Idaho Mountain Express: Hailey city attorney to defend pot initiatives

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Friday, May 16, 2008

Hailey city attorney to defend pot initiatives

Lawsuit filed on the eve of another marijuana election

Attorney Ned Williamson argues a point during a discussion of the three marijuana initiatives approved by Hailey voters last year. Photo by Mountain Express

An anti-marijuana lawsuit filed earlier this month puts Hailey City Attorney Ned Williamson in the ironic position of having to defend three controversial pot initiatives that he has staunchly opposed.

"I will do my best to defend those laws," Williamson told the Idaho Mountain Express in February, shortly after Hailey Mayor Rick Davis announced that the lawsuit would be filed.

Williamson was then asked if defending the marijuana initiatives would be difficult for him.

"I will do my best to defend those laws," he said again.

Wiliamson could not be reached this week for comment.

The lawsuit, filed by Hailey attorney Keith Roark on behalf of Davis, City Councilman Don Keirn and Hailey Police Chief Jeff Gunter, seeks to have the obviously illegal pro-pot initiatives officially ruled illegal in Blaine County 5th District Court. The three initiatives, one to legalize medical use of marijuana, a second to legalize use of industrial hemp and a third to make enforcement of marijuana laws the lowest priority for the Hailey Police Department, were approved by Hailey's electorate last November.

Davis, Keirn and Gunter are the lawsuit's plaintiffs. The city of Hailey is the defendant. Williamson is the city's attorney.

Some Express readers seem amused by the irony of Williamson's defending the initiatives.

"Hey Ned bro, we'll be stopping by yer office to have a bull session and brainstorm about our strategy as we just heard yer gonna be our attorney in this initiative matter fighting for our cause," a Hailey reader, identified as Roy Sandefur, wrote in an online comment to a Jan. 30 story on the Express Web site.

But Ryan Davidson, the man who keeps putting pro-pot issues on the Hailey ballot, does not find the situation funny. Davidson, chairman of The Liberty Lobby of Idaho, told the Express in February that the nature of the lawsuit is contrary to the basic premise of the American judicial system.

"So they're willing to sue themselves," Davidson said. "It just sounds bizarre. Both parties can't have the same interest in the outcome. That's collusion and it's banned in the American justice system. It should be thrown out out of hand.

"Ned Williamson has been the chief critic on behalf of the city," Davidson said. "So if he's put in a position of having to defend the initiatives, how can he come up with a valid defense? It's a conflict of interest."

Davidson's four-year battle with the city of Hailey is like a chess game. The city makes a move, Davidson counters.

When city officials threatened a lawsuit last January, Davidson filed new petitions to put all three initiatives, plus a fourth one that was rejected by the voters in November, before the electorate again on May 27.

The fourth one, a backdoor approach to pot legalization, would require the city to tax and regulate sales and use of the drug in the city.

Mayor Davis said another vote on the initiatives doesn't make much sense to him, but "the court said we have to allow the elections." Davis was referring to an Idaho Supreme Court ruling in September 2006 when the high court ruled in Davidson's favor in a lawsuit against the city of Sun Valley. The justices held that municipalities do not have the authority to determine the constitutionality of citizen initiatives, regardless of the apparent illegality.

Davis said the timing of the lawsuit filing has nothing to do with the election.

"That's just when it all came together," he said.

Officially, the lawsuit seeks a declaratory judgment from 5th District Court declaring the three previously approved initiatives illegal.

"The lawsuit primarily alleges that the three initiatives are illegal because they are contrary to the general laws of the state of Idaho and the United States," states a news release from the city of Hailey.

Davis said a court determination of illegality can likely be applied to three of the initiatives that will be put to the voters on May 27, but if the fourth one passes, another lawsuit may be necessary.

Pass or not? Davis isn't making any predictions.

"I have no idea," Davis said. "There's been a lot more publicity this time about the initiatives. I think people are a lot more educated now about the issues. But I don't know if it will have a different outcome or not."

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There are 26 comments

The comments below are from the readers of mtexpress.com and in no way represent the views of Express Publishing Inc.

