2013:

• Voted best Santa Cruz lawyer in Weekly’s newspaper reader’s poll.
• Appointed to the County Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention Commission.
• Hired by the Association for Standardized Cannabis (ASC), a group of dispensary operators and cultivators to help lobby the County Board of Supervisors as they formulate a new, more responsible policy for the regulation of medical cannabis.
• Successfully represented a family seeking the City of Santa Cruz’s coveted second cannabis dispensary permit.
• Represented many cultivators and dispensaries in court whose work allegedly fell outside California’s medical cannabis laws… including what has been called the biggest indoor grow marijuana bust in Santa Cruz history.
• Proudly, I am still WAMM’s Pro Bono lawyer. I represent WAMM patient members locally and the organization when legal issues arise.
• Continuing to represent people facing all types of criminal charges.
• Represent SC Labs: the country’s foremost medical marijuana testing laboratories.
• Represent an MD falsely accused of inappropriate medical marijuana recommendations.

2012:

• Voted best Santa Cruz lawyer in Weekly’s newspaper reader’s poll.
• Represented a beloved local High School Principal charged with vehicular manslaughter following a traffic accident, which occurred when a motorcyclist crashed into her car as she was making an illegal U – turn while she was leaving school. We were able to resolve the case for a reduced charge and a sentence of 90 days on home arrest. Her job was saved, allowing her to continue her work with the county’s youth. After the family was paid over a million dollars (mom and three adult children) the prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Jason Gill, lost when Judge Gallagher refused to wring another $700,000.00 plus from this hard working single mom. Gill knew this woman had no way to ever pay that.
• In 2011 I began my representation of world famous surfer, Anthony Ruffo. Ruffo” as he is known to his friends, was a surfing legend in Santa Cruz, having become one of the best surfers in the world.  It’s an all too familiar story though… the party life style is pushed on all of our sports heroes and that rarely helps the athlete’s performance.  Eventually it takes a toll… Ruffo became addicted to meth. He was facing a mandatory state prison term of five years for drug charges when he hired me.  Ruffo turned his life around and after we spent more than a year battling the DA – wound up serving seven months in the county jail. He is now in recovery and meth-free.  He is more of a star then ever: he has his life, family and community back.
• Represented Bradley Allen, an Indy Media photojournalist, who was arrested with the “Occupy Santa Cruz Eleven” and charged with felonies stemming from Bradley’s coverage of the take over of the Bank of America Building by protestors, which resulted in tens of thousands of dollars damage. All charges were dismissed against Bradley after we mounted an aggressive defense at the preliminary hearing using expert witnesses to demonstrate what constitutes journalism in modern society, and how Bradley’s work covering the protest was that of a legitimate photojournalist, not a criminal.

2011:

• Voted best Santa Cruz lawyer in Weekly’s newspaper reader’s poll.
• Voted ” Roland K. Hall Award” winner by the Santa Cruz County Bar Association. The award is presented by the SCCBA to attorneys who have displayed outstanding public service to their community. The recipient must excel in the profession, be in good standing with the Bar and have provided outstanding community service over the years. In addition, the recipient should” epitomize the spirit of Judge Rollie Hall and be a credit to his memory. He or she should be eclectic and kind-spirited, someone who works hard, plays hard and has a sense of humor.”
• Helped shape the Santa Cruz County ordinance allowing for medical marijuana dispensaries.
• Speaker at Jan. 29 Cal NORML’s “Marijuana Reform: Next Steps” program.
• Client charged with murder was found “factually innocent” requiring all law enforcement records to be erased. See the section on record clearance to understand how extraordinary that is.

