told you so

of course, no corruption in our law enforcement

informed sources tell me the cops do not like Satterberg .... seems to be in play here

nice reporting Dom .... all that Hempfest work is paying off in the new gig

]]> Andy http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/spd_and_prosecutors_blame_each_other_for#c1081041 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/spd_and_prosecutors_blame_each_other_for#c1081041 City Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:52:31 -0800 Comment by yuiop I want to know:
1. Did the cops pay to repair the damage to the wall?
2. Was there a judge who signed the warrant, and if so does that judge have any explanation why it was issued?
3. Do the police have any comment as to why the money was spent on this low-priority raid?

]]> yuiop http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/spd_and_prosecutors_blame_each_other_for#c1081181 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/spd_and_prosecutors_blame_each_other_for#c1081181 City Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:43:14 -0800 Comment by Phil M SPD Chief Gil Kerlikowski will be on KUOW's Weekday at 10:00 a.m. today (Thursday, July 24, 2008). Maybe he can provide some answers.

]]> Phil M http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/spd_and_prosecutors_blame_each_other_for#c1081279 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/spd_and_prosecutors_blame_each_other_for#c1081279 City Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:55:21 -0800 Comment by Collin @7

My point was that a federal crime is still a crime. Based on what's happened, the landlord is probably within his legal rights to tell Martinez to get the fuck out, and the landlord's insurance company is within their legal rights to cancel the insurance for the whole building.

I'm not saying any of that is morally right, but what I was positing was those reasons right there may be why the SPD and the prosecutors office raided in the first place. Essentially to make it practically impossible for Martinez to stay.

]]> Collin http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/spd_and_prosecutors_blame_each_other_for#c1081282 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/spd_and_prosecutors_blame_each_other_for#c1081282 City Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:00:32 -0800 Comment by Dominic Holden @ 15) The federal illegality of marijuana is applicable generally only in cases that would be charged and tried in federal court. Although some cases could be appealed to a federal court, it's a safe bet that any landlord tenant dispute would be litigated or prosecuted at the state level, where Washington's Medical Use of Marijuana Act is the law of the land.

]]> Dominic Holden http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/spd_and_prosecutors_blame_each_other_for#c1081286 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/07/spd_and_prosecutors_blame_each_other_for#c1081286 City Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:10:19 -0800