Roy Sandefur – Hailey, Idaho

05/19/08 - 18:27

Right!

one law merely says "make busting pot offenses the lowest police priority"
is THAT illegal under state and federal law?
i think not

but will Ned argue that?
I doubt it

this whole thing is a travesty

since WHEN has any court case been valid
wherein BOTH sides are argued by two attorneys who clearly want the same decision,
and both side's lawyers are paid from the same money source?

ask where the "special precinct room" is
when you go to vote, on the 27th,
and vote for all four initiatives

and remember all these people when they come up for election again

Reply to Roy Sandefur

Arne P. Ryason

05/25/08 - 00:10

Psst... The cops are sworn federal agents... Pass it on...

terry ford – jerome

05/19/08 - 07:38

how can this not be considered a conflict of interest?"i will do my best to defend those laws" even in print i can hear the sarcasm in that statement!

Roy Sandefur – Hailey, Idaho

05/19/08 - 01:00

The reason I care
even though I don't smoke pot
is because I'm a Libertarian
concerned with rights
and my brother had cancer
and pot, and hemp seed oil helped save him

give me all these millions of dollars you think I should spend
or follow yer own advice
you seem to want us to spend all the money
and do all the jail time
while you complain

Reply to Roy Sandefur

Arne P. Ryason

05/20/08 - 09:02

I'm not complaining. I'm realistic. If you don't have $ millions, don't bother. They'll outspend you. Also, don't start something if you don't have a plan for finishing it. You must test the law in court. As far as I'm concerned this is a distraction. It may be meant to bring pot smokers out of the closet for scrutiny by law enforcement.

If you need cannabis for medical reasons, it might be wise to move to California. Idaho is too "conservative" for this sort of thing.

Roy Sandefur – Hailey, Idaho

05/17/08 - 12:27

oh
ok
arne
i went back
and
my mistake
i see you offered: "sue the DEA"
and
"write a letter to someone"

thanks
now i'm gonna go out and do something REALLY BEAUTIFUL with my life
and I owe it all to you

Roy Sandefur – Hailey, Idaho

05/17/08 - 12:21

I don't smoke pot, anymore (did decades ago--when I was a teenager)
Ryan has never smoked pot in his life
i write this way because i feel like it

still never heard what someone would do to "work on the federal level"

so far
you have offered punctuation education

thanx

Reply to Roy Sandefur

Arne P. Ryason

05/18/08 - 12:43

If you don't smoke pot, why do you care? How will you test the enforceability of this law? You started it, will you proceed to the next step in court? Get a legitimate medical marijuana user to light up outside city hall. These things are always decided in court, not by the voters.

Work on the federal level by providing the correct bribes - campaign contributions. Outspend the private prison industry. Outspend the tree-paper chemical companies. That's the way things are done in the land of the free. Take all of the money you've wasted locally and give it to NORML, or the MPP or larger national organizations. This local initiative creates local conflict and distracts us from the real issues.

Take it to the next step. Recall the Hailey City Council, the mayor, the police chief, the sheriff and replace them with officers that refuse to take the pledge of allegiance to the federal government. Remove the gold military braid from the local flags. The issues are much bigger than you realize. You are not a Citizen of Idaho, you are a resident of Social Security district ID. You are a federal subject. I cannot condense 15 years of research here.

I will admit it is great fun, though, to play the game and vote yes on cannabis issues.

Roy Sandefur – Hailey, Idaho

05/17/08 - 12:17

Arne,
Ryan Davidson is a dual CITIZEN of The United States
and has been a RESIDENT of Idaho since childhood

perhaps you should KNOW the facts before you try and EDUCATE anyone

Reply to Roy Sandefur

Arne P. Ryason

05/18/08 - 12:12

Yes, you are United States citizens (small "c"), not American Citizens (capital "C"). By "resident" it means that you are not a Citizen of the Idaho Republic, rather your situs, as government property, is in Washington, DC., under the exclusive legislative jurisdiction of Congress. "Exclusive" means exclusive of the Constitution. The 14th Amendment makes you and I a slave to federal law. I have done my homework. I have been researching this for nearly 15 years. Go look it up. Your government-run school will never teach you this. They need obedient and unconfused subjects.