2010:

• Voted best Santa Cruz lawyer in Weekly’s newspaper reader’s poll.
• In January we settled WAMM’s seven year law suit against against the DEA and the United States Attorney General. We began our litigation with John [“I never saw a boob on a statute I liked”] Ashcroft, then when he retired we named his successor, Alberto [“I don’t remember”] Gonzales and ended with current Attorney General Eric Holder. The lion’s share of the credit for that successful litigation belongs to Professor Gerald Uelmen; Graham Boyd, Allen Hopper and the American Civil Liberty Union’s Drug Reform Policy Project; Daniel Abrahamson of Drug Policy Alliance; and outstanding attorneys from Bingham, McCutcheon’s Pro Bono Litigation Dept., of San Francisco. Please see the marijuana section for more about WAMM and this trailblazing case.
• Joined the Kuumbwa Jazz Center’s Board of Trustees
• Represented a gentleman with 550 plus large outdoor flowering marijuana plants and was able to persuade the District Attorney not to file criminal charges.
• Persuaded a Assistant District Attorney to dismiss a case against a client whose property was searched with a warrant obtained with false and misleading information after an over – flight by deputies. They took GPS coordinates from over my client’s rural home while taking pictures of a large marijuana garden on a separate property a 1/4 mile away (different clients).
• Represented a nurse in trial for theft from Sears. The woman was found not guilty because we were able to show her conduct was not the result of criminal intent but rather a mistake due to her exhaustion.
• Persuaded an Assistant District Attorney to dismiss a DUI charge against a psychiatrist client who nearly had an accident due to falling asleep behind the wheel but who CHP thought was under the influence of drugs.
• Represented many collective medical marijuana gardens in Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito Counties.

2009:

• Voted best Santa Cruz lawyer in Metro newspaper reader’s poll.
• Voted “Pro Bono Attorney of the Year” by Santa Cruz County Bar Association.
• With my co-counsel, Greg Coben, won a dismissal of a murder charge for an innocent man connected to a stabbing outside the “Red Room” bar in downtown Santa Cruz. Please insert photo after blurring (?) client’s face.
• Represented a man facing 25 years in prison for Vehicular Manslaughter. He was sentenced to two years in county jail.
• Represented a local, successful building contractor maliciously accused by his ex-girlfriend of raping her ten times over three years- Proved he was innocent and no charges were filed.

2008:

• With my co-counsel, Greg Coben, represented pro bono a homeless woman accused of battering and resisting a police officer, who had broken her arm. The city paid out $25,000 to settle her case.
• At the request of Barrios Unidos, represented a young Hispanic man pro bono who was accused of battery on a police officer and resisting arrest. He ultimately pled to drunk in public and was required to do volunteer hours with Barrios Unidos.
• Represented many people charged with marijuana cultivation and possession for sale. One example:
• My client had what law enforcement claimed was enough marijuana under cultivation to produce 24 lbs. of bud. On the eve of trial the District Attorney agreed to a plea deal with a misdemeanor charge, no jail, one year of informal probation and no objection to a dismissal after the probation.

2007:

• Represented a Santa Cruz gentleman found with 100 pounds of marijuana in his home and well over a million dollars in difficult to explain assets (one half million in cash, one half million in various accounts and 7000 bottles of fine wine caught law enforcement’s attention). While on $500,000.00 bail he was arrested in Sonoma County with seven pounds of marijuana and hashish. The marijuana in both instances was mainly destined for medical marijuana patients through dispensaries but the prison exposure from the charges filed was over ten years given the gentleman’s unfortunate decision to also sell to some friends out of state. The District Attorney asked for a six year state prison sentence, and the probation department asked for eight years. He served eight months in county jail and we saved his home and many of his assets.
• Another client had one pound of marijuana found in his car after he was pulled over by narcotics officers. Evidence suppressed after a Superior Court Judge agreed the officer lied: the car stop/ detention was illegal. Case dismissed!
• Another client’s case was dismissed and three lbs. of medical marijuana was returned.
• A ten-year veteran San Jose police officer was charged with a felony battery on his son. A Superior Court Judge agreed with me that there was insufficient evidence and the case was dismissed.
• Another client was charged with attempted murder: he pled to non-strike felony battery and served nearly all of his eight month sentence on home detention with an ankle bracelet.
• A client, a UCSC graduate student faced charges after she resisted a professor’s grab of the microphone she was using during a Q and A period after a lecture by a visiting professor. She was charged with battery of the professor. Case dismissed!
• A client was cited for honking her horn in support of marching demonstrators. Pro bono: Dismissed.
• Represented another client pro-bono who was cited for having her dog off leash in a state park. My client is legally disabled and uses her licensed service dogs to assist her. Another stupid case where the criminal charge was dropped.
• Represented pro-bono a school crossing guard who was threatened with criminal charges when he crossed kids while wearing his “mountain man” costume and holding his musket. Each year he is invited to local schools to teach children about the mountain people of the civil war era. No charges filed.
• Pro bono representation of the Santa Cruz Measure K defendants sued by the city. Measure K was passed overwhelmingly by our voters and makes enforcement of marijuana crimes the lowest priority for the Santa Cruz Police Department. The measure also creates a commission, which is charged with (among other things) review of the police department’s practices relating to marijuana “crime” enforcement. Negotiations led to a compromise. The measure survives but lost needed powers. It remains to be seen if this commission will accomplish what the voters supported by passing the measure, and what the commissioners appear to want.
• I helped my friend and frequent colleague, Greg Coben (now retired) represent pro-bono a UCSC student arrested after a campus demonstration for assaulting police and leading the demonstration. Our client avoided expulsion and a jail sentence: she suffered two quarters of school suspension and one misdemeanor resisting arrest charge.

