Pubdate: Nov 3, 1998 Source: Orange County Register (CA) Contact: http://www.ocregister.com/ Copyright: 1998 The Orange County Register PROP. 215 MANEUVERING The Orange County trial of Marvin Chavez,accused of selling marijuana by the prosecution-and guilty only of trying to implement Prop. 215 responsibly,according the the(sic) defense-took an unusual turn Monday. Defense attorneys James Silva and David Nick filed a motion to have Deputy District Attorney Carl Armbrust disqualified from prosecuting the case because "there is reasonable possibility that [he] will not exercise his discretionary function in an even handed manner and has abandoned his duty to seek justice." The burden of the defense complaint is that by his statements to reporters and letters in the Register, Mr. Armbrust has gone far enough beyond simple vigorous prosecution as to raise questions about his ability to be fair. Prosecutors have been removed from cases before for similar reasons. Whether Mr. Armbrust's removal is warranted depends on the evidence and arguments to be presented today. Another important step for the status of medical marijuana in general, and perhaps in some ways for the Chavez case, happens on Election Day, when voters in Alaska, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon and the District of Columbia will all have medical marijuana initiatives on the ballot. The outcome will indicate what voters in other states are thinking, two years after California's Prop. 215 passed. It would be refreshing if California could begin to demonstrate that we've had enough of inconclusive court battles and are ready to implement responsibly the will of the people as expressed in Prop. 215. Which county or city council will step up to meet the challenge? - --- Checked-by: Rolf Ernst