Roy Sandefur – Hailey, Idaho

05/17/08 - 11:40

I know marijuana, and hemp seed oil helped my brother beat cancer
so it's personal for me, now

most cancer victims starve to death because the chemo kills their apetite
and makes them too nauseous to keep anything down, anyway
and pot cures both those things enough to allow SOME sustenance

hemp seed oil raises the immunity more than any other substance known to man
partially because the omega3 and omega6 lipids are in perfect balance

do me a favor
send that info to Ned Williamson
and let's see how diligently he utilizes it

don't let the government make YOU suffer
let's make THEM suffer a little
at the ballot box

adam assenberg – colfax,wa

05/17/08 - 07:34

One fact the City attorney could use to protect the right of Medical Marijuana users is the fact, 21 USC Sec. 812 01/22/02

Also known as Title 21, Food and Drugs Chapter 13

And I use the EXACT wording from the Federal Government, Under sub-section 1 (b) The drug or other substance has (NO) currently accepted medical use in treatment in the united states.

How many people know that their are still four people that get their medical marijuana from the Federal Government? Also how many Doctors in the 12 states have signed for people to use Medical Marijuana.

So by these facts Marijuana violates the own wording of section (b) Also under (c) there is lack of accepted safty for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision.

So let's see the Government show how marijuana has killed people.

These two facts show that having Marijuana under the class it is right now violates the meaning of our Federal laws but till people take notice of these facts people will still have to suffer at the hands of our Government.

Roy Sandefur – Hailey, Idaho

05/16/08 - 10:14

REMEMBER!:
If you live in Hailey
when you go to vote, on the 27th
they are going to have some separate "precinct room" where you have to go vote again
if you want to vote on the initiatives
be sure they show you where it is!

Roy Sandefur – Hailey, Idaho

05/16/08 - 10:10

EXACTLY!
No-one has ever spelled out to me exactlly what THE HECK someone would do to "work on the federal level"!
What am I supposed to do, become PRESIDENT before I can DO anything?
and THEN what?
do I have to get every senator and congressman voted in, too?

I guess I could write a letter to some federal official
and they would just throw it in the trash
and go out with some hooker
or page boy
or something
and forget about it

these city, county, and state initiatives SHOW what the people really think
and they get tons of attention
and Hailey is the only place in the country where they spend four years and tons of money trying to thwart it
and then gripe about all the money they are spending

VOTE THEM OUT
take their jobs away

THEN see if the federal-level politicians notice THAT!

James Harrison

05/16/08 - 09:13

The Wood River Valley is ahead of its time. Citizens are well educated and committed. Thats why it is such perfect place for the progressive intiative to legalize cannabis. Arne how do approach this situation at a federal level? You don't, you start small. As for your Fed paranoia have you ever been to California. Sanfransico, for example where clubs legally operate without federal harrasment. The DEA is not going to swarm down with a task force to grab a cancer patient who lights up to relieve themselves from chronic pain and stress. No, I think they have bigger potatoes to fry. Just like the law enforcement in the valley. Why is Jeff Gunter so concerned with an herb, when mafias are bringing in substances such as methamphetimines. Which destroys our community more? Talk about a sham, why not take this money, and instead of using it to work against the people, use it to help them. The community sees through the B.S, arrests for simple posesion are easier for our law enforcement. They generate revenue, while officers never have to get their hands dirty dealing with actual hardened criminals. What's easier arresting a peacful hippie with a doobie, or going after a mexican drug cartel? Stop looking for the easy way out Gunter, either do your job protecting the community, or get the heck out. It seems at the moment your more interested in a victimless crime.

