I am so sorry to hear about the terrible ordeal you have just been through. If your federal charges stemmed from a federal raid, please email the Legal Services Coordinator with the following information:

• The date of the raid
• In what city, county and state did the raid occur?
• Where did the raid occur? Was it a place of business or storefront dispensing collective (please include names), or your residence and collective garden?
• Was the DEA the lead agency? Which local law enforcement agencies were involved and were they actively assisting in the raid, or simply doing traffic/crowd control?
• Were there any arrests? What are the names of the arrestee(s)? Was anyone charged with federal or state charges?
• How many plants and how much processed medicine was confiscated? What else was confiscated (please include a detailed list of all "contraband")?

NORML has a good list of possible federal charges and penalties. Just so you know, fortunately, most victims of federal raids are never charged, and the federal government simply keeps all of the medicine seized as "evidence," but charges no one. If you have not been charged yet, simply lay low, and wait, and check in with ASA at some point if you would like.

If the U.S. Attorney does decide to charge you, you will go through the federal court process and will have an arraignment, preliminary and other hearings, an appearance to set your trial date, and then a federal trial before a judge or jury. Evidence of state medical marijuana recommendations and state medical marijuana laws will very likely not be allowed to be a part of your defense in federal court. Specifically, they are deemed not relevant to your guilt, and the U.S. Attorney will almost certainly be successful in excluding from the jury any evidence of medical use presented for the purposes of justifying or excusing the acts for which you are being charged.

The federal government may also try to seize all of your property and may commence asset forfeiture proceedings. For more information on this issue, see ASA's FAQ and Forfeiture Endangers American Rights. Again, ASA is so sorry to hear that you will have to go through this difficult and trying process, simply because you wanted to help yourself, or other patients in need of relief to obtain the medicine that works best for them.

However, in recent federal cases, federal defendants such as Steele Smith, Charles Lynch, and the California Healthcare Collective have been able to raise the issue of medical marijuana in other more obscure ways, but the jury was instructed not to consider these facts for the purposes of exoneration on the charges, and indeed, all of these defendants were convicted. Mickey Martin, of Tainted Inc., also brought up the medical nature of his marijuana activities, with success, but he did so after having accepted a plea bargain, in the sentencing phase (as opposed to during a trial or motion) in order to positively influence his judge. This strategy was effective, and combined with all of the other good facts of Mickey's case, allowed him to receive a much lighter sentence.

Unless you have the funds to hire a private attorney who is familiar with this type of federal case, it is likely that you will receive a Federal Public Defender. Do not freak out, as Federal Public Defenders are very good at their jobs and will do their best to represent you. You should also consider using the testimony of expert witnesses, especially regarding the alleged weight of plants and bud that is claimed by law enforcement, if your case goes to trial. A partial list of expert witnesses can be found in Section I.A. of FAQ Criminal 1.

Some defendants choose to cooperate with the government, others take plea bargains but refuse cooperation, and some take their cases to trial. It is up to you as to if and when you accept a plea offer. Here are Mickey Martin's thoughts on his decisionmaking process. Ed Rosenthal has been the most successful patient to actively fight his charges, ultimately receiving a one-day time-served sentence.

After serving some of his sentence, Bryan Epis has also managed to stay out of federal prison while he continues to fight his charges and waits for his appeal. One tactic that some patients have tried is to delay their court appearances, hoping that national opinion on medical marijuana continues to improve. Additionally, you may want to contact Families Against Mandatory Minimums for more information about fighting federal prison sentences.

