On June 15, 2018 Thomas C. Gallagher, a Minneapolis Marijuana Crimes Defense Attorney, presented a Continuing Legal Education course to about 200 of the best defense lawyers in Minnesota, the Minnesota Society for Criminal Justice 33rd Annual DWI Seminar in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.
Topics covered by Gallagher included:
Scheduling, both Minnesota and Federal- Medical marijuana issues
- Medical necessity defense
- The small amount “resinous form” technical loophole
- Marijuana in a Motor Vehicle defenses
- Auto searches based on claimed odor of marijuana as probable cause
- Prolonged detention abuses and remedies
- Drug testing; screening vs. lab tests; false positives, proof of identity
- Weight issues
- Conflicts in law: definitions of marijuana vs. mixture vs. hemp
- Unconstitutional presumption of “intent to sell” based on possession
- Growing charged as sale even though no sale happened
- Circumstantial evidence and “construction possession”
- Circumstantial evidence isn’t enough unless inconsistent with any rational hypothesis except that of guilt.
- Passenger vs. driver; mere presence is not enough jury instruction
- The right to present a defense
- Jury nullification and the rule of lenity
- First Amendment religious freedom defense
- DWI-marijuana cases and their defense
- Half-life of blood THC
- THC vs THC-metabolites
If you are a lawyer, or a person with a question about marijuana and criminal law in Minnesota, you are invited to call Thomas Gallagher or leave a comment.