Five Dana Point medical-marijuana dispensaries don't have to hand over company records, including financial data and clients' names, to the city until after an appeals court reviews the dispensaries' request to halt the subpoena order, according to an Orange County Superior Court judge's ruling today.
Last month, Judge Glenda Sanders ruled that the dispensaries have to give the city their records as part of a city investigation into the legality of the dispensaries' operations. Only certain city officials would have access to client names. They were supposed to turn over the paperwork by Dec. 7, according to court records.
In July, the city served the dispensaries subpoenas to turn over their records after an organization asked the city to change its zoning laws to officially allow for the cooperatives. The municipal code currently doesn't weigh one way or another, but before changing the code the city wanted to make sure the dispensaries weren't acting illegally.
All five dispensaries appealed the decision because they said it violates medical and financial privacy rights of its members, the Fifth Amendment's protection against self-incrimination and the First Amendment protection of freedom of association. But a procedural issue may have forced them to fork over their documents even before the 4th District Court of Appeal heard their case. So they asked Sanders to halt her Nov. 2 order, officially known as issuing a stay under pending appeal. When the appellate court will hear the case has yet to be determined.
City Attorney Patrick Munoz has said the city needs the names in order to compare financial statements with individuals' spending to determine whether some illegal activity is occurring. But attorney Arin Avetisone of Beach Cities Collective has said during court proceedings that the dispensaries don't keep financial records that can be cross-referenced like that.
Munoz said the trial court did not have jurisdiction to issue the stay because certain civil procedures don't apply to "special proceedings" such as this, according to court documents. Every case filed with the Superior Court is categorized either as a special proceeding or a civil action. In court records the city's attorney argued that because the subpoena for records would be issued by another government agency – in this case the city, not the court – the case should be considered a special proceeding.
But Sanders said that even though the case is a special proceeding, the court could prevent the city from peeking at the names because "a failure to stay this court's order pending appeal would deprive the appellants of the benefit of any reversal because the information they seek to protect would have been disclosed to the city attorney," according to court documents.
News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: The Orange County Register
Author: BRITTANY LEVINE
Contact: The Orange County Register
Copyright: 2009 Orange County Register Communications
Website: Dana Point's Call For Medical-Marijuana Records Halted
Last month, Judge Glenda Sanders ruled that the dispensaries have to give the city their records as part of a city investigation into the legality of the dispensaries' operations. Only certain city officials would have access to client names. They were supposed to turn over the paperwork by Dec. 7, according to court records.
In July, the city served the dispensaries subpoenas to turn over their records after an organization asked the city to change its zoning laws to officially allow for the cooperatives. The municipal code currently doesn't weigh one way or another, but before changing the code the city wanted to make sure the dispensaries weren't acting illegally.
All five dispensaries appealed the decision because they said it violates medical and financial privacy rights of its members, the Fifth Amendment's protection against self-incrimination and the First Amendment protection of freedom of association. But a procedural issue may have forced them to fork over their documents even before the 4th District Court of Appeal heard their case. So they asked Sanders to halt her Nov. 2 order, officially known as issuing a stay under pending appeal. When the appellate court will hear the case has yet to be determined.
City Attorney Patrick Munoz has said the city needs the names in order to compare financial statements with individuals' spending to determine whether some illegal activity is occurring. But attorney Arin Avetisone of Beach Cities Collective has said during court proceedings that the dispensaries don't keep financial records that can be cross-referenced like that.
Munoz said the trial court did not have jurisdiction to issue the stay because certain civil procedures don't apply to "special proceedings" such as this, according to court documents. Every case filed with the Superior Court is categorized either as a special proceeding or a civil action. In court records the city's attorney argued that because the subpoena for records would be issued by another government agency – in this case the city, not the court – the case should be considered a special proceeding.
But Sanders said that even though the case is a special proceeding, the court could prevent the city from peeking at the names because "a failure to stay this court's order pending appeal would deprive the appellants of the benefit of any reversal because the information they seek to protect would have been disclosed to the city attorney," according to court documents.
News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: The Orange County Register
Author: BRITTANY LEVINE
Contact: The Orange County Register
Copyright: 2009 Orange County Register Communications
Website: Dana Point's Call For Medical-Marijuana Records Halted