Mickey Martin and his coworkers at Compassion Medicinal Edibles, formerly known as Tainted Inc., represent a success story of defendants who agreed to accept plea bargains, while still refusing to cooperate or testify against anyone. Mickey seemingly did everything "right," and succeeded in convincing Judge Wilken to show him mercy in his sentence, and he received only 1 year of house arrest and 1 year at a halfway house, with 5 years of federal supervised release (probation). This was absolutely amazing since Martin had pled guilty to manufacturing marijuana edibles, and the government found more than 400 plants, and he faced a guidelines range of 30 to 37 months. While every judge and every situation is different, and there are no fool-proof lessons that will succeed in every case, here are some of the factors that likely influenced Judge Wilken's decision to be lenient:

• Martin and his three co-workers all accepted plea bargain offers that included allocution (admitting guilt in open court).
• Compassion Medicinal Edibles worked to operate in accordance with the existent best practices and state law, and led the way in creating new best practices regarding production, food safety standards, and labeling for edible cannabis products to serve patients who needed them. The U.S. Attorney was also unable to present any evidence of diversion from medical marijuana patients to persons using recreationally.
• After his arrest, Mickey worked hard to obey all of his supervised release conditions and establish a good relationship with his federal pre-trial services officer, and eventually the probation officer in charge of doing his sentencing report.
• Martin started the Free Tainted website, to advocate for his cause, update supporters on his situation, and solicit court support, donations, and sentencing letters. Judge Wilken specifically made positive mention of the printed testimonials from the website that Martin had provided. This website, his frequent contacts with ASA and Vanessa Nelson, and his public appearances to gain community support assisted in getting the word out about his situation very effectively.
• Specifically, Martin's solicitation for sentencing letters using his email lists, ASA's listserves, and FreeTainted.com was very well executed. Sentencing letter appeals are discussed below, and can help make or break your case to the judge regarding leniency. It is very important to get letters from those that are close to you and know you well, as well as letters from patients and activists that may have come in contact with you.
• On the day of the sentencing, Martin and Sanders packed the courtroom with respectful, (mostly) well-dressed supporters. Martin's probation officer recommended a slight downward departure of 24 months from the governments 30 months, but this opened the door for the Judge to use her discretion in extending the downward departure even further. The probation officer only had kind words to say about Martin, and reflected on his intellectual honesty in his belief of cannabis medicines. Then, Martin himself gave an impassioned, educated speech to Judge Wilken where he traced his personal story, cited personal examples of very sick patients he had assisted, and explained the history of medical marijuana's acceptance under state law and by the medical community. As a result of all of his efforts, at the close of the hearing, Judge Wilken announced that Martin would only receive 1 year of house arrest, and 1 year at a halfway house, and 5 years of federal supervised release (probation). At this point, the whole courtroom erupted in cheers, and one can only hope that the judge savored the celebration.
• For more on Martin's case, and what federal defendants can learn from it, see Rebecca Saltzman's on-the-scene blog, and Mickey's own words. Mickey also advises that you thoroughly research your judge's past decisions, public statements, articles and viewpoints so as to possibly find information that could be helpful in influencing her or his decision. You should also evaluate your strategy based on which federal District Court is hearing your case, as different districts treat medical marijuana differently. Hence, you may want to more strongly consider taking a plea bargain in the Eastern District, as it is an unfriendly venue for medical marijuana cases, whereas the Northern District, where Mickey was tried, is a friendlier court.
• Finally, while, if you are reading this section, it is likely that this advice comes too late, but Martin would also urge you to "Prepare for this day EVERY DAY, and run your operation as if the DEA was expected to arrive the next morning and charge you. Also, be an active and involved member of the medical marijuana community NOW, before any raids, as it is easy to be an activist after getting busted."

What can ASA do to assist you?

From the day of your raid until you are possibly convicted, ASA's Legal Department is available to assist you in several ways.