Reply to James Harrison

Arne P. Ryason

05/18/08 - 12:27

I grew up in the SF Bay Area. It has been quasi "legal" to smoke pot there for as long as I can remember. The cops are overworked and have better things to do. In Hailey it is different. This is a tiny town. There is very little crime here. One glance at the police blotter in the local paper will tell you that a significant portion of the police's time is spent arresting illegal drug users. To tell them not to do their job is a threat to that occupation. We might actually be able to have fewer police if we treated drug abuse as a sickness instead of a crime. The solution to the drug problem is simple but one third of all the inmates of the private prison industry are marijuana violators. Remember, crime is a growth industry. This issue must be addressed before we think about legalizing pot. Sometimes I think this local initiative is a ruse to distract us from the real issues and, worse than that, bring pot smokers out of the closet for scrutiny by law enforcement. Are you ready to elect a sheriff that will defy federal and state law? Are you ready to have the city council instruct the chief of police not to allow the police to enforce those laws? Are you ready to recall every public official that will not do so? You'd have the DEA, DOJ, FBI and every other alphabet agency descending on this place like flies on feces. Are you ready, in the words of our President, to "bring 'em on?"

Roy Sandefur – Hailey, Idaho

05/16/08 - 02:18

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

www.woodriverjournal.com

yup
according to THE WOOD RIVER JOURNAL
the city of Hailey is using city funds to pay the other side's lawyer, too

GOTTA be illegal
or, at least, judicially improper
or, at least, grounds to vote these people out of office

or AT LEAST grounds for us never to hear any gripes from city officials about expensive lawsuits
ever again

Roy Sandefur – Hailey, Idaho

05/15/08 - 23:52

Let me spell this out:

not just local effect
check google and see all the nationwide publicity we've gotten

we've gotten reports from people as far away as Christchurch New Zealand hearing about this.

By fighting this all the way to the Idaho Supreme court
never again
anywhere in the country
will any town council be able to pose as the gatekeepers of ANY INITIATIVE PROCESS
for ANYTHING

When they passed a law that said only a town resident
can circulate an initiative petition
(which they did specifically for US)

we fought that
till it was struck down in the courts

now, no town will be able to try and make such a law stick
EVER AGAIN

they WON'T let you do anything on the federal level
YET
till the politicians GET THE MESSAGE
by going from the grass roots
up
a town like Hailey can send a message

send it again
in the next election(s)
citizens of Hailey!

Roy Sandefur – Hailey, Idaho

05/15/08 - 23:30

previous post was for arne
should have hit "reply" i guess

seriously
we've been fightiung this battle
on our own
with no help from you, arne
even though we tried to get you on-board

and all you've done is be our (almost) biggest opponent

and it's always something about the constitution being hijacked
and something about babylonian conspiracies
or something

and how WE should act on the federal level
and OUR efforts aren't good enough
for YOU
etc
etc

SERIOUSLY
if you can show me what YOU'VE done
maybe we can listen to yer criticisms
and compare efforts

Reply to Roy Sandefur

Arne P. Ryason

05/16/08 - 19:56

Write in complete sentences. Capitalize the first word of each sentence. You are your own biggest opponent when you demonstrate a lack of writing skills. It discredits the cannabis movement to use "stoner" writing techniques.

it's like
man
i just wanna get high
and not go to jail
(Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

All I do is point out the fact that a local initiative does not change federal or state law. There is no "conspiracy." It is just business as usual. Cannabis legalization would put the tree-paper chemistry industry out of business. Paper companies could save a bundle on chemicals. It would make a serious dent in the pharmaceutical industry and eliminate the black market, thus reducing the bottom line in the private prison industry. These are your opponents. File suit against the DEA or contribute to an existing lawsuit. Show that legalizing cannabis would help the so-called global warming problem. Write to congress, Al Gore, or whoever, but use proper punctuation and complete sentences.

I have already written to congress and state representatives on the subject. I don't have deep pockets so I can't contribute much. I do pay local taxes, however, that will contribute to the legal fees of both sides of the lawsuit, the result of which will not change the federal or state legal status of cannabis. I also know someone in the paper business. I told that person how many millions they'd save in chemistry if they switched from trees to cannabis. That person said they'd look into it. That person has more financial clout than I but not as much as the big players.

