Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
A state appeals court has upheld a ruling that Sparta police didn't have the authority to search a medical marijuana patient's home in 2013 and charge him with possession of marijuana.
Scott Waselik, now 25, had initially argued that he had a right to the marijuana in his home, because he is a medical marijuana patient.
But a Superior Court ruling in a municipal court appeal in 2014, upheld by the appeals court in a decision issued Thursday, did not touch on the issue of whether Waselik was a marijuana patient.
Rather, both courts ruled that police didn't have the authority to search the house, because they failed to prove there was an emergency.
Police returned to the house for the search after seeing marijuana there during an investigation of an alleged assault on Waselik, who had reported the assault.
Thus, the marijuana could not be used as evidence and Waselik couldn't be charged with possession, the court ruled.
Waselik represented himself in the appeals case, while Sparta Township Municipal Prosecutor Jonathan McMeen represented the state.
Describing the chain of events involved, the appeals court said it started when Waselk arrived at the Sparta Police Department at 8 p.m. on Oct. 8, 2013, shirtless and bleeding from his left side down to his pants from an apparent stabbing to the chest.
Waselik told police that his boyfriend and roommate, Kevin Rios, now 23, had an altercation the prior evening after he told Rios to leave the house where they lived, according to the court.
Waselik said that about 30 minutes before arriving at the police station, Rios punched him in the face and hit him with a knife, the court wrote.
After hearing Waselik's story and a similar account by a witness who was Waselik's friend, two police officers went to Waselik's home, saw Rios in the backyard, handcuffed him and retrieved the knife from his pants pocket, the court wrote. Police charged Rios in connection with the attack on Waselik.
While in the home, police saw "in plain view" a large bag of marijuana, a digital scale and drug paraphernalia, the court wrote.
Police then obtained a search warrant, searched the home, and seized approximately 74 grams of marijuana, along with drug paraphernalia, the court said. Waselik was charged with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, both disorderly persons offenses.
Waselik, who suffers from Crohn's disease, and Rios both had state-issued medical marijuana cards, but police said the marijuana wasn't obtained at a state-approved dispensary, as required by law.
Waselik filed a motion to dismiss the evidence, and a Superior Court judge in Sussex County granted the motion.
The judge ruled that there was no emergency because the officers already knew the pertinent facts of the assault and the condition of the victim before they arrived at the house.
In the appeal, the court said, the Sparta prosecutor again relied on the "emergency aid doctrine," but the appeals court again rejected it.
The judges cited another court ruling that said "the scope of the emergency aid exception is limited to the reasons and objectives that prompted the search in the first place."
When the police returned to the house, Waselik and his friend "Chris," the witness in the case, were already at police headquarters and "no longer faced any threat of harm or serious injury," the court wrote. Also, Rios "no longer posed a threat because he was in police custody and the weapon had been secured."
McMeen, the prosecutor, said he still believes the police acted properly and said he may appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court.
"I think the police made the right decision based on the totality of the circumstances," McMeen said. "It was a very fluid situation and they had to make a very fast decision."
"They went in to the house to secure it and they saw the marijuana," he said.
McMeen said the decision will "hamper the ability of police" to enforce the law "in a structure where a crime has occurred."
Waselik commented, "I am hopeful the state will stop their witch hunt, which has cost Sparta taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars by continuing to pursue their agenda of prosecuting marijuana patients. I urge Spartan voters to remember this when the next city council elections come around."
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Judges Nix Evidence Found In Medical Marijuana Patient's Home
Author: Ben Horowitz
Contact: Contact Page
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: NJ News
Scott Waselik, now 25, had initially argued that he had a right to the marijuana in his home, because he is a medical marijuana patient.
But a Superior Court ruling in a municipal court appeal in 2014, upheld by the appeals court in a decision issued Thursday, did not touch on the issue of whether Waselik was a marijuana patient.
Rather, both courts ruled that police didn't have the authority to search the house, because they failed to prove there was an emergency.
Police returned to the house for the search after seeing marijuana there during an investigation of an alleged assault on Waselik, who had reported the assault.
Thus, the marijuana could not be used as evidence and Waselik couldn't be charged with possession, the court ruled.
Waselik represented himself in the appeals case, while Sparta Township Municipal Prosecutor Jonathan McMeen represented the state.
Describing the chain of events involved, the appeals court said it started when Waselk arrived at the Sparta Police Department at 8 p.m. on Oct. 8, 2013, shirtless and bleeding from his left side down to his pants from an apparent stabbing to the chest.
Waselik told police that his boyfriend and roommate, Kevin Rios, now 23, had an altercation the prior evening after he told Rios to leave the house where they lived, according to the court.
Waselik said that about 30 minutes before arriving at the police station, Rios punched him in the face and hit him with a knife, the court wrote.
After hearing Waselik's story and a similar account by a witness who was Waselik's friend, two police officers went to Waselik's home, saw Rios in the backyard, handcuffed him and retrieved the knife from his pants pocket, the court wrote. Police charged Rios in connection with the attack on Waselik.
While in the home, police saw "in plain view" a large bag of marijuana, a digital scale and drug paraphernalia, the court wrote.
Police then obtained a search warrant, searched the home, and seized approximately 74 grams of marijuana, along with drug paraphernalia, the court said. Waselik was charged with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, both disorderly persons offenses.
Waselik, who suffers from Crohn's disease, and Rios both had state-issued medical marijuana cards, but police said the marijuana wasn't obtained at a state-approved dispensary, as required by law.
Waselik filed a motion to dismiss the evidence, and a Superior Court judge in Sussex County granted the motion.
The judge ruled that there was no emergency because the officers already knew the pertinent facts of the assault and the condition of the victim before they arrived at the house.
In the appeal, the court said, the Sparta prosecutor again relied on the "emergency aid doctrine," but the appeals court again rejected it.
The judges cited another court ruling that said "the scope of the emergency aid exception is limited to the reasons and objectives that prompted the search in the first place."
When the police returned to the house, Waselik and his friend "Chris," the witness in the case, were already at police headquarters and "no longer faced any threat of harm or serious injury," the court wrote. Also, Rios "no longer posed a threat because he was in police custody and the weapon had been secured."
McMeen, the prosecutor, said he still believes the police acted properly and said he may appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court.
"I think the police made the right decision based on the totality of the circumstances," McMeen said. "It was a very fluid situation and they had to make a very fast decision."
"They went in to the house to secure it and they saw the marijuana," he said.
McMeen said the decision will "hamper the ability of police" to enforce the law "in a structure where a crime has occurred."
Waselik commented, "I am hopeful the state will stop their witch hunt, which has cost Sparta taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars by continuing to pursue their agenda of prosecuting marijuana patients. I urge Spartan voters to remember this when the next city council elections come around."
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Judges Nix Evidence Found In Medical Marijuana Patient's Home
Author: Ben Horowitz
Contact: Contact Page
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: NJ News