• If you were a medical marijuana patient or caregiver working solely with other patients and caregivers, ASA would like to enter your information in our Court Support spreadsheet so that we can post your federal court dates on our Upcoming Court Dates page and include them in our Weekly Alert, so as to inform the community of your plight and encourage support. Before doing so, ASA will need the following information:
  • Your First and Last name
  • Any Codefendants?
  • What is your age and birthday?
  • As a medical marijuana patient, what is your condition (or please explain your caregiving relationship to a patient and the patient's condition)?
  • Your phone number and email address and the same information for any supporters to contact if you are unreachable in jail
  • What is the date and time of your next court appearance, and what type of hearing is it (e.g, arraignment, preliminary hearing, trial)?
  • What is the full name of your judge? Which U.S. District Court (Eastern, Northern, Southern, Central Districts) and courtroom are you in exactly? What is the city and address of the courthouse?
  • What county were you arrested in, and which law enforcement agency arrested you? (If it was originally a state raid, how exactly did you end up getting charged federally?)
  • How much processed medicine did you have, and how many plants and unrooted clones, according to you, and according to law enforcement claims?
  • How many up to date recommendations did you have as part of your collective?
  • What exactly are you being charged with (include code sections, if possible)?
  • What is your lawyer's name and contact information? Is she/he a Federal Public Defender or private attorney?
  • What has happened so far in your court case?
  • Please update ASA with an email regarding each new court date and time and type of appearance, each time you learn the information.
• Your attorney can try to set up an appointment to discuss legal strategy with ASA's Chief Counsel. Ask your lawyer to contact the Legal Services Coordinator, and include his or her name, phone number, email, good times to talk on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday afternoons, and to reference your name.
• If you create a fundraising appeal in order to defray some of your legal costs, ASA's Field Coordinator may be able to post it in a weekly alert. Here is a bake sale appeal done by Mickey Martin.
• You can also create press releases and possibly even hold a press conference. Here is an example of a press release from Dr. Mollie Fry's court case. Additionally, you can also email ASA's Media Liaison at Kris@safeaccessnow.orgto see if he has any suggestions regarding your media strategy.

Unfortunately, given what has happened historically, it is likely that you will be convicted or be successfully pressured by the U.S. Attorney into accepting a plea bargain offer. If so, ASA can offer additional assistance before your sentencing. There are several things you need to do before sentencing, and several materials you need to prepare:

• You should definitely solicit other patients and supporters to write pre-sentencing character letters as they can have the greatest effect on what sentence you receive. Explain to your supporters that they should address these letters to your judge, and to get them to your lawyer by a certain date, so that your lawyer can present a whole mass of them at once before your sentencing date. You should reach out to the list of patients you assisted and any dispensing collectives in which you were a member, as well as to your personal friends and family, and colleagues. If appropriate, the letter-writer should explain how medical marijuana has helped him or her personally or someone else that he or she knows. You should also attempt to get your character letter solicitation posted on as many relevant email lists as possible. You may also want to contact ASA's Field Coordinator at george@safeaccessnow.orgto discuss whether your character letter solicitation might be appropriate for an ASA Action. Here are examples of outreach emails from Luke Scarmazzo's wife and Mickey Martin. Additionally, here is ASA's Draft Sentencing Letter, which you can adapt, and one from Mickey Martin. Furthermore, here are several specific sentencing letters written by Chief Counsel Joe Elford for Dustin Costa and Kenneth Affolter, and letters written for Mickey Martin by Executive Director Steph Sherer and Legal Services Coordinator Noah Mamber.
• You should also work with your attorney to prepare an extensive sentencing memorandum and pre-sentencing report. Here is an example from Jeff Sanderson's federal case of a sentencing memorandum.
• Create a press strategy to publicize your sentencing and make sure to alert ASA's Media Liaison at Kris@safeaccessnow.org

After your sentencing, if you are sentenced to serve time in prison, make sure to have a supporter email ASA at legalsupport@safeaccessnow.org with your full federal prison address, so that we can include you on our PoW page as a medical marijuana martyr, and can be included in any actions where patients write to federal prisoners. Please keep us informed if your address changes.

Here are some other answers to common questions about the federal court process:

I. Am I likely to get release pending appeal from the judge?

II. Will I be able to use medical marijuana while on federal Supervised Release?

III. If local law enforcement participated in the federal raid, can I sue the locality based on the cooperation in civil court, and will that help with my federal case?

IV. I am a witness who has been federally subpoenaed to testify in a federal defendant's case, what do I do?

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