Pot classified incorrectly, lawyer argues
Hawaii island marijuana advocate Roger Christie urged a federal judge Monday to be the first in the country to dismiss marijuana charges because he contends the drug incorrectly falls under the most restrictive federal classification of drugs.
Christie’s lawyer, Thomas Otake, told U.S. District Judge Leslie Kobayashi that dismissing the charges would be historic. He said Washington and Colorado recently legalized marijuana and that Hawaii and 17 other states permit medical marijuana.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Kawahara argued that a federal appeals court for Washington, D.C., as recently as January rejected a challenge to the classification of marijuana as a Schedule I drug.
Kawahara quoted from the ruling, which said there a “serious debate” about the effects of marijuana for medical purposes.
Kobayashi said she will rule by the end of April at the latest.
Christie, 63, is charged with marijuana conspiracy and distribution and failing to file federal tax returns on his income.
He has been held in custody since his arrest in July 2010. His trial is scheduled for July.
Senate vote today on protection for celebs
The state Senate is expected to vote today on a bill that would give celebrities in Hawaii a new legal tool against paparazzi.
The bill, known as the Steven Tyler Act for the Aerosmith singer, who has a home on Maui, would allow celebrities to bring civil lawsuits against photographers who take pictures of personal or familial activities. Celebrities would only be protected, however, if they are on property they own or lease and have reasonable expectations of privacy.
Senate Bill 465, modeled after a California anti-paparazzi law, would provide an immediate appeal process for photographers who claim they were engaged in work protected by the First Amendment.
Tyler and Mick Fleetwood, the drummer of Fleetwood Mac, who also has a home on Maui, told state senators at a hearing last month that aggressive paparazzi intrude on their privacy.
The Society of Professional Journalists and other First Amendment advocates are concerned that the bill could infringe on legitimate news-gathering.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Man charged with burglaries in Kona area
Hawaii County police have charged a Hilo man in connection with three burglaries in Kona last year.
Two of the burglaries took place Aug. 29 in the Seaview Circle subdivision. The third happened Oct. 30 off Old Mamalahoa Highway in Holualoa.
Jaren Larinaga-Napihaa was arrested Thursday in Hilo and charged with two counts of failure to appear in court. He was also arrested on suspicion of burglary.
Police charged him Friday with second-degree theft and three counts of first-degree burglary. His bail was set at $100,000.
Define ‘dancing’ for rule’s sake, bill would urge
State legislators are seeking to clarify a Maui County rule that limits where people may dance in places that serve liquor.
The county’s liquor commission limits dancing to designated dance floors in bars and in restaurants that sell alcohol.
Maui residents have campaigned against the rule for years, arguing it infringes on their freedom of expression.
More than two-thirds of the Senate co-sponsored a bill that would require county liquor commissions to define the term “dancing” if they choose to regulate it. Proponents of Senate Bill 464 say it would erase the ambiguity surrounding the rule that allows for arbitrary enforcement. They say it’s an issue of constitutional rights.
The Maui Department of Liquor Control says the proposal is unnecessary, as no businesses have been cited for violating the rule.
The American Civil Liberties Union testified that it has received complaints about Maui’s “Footloose” rule.
The Senate Public Safety Committee passed the bill Feb. 19.
