Pubdate: Wed, 26 Aug 1998 Source: Orange County Register (CA) Contact: http://www.ocregister.com/ UPDATE ON CHAVEZ The wheels of justice are grinding slowly in Marvin Chavez's case,in which he is accused of 10 counts of selling marijuana,but they are grinding.On Monday Judge Frank R.Fasel gave the founder of the Orange County Patients,Doctors,Nurses Support Group(which has worked to help patients with recommendations from their doctors get access to medical marijuana)permission to discharge his two attorneys,who have represented him on a volunteer basis. The case has been "trailed" until Friday, when it will be determined whether the Orange County Public Defenders office can represent Mr. Chavez or a private attorney will be appointed. Meanwhile, Mr. Chavez has recruited one attorney experienced in medical-marijuana cases to serve as an adviser and is seeking others. It is possible but probably unlikely that the involvement of new attorneys will spur Judge Fasel to revisit his decision not to allow the defense to bring up Prop. 215 (otherwise known as Health and Safety Code 11362.5), the November 1996 initiative where by voters decided that sick people with a doctor's recommendation should have access to marijuana for medical purposes. If handled properly the Chavez case could furnish valuable guidelines for implementing Prop. 215, which has been done only spottily in California as a whole and not at all in Orange County. We'll keep an eye on developments. - --- Checked-by: Patrick Henry