Med. Marijuana Enforcement Division vs. Corey Donahue ruled mistrial
Westword cover boy Corey Donahue has been in the news of late due to his affiliation with Occupy Denver. But before the movement got underway, he was best known as a pot activist who, this summer, was accused by the Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division of stealing documents without paying for them. He appeared in court this week on the charge -- but the procedure ended in a mistrial.
Corey Donahue.
As William Breathes detailed in the August post linked above, Donahue asked for MMED documents in June -- a request that wasn't completed until late July, for reasons that are very much in dispute. Donahue arrived at the MMED offices on July 22, where department reps say he was told he had to pay for the documents in order to take them with him. Instead, he grabbed the paperwork and walked away.
Donahue's take? He claimed MMED violated his rights by not responding to his document request within a designated time period and argued that the department should have waived the fee because he needed them for research reasons. He added, "Why should I have to accommodate them when they have already not already accommodated me and violated the law?"
Rob Corry.
The case finally made its way into court this week, with medical marijuana attorney Rob Corry representing Donahue -- but a mistrial was declared, at Corry's request, during the jury-selection process. What happened?
"In the process of picking the jury, one of the audience members was filming -- and a juror complained about being filmed," Corry says.
The audience member in question was another marijuana activist, Miguel Lopez, Corry confirms; he was shooting video using his phone.
Why request a mistrial?
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