Pubdate: Mon, 21 Jul 2003
Source: Anchorage Daily News (AK)
Copyright: 2003 The Anchorage Daily News
Contact:  http://www.adn.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/18
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/props.htm (Ballot Initiatives)

ALASKA'S POT LAW INVALID, LAWYER CLAIMS CONSTITUTION:

Supreme Court Ruling Trumps 1990 Ban, He Argues.

FAIRBANKS (AP) -- The Alaska Court of Appeals is considering a case that 
could set precedent in the 1975 Alaska Supreme Court ruling protecting 
marijuana possession for personal use in the home.

A lawyer for a North Pole man convicted in 2001 of possessing marijuana in 
his home has appealed the conviction based on a claim that a nearly 
three-decade-old Alaska Supreme Court decision declaring personal pot 
possession a state constitutional right is still the law.

The Court of Appeals' decision will represent the first time a 
precedent-setting court decides whether the Supreme Court ruling still 
protects marijuana possession for personal use in the home despite a 1990 
voter initiative that criminalized possession of any amount of the drug in 
any location, said Bill Satterberg, the defense attorney who submitted the 
appeal.

Satterberg's argument is based on the assertion that voters did not have 
authority to cancel a state constitutional right when they passed the 
initiative, making the Supreme Court's decision still valid. The case 
before the Alaska Court of Appeals, Satterberg said, could produce the 
decision that clarifies the issue.

The case started when North Pole police and drug agents arrested David Noy, 
41, at his North Pole home on July 27, 2001.

Noy was arrested after a patrol officer smelled marijuana coming from the 
home, where Noy and a group of people were outside barbecuing salmon.

After a long dispute over whether Noy would let officers into his house, 
North Pole police and drug agents who responded searched the residence and 
found five live pot plants, growing equipment, some loose marijuana and 
paraphernalia, according to testimony and court documents.

A jury convicted Noy of one count of sixth-degree misconduct involving a 
controlled substance, a misdemeanor charge of possessing less than 8 ounces 
of marijuana. Eight ounces of pot or less is defined in Alaska law as an 
amount for personal use, while anything more than 8 ounces is defined as an 
intent to deliver.

Noy was sentenced to community service.

Satterberg appealed the conviction. He said he expects a decision soon 
because the three appeals judges who make up the court usually take about 
six months to render a decision.
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