| Fairfax, Virginia/Maryland criminal defense lawyer JON KATZ is a highly-rated, deeply-caring lawyer for Northern Virginia, Montgomery/Prince George's County, Maryland and beyond for criminal defense and DWI. Jon is highly-rated with 20-years experience, pursuing winning advocacy and the best defense in Marijuana Defense/Drug Defense, Drunk Driving / DUI/ DWI Defense, Sex Crime/Online Crime Defense, Felony Defense, Misdemeanor Defense, Federal and State Defense, Blue and White Collar Defense, and Student Discipline Defense . Main Office, Montgomery County: 8720 Georgia Ave., Suite 703, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910, (301) 495-7755. katzjustice.com. Fairfax County meeting office: 1420 Spring Hill Road, Suite 600, McLean, Virginia 22102, (703) 917-6626. Find all our offices here. Just Say Know. See Fairfax/Northern Virginia/Maryland criminal defense lawyer Jon Katz''s additional YouTube videos.  "A lawyer that never quits!"; "Good with people and good with law” ; "Dedicated and Thorough".
Read this before choosing a criminal defense or DWI attorney. JON KATZ IS AV-RATED, SUPER LAWYERS-LISTED, and AVVO.COM 10.0-RATED. Jon defends in the state and federal courts in Fairfax, Northern Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., including courts in Fairfax, Arlington, Alexandria, Rockville, Prince George's, Loudoun, Prnce William, and Howard counties. Se habla español. On parle français.
The news media frequently seek Jon's legal commentary, and Jon in turn injects his civil liberties/ winning advcocacy perspective.
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers member since 1991.
Jon believes that marijuana's legalization is critical for advancing everyone's civil liberties. Defending marijuana clients since 1991, Jon fights pot prosecutions running from simple possession to marijuana trafficking to growing dozens of plants. On several occasions, he has pursued misdemeanor dispositions in marijuana cultivation prosecutions, sometimes with the assistance of a marijuana cultivation expert and medical marijuana expert. NORML and its past, late National Director Don Fiedler have a special place in Jon's heart. Quicksearch
Too many people get arrested and convicted for not heeding these simple words of advice, which are further illustrated in Jon's video. When arrested, get a qualified criminal defense lawyer, either retained or through the public defender/court-appointment system.
Screaming out the benefits of keeping silent and refusing searches with police is Busted, by Flex Your Rights, on whose Board of Advisors Jon Katz sits. Recent EntriesBe silent when a suspect. Take it from this law professor and cop.
Tuesday, May 15 2012 Unmirandized defendant convicted for telling cop "some weed" is in his sock. Monday, May 14 2012 Random thoughts of the week, through May 13. Sunday, May 13 2012 Honor mothers and Mothers' Day by not eating them nor their children (May 2012). Sunday, May 13 2012 The power of simplicity. Friday, May 11 2012 Poll the Jury, Part II. Thursday, May 10 2012 Persuading through compassion. Wednesday, May 9 2012 Knowing your judge, including the former pipefitter. Tuesday, May 8 2012 Prosecutors: The right to remain silent attaches before MIranda does. Monday, May 7 2012 Random thoughts of the week. Sunday, May 6 2012 ArchivesAdd your comments.Please comment if a posting sparks your interest or gets your goat. To comment, cookies must be activated, and Internet Explorer is ideal. We will err on the side of not deleting comments that are relevant even if they might offend. Categories
Jon posts key information and links to Twitter. Twitter TimelineBlogrollLimited to relevant, updated blogs. Criminal DefenseProsecutors/Law Enforcement - Know the OppositionJudges/Ex-JudgesMore LawACLU Beyond the lawAmer. Indians in Child's Lit.Amnesty Int'l USA Beyond blogsBrady v. Md Syndicate This Blog Deep love and thanks to my wife and son, invigorating me all the more in fighting tirelessly for justice.