Although I gave in to temptation and voted yes on all four initiatives (and will likely do so again) I still think that all this does is waste time. You need to go after the DEA. They're the ones in charge, not congress or the voters. America is slowly transforming into a police state. Work on the big picture and the small stuff will get fixed.

Roy Sandefur – Hailey, Idaho

05/15/08 - 23:22

Maybe you should move to Canada
last I heard they banned slavery

Ryan Davidson is an American citizen
and I am a Hailey resident
and we both lived in Blaine County

last I checked it's THE LAW in Hailey
that the police make smoking pot their lowest priority

so
as we KNOW the police
and mayer
and town council
and all the lawyers
all respect the LAWS

I doubt they couldn't find a higher priority than busting me

(he he heee)

so
what are YOU doing with yer money and yer mouth
if I might be so bold as to inquire?

Reply to Roy Sandefur

Arne P. Ryason

05/16/08 - 15:59

The local police are supposed to enforce federal and state laws. So, I say again, go ahead and light up a joint outside the police department. Fight it in court if you believe the law passed by the voters has any teeth. Appeal and appeal all the way to the US Supreme Court. You are in the right, so go for it.

Last time I checked people pay "income" taxes in Canada, so slavery is still in effect, just like here. A truly free people pay no tribute to the government for the compensation that is their property. The government is supposed to be funded by import and interstate commerce taxes.

A "resident" is not a "Citizen," rather he/she is a "subject." Do some research. You and I are government property. The system functions on vulgar law: "Do what I tell you to do."

Busting people is big business. In case you haven't heard, we have more people in jail in the US, per capita, than ANY other nation. Prisons are a private industry now. Inmates are low wage labor. Crime is a growth industry. Legalizing pot is a threat to that business. Look at the big picture.

What am I doing? I am trying to educate you. The history taught in government school is incomplete. They taught you to believe you are free, but, in the words of Goethe, "None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free."

observer

05/15/08 - 23:09

"the obviously illegal pro-pot initiatives"

Pardon me, but I think your bias is showing.

Roy Sandefur – Hailey, Idaho

05/15/08 - 22:50

oh yeah,

more REAL irony:
the main
most
loudest
and FIRST objections we heard from these people
and the town councils
when we first submitted our initiatives
was that this would SURELY lead to horrible EXPENSIVE lawsuits
if they allowed the citizens to excercise their initiative rights

so here we are
with these exact same people
SUING THEMSELVES!
with both "our" (supposed) lawyers
conspiring on the other side
to throw the case

once again
I ask:

Are Roark's fee's being paid with city funds?

If so, we all have the legal right to know!

Roy Sandefur – Hailey, Idaho

05/15/08 - 22:28

Roy here...
Yeah
I've been a member of the original Idaho Liberty Lobby team that started this back in summer of '04
and guess what!
Roark was basically OUR ATTORNEY TOO!
He was all enthused with our initiatives
and swore to GOD he was against the drug war
for moral and philisophical reasons
and did legal review work for us
consulting as to strategy
and legal details
and predicted the town councils would unilaterally refuse to qualify our initiatives
which we proved in the Idaho Supreme Court
was illegal,
as THEY ARE NOT the gatekeepers of the citizens' initiative process,
as the justices ruled five to zero
with no dissentions

now I would just SURE like to know who is paying his fee for going to the other side

the whole thing is collusion and conspiracy
9for these city officials to abrogate their sworn legal duties
to uphold the LAWS of this city)
and to thwart the stated will of the voters
remember all this in the next elections, please

Reply to Roy Sandefur

Arne P. Ryason

05/15/08 - 23:01

What do you expect? What I'd like to see is the Liberty Lobby put its money where its mouth is. Come to Hailey and light up a joint outside City Hall. It's the same building as the police department. See what happens. Ryan Davidson is from Canada and has no clue as to the power and reach of the feds. State and local initiatives are meaningless when it comes to cannabis. You could pass one of them in every state, county and city and the DEA would still arrest people. Work on the federal level if you want to change the law. Stop wasting our time and money.

"The will of the voters" is a sham. We're all 14th Amendment subject slaves.