cannabisnews.com: Attorney Representing Accused Killer NORML Member





Attorney Representing Accused Killer NORML Member
Posted by CN Staff on June 13, 2002 at 08:23:30 PT
Editorial
Source: Rocky Mountain News 
An attorney who condemned the parents of a 7-year-old girl for smoking marijuana the night their daughter vanished is a member of a group that advocates the legalization of marijuana.Steven Feldman sits on the legal committee for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. He paid a $175 membership fee and defends people charged with marijuana use, sometimes for free.
Feldman has criticized Damon and Brenda van Dam in court for their lifestyle, which includes admissions of smoking marijuana and engaging in extramarital sex. Feldman has raised those questions in order to show jurors that there may have been someone other than his client, 50-year-old David Westerfield, who could have kidnapped and killed Danielle van Dam.Danielle was last seen Feb. 1 in her home and was reported missing the following day. Her nude, decomposing body was found three weeks later along a rural road east of San Diego.Westerfield, who has pleaded innocent to charges of kidnapping, murder and possession of child pornography, could face the death penalty if convicted.Bob Doyle, president of the San Diego NORML chapter, called Feldman's attacks on the van Dams "an outrageous conflict.""It strikes me as an extremely polarized position that on one hand he advocates for the legalization of marijuana, and on the other hand he implies some sort of criminal negligence associated with the casual smoking of marijuana among friends," Doyle said.But not all of the organization's members believe there is a problem with Feldman's approach."What he's doing is zealously defending his client in the best way he knows how," said Donna Shea, NORML's legal director in Washington, D.C. "It doesn't necessarily mean his personal beliefs have anything to do with the defense case he puts together."More than 350 attorneys from across the United States are members of the legal committee for the nonprofit organization.They provide legal assistance in important cases, keep NORML apprised of trends in court decisions and provide copies of relevant legal documents. Attorneys must renew their membership annually, and are encouraged to take one pro bono case a year.Complete Title: Attorney Representing Accused Killer is Member of Pro-Marijuana Group Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News (CO) Published: June 13, 2002Copyright: 2002 Denver Publishing Co. Contact: letters rockymountainnews.com Website: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/ CannabisNews Articles -- NORMLhttp://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=norml
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Comment #3 posted by Nicholas Thimmesch on June 13, 2002 at 10:07:08 PT:
In the 60's we said "Comes the revolution....
THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION
Article [VI.] 
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence. Article XIV. 
Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. Still my back-up to the Bible: THIMMESCH
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Comment #2 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on June 13, 2002 at 10:06:03 PT
Whoah now!
  Hey! I'm an ordained minister in the Church of Universal Life! Don't shoot me! And those nice guys we see in Cannabis Culture who keep getting hassled because they think cannabis is a sacrament in their small church, don't shoot them either! Start with the pedophiles, which is what I'm sure you're thinking of, and proceed down at least until you get to the people who ring my doorbell trying to tell me about Jesus, but please stop before you reach the people who may actually be on your side.  I believe the "first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers" quote is originally from Shakespeare somewhere.  And (this time in response to the article)... what's wrong with extramarital sex, as long as the married couple is both aware and consenting? It's just another non-mainstream lifestyle, and one we can probably identify with somewhat, since they seem to get such a negative stereotype in the mass media. Perhaps even a worse stereotype than the cannabis user.
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Comment #1 posted by Dankhank on June 13, 2002 at 09:46:09 PT:
That right??
The last nail in the coffin of clear thought regarding the whorish nature of lawyers.Pay them enough money and they will say anything.and the rest of them will defend the current whore as he/she is getting paid.In the 60's we said "Comes the revolution, the first thing we do is shoot all the lawyers."I have added another ... "the second thing we do is shoot all the clergy."
Hemp N Stuff ...
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