2006:

• Voted best Santa Cruz lawyer in Metro newspaper reader’s poll.
• Client arrested with 3,000 + marijuana plants: illegal search motion granted, case dismissed.
• Represented Grateful Dead lyricist and Electronic Frontier Founder: John Perry Barlow in a minor dustup.

• Represented both City of Santa Cruz authorized medical marijuana dispensaries.
• Gave a WAMM fundraising presentation regarding medical marijuana for the County Law Library with the ACLU’s litigation director Allen Hopper.

2005:

• Got a client released from a state mental hospital after three years- his previous attorney took tens of thousands of dollars from him and dumped him with a Not Guilty by reason of Insanity plea. (“Don’t worry you’ll be out in 6 months”).
• In a jury trial, “Not Guilty” verdict in possession for sale of methamphetamines and cocaine.
• Continuing education speaker at County Counsel’s Association of California’s annual conference- regarding medical marijuana.
• Qualified in Santa Cruz Superior Court as an expert witness on medical marijuana.

2004:

• Clients included: Kuumbwa Jazz Center and Poet & Patriot Irish Pub (noise complaints- not guilty x3).
• In Monterey County had a client’s case dismissed on eve of trial with medical marijuana defense.

2003:

• Part of the WAMM legal team suing U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and the DEA on behalf of Santa Cruz County and WAMM. See Medical Marijuana

February 2002:

• A school teacher was falsely accused of molesting a 16 year old student: Redwood City case dismissed the morning that jury selection was to begin.

2001 – 2004:

• Successfully secured the return of approximately 12 lbs. Of medical marijuana.

2001:

• Won the first Santa Cruz trial acquittal applying medical marijuana as a defense, resulting in a dismissal and full return of medicine to client.

Summer of 2001:

• One month of trial when the District attorney charged a 34-year-old Watsonville man with child molest charges that would have led to 27 years in prison. He was innocent and the jury found him so.

March 2001:

• Acquittal in Santa Cruz County’s first medical marijuana case: client had 14 plants under cultivation after securing a doctor’s recommendation to use marijuana for his arthritis. (See the Medical Marijuana section)

February of 2001:

• A beer truck driven by my client at 85 mph in Monterey County was stopped by CHP. Client refused to take a chemical test but admitted drinking: Salinas jury hung and DA settled the case favorably for client.

Spring of 1999:

• Acquittal in Santa Cruz domestic violence case.

Winter 1999:

• Acquittal in vehicular manslaughter case.

1996:

• Voted best attorney in Good Times newspaper reader’s poll. Last year that category was voted on.

These cases are a sampling of the cases I have handled. Obviously, I can’t win a dismissal in every case. But “winning” means different things in different contexts. As a public defender I tried Santa Cruz County’s first (and still only) DUI murder case to go to trial. We “won” in that my client was convicted of manslaughter – not the murder charge the DA had tried him for. (The client had 9 prior DUI convictions).

The majority of all criminal cases settle before trial. But the important thing is – I will go to trial for my clients. Not every attorney will.