Rosenthal
United States v. Rosenthal
Opinion
Opinion
Breyer, J.
ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR NEW TRIAL
INTRODUCTION
On January 31, 2003, a jury convicted defendant Edward Rosenthal of violating the federal Controlled Substances Act. The jury found that Rosenthal had manufactured and conspired to manufacture marijuana in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 and 846, and had maintained a place for the manufacture of marijuana in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 856 . The charges arose out of Rosenthal’s operation of an indoor marijuana-growing facility in Oakland, California. Now pending before the Court is Rosenthal’s motion for a new trial. In light of the parties’ papers and extensive record, the Court concludes that oral argument is unnecessary.
Rosenthal does not contend that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction. Nor could he; in fact, there is overwhelming and uncontradicted evidence that he cultivated hundreds of marijuana plants for distribution to medical marijuana centers. Rather, the thrust of Rosen-thal’s argument is that the Court should have allowed him to present evidence and argument designed to encourage the jury to disregard the controlling law.