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CRIMINAL DEFENSE/ DWI DEFENSE LAWYER IN MARYLAND, VIRGINIA & WASHINGTON, D.C. JON KATZ FIGHTS RELENTLESSLY FOR YOUR RIGHTS, EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. CONTACT JON KATZ. Criminal defense is war and battle. Our above-displayed law firm symbol incorporates the essential battle power exemplified by the symbol for the taijiquan martial art that Jon practices, and the scales of justice. 301-495-7755, Silver Spring, Montgomery County, Maryland 20910 / Virginia meeting location: 703-917-6626, Tysons Corner, Fairfax County, Virginia 22102. Monday, May 14. 2012Monday, April 2. 2012Monday, March 26. 2012Monday, March 19. 2012I have seen the medical marijuana future, and it is in California.By Jon Katz, a criminal defense lawyer, drug defense lawyer, marijuana defense lawyer, and DWI/ DUI/ Drunk Driving lawyer advocating in Fairfax County, Virginia, Montgomery County, Maryland, and beyond for the best possible results for his clients. http://katzjustice.com
Copyright Jon Katz.
Copyright Jon Katz.
Copyright Jon Katz.
A long weekend in
- My hotel was across the street from physicians with a sign proclaiming Total Herbal Consultation (website), or THC, as the acronym was proclaimed on the doorway.
- A visit to Tuesday, March 13. 2012Maryland's governor to veto medical marijuana dispensaries, out of misplaced fear of prosecution.By Jon Katz, a criminal defense lawyer, drug defense lawyer, marijuana defense lawyer, and DWI/ DUI/ Drunk Driving lawyer advocating in Fairfax County, Virginia, Montgomery County, Maryland, and beyond for the best possible results for his clients. http://katzjustice.com
Image from public domain.
Maryland's governor intends to veto any legislative measure allowing medical marijuana growers and dispensaries (and, I suppose, providing medical marijuana cards to those needing it for medicine), out of misplaced fear of federal prosecution exposure for state employees who implement such a program. I am not aware of any such prosecutions yet, and doubt such a prosecution would hold any water so long as the state is merely licensing medical marijuana growers, dispensaries, and users, rather than growing and dispensing from state-owned facilities.
Marylanders: Please urge you legislators and Governor O'Malley to support legislation to allow the use of medical marijuana without prosecution. Monday, March 12. 2012Thursday, March 8. 2012Monday, March 5. 2012Marijuana use is widespread and here to stay.By Jon Katz, a criminal defense lawyer, drug defense lawyer, marijuana defense lawyer, and DWI/ DUI/ Drunk Driving lawyer advocating in Fairfax County, Virginia, Montgomery County, Maryland, and beyond for the best possible results for his clients. http://katzjustice.com
Image from public domain.
Marijuana use is widespread and here to stay, as underlined in a recent Washingtonian Magazine feature article entitled "High Society: Washington’s Love Affair With Marijuana."
One great quote in the article is from Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws: “This is a town where I could probably kill 200 major careers if I wanted to be a complete prick... There is more smoke in DC closets than there is sex.” The article opens with the author's joining a marijuana baked goods seller making deliveries to those with medicinal marijuana needs, professionals and others.
I can count on one hand the number of times I have smoked marijuana, never really knowing whether I was getting any effect from it -- and never taking more than three or four puffs -- possibly because I did not learn how to inhale (despite Bill Clinton's claim on his own use), perhaps because all but one time was accompanied by beer, or perhaps for other reasons. Add to that my concerns about marijuana's illegality, the purity of the substances going into my body during the age when marijuana mainly was imported, and proverbial and actual blood on imported marijuana, I did not smoke it more. This was at no small personal sacrifice during times in the late 1970's through college graduation, when invitations to social gatherings often depended on whether the invitee was going to join in smoking marijuana. In fact, a close high school friendship disintegrated with my friend's discomfort that I did not join his marijuana smoking, drank moderately, and insisted on being a designated driver when he wanted to drink. Continue reading "Marijuana use is widespread and here to stay. "Tuesday, February 7. 2012D.C. medical marijuana dispensary applicants will do well to know the peculiar political territory.By Jon Katz, a criminal defense lawyer, drug defense lawyer, marijuana defense lawyer, and DWI/ DUI/ Drunk Driving lawyer advocating in Fairfax County, Virginia, Montgomery County, Maryland, and beyond for the best possible results for his clients. http://katzjustice.com
Image from public domain.
The initial elation over Congress's finally stepping aside after many years of doing the opposite, on D.C.'s medical marijuana initiative and legislation, has been succeeded by delays; limiting medical marijuana only to HIV/AIDS, glaucoma, cancer, and "conditions characterized by severe and persistent muscle spasms, such as multiple sclerosis"; and, now, an uproar by many ward residents against growing the medical marijuana in D.C.'s Ward 5, which apparently is the region designated for the highest number of limited growing locations.
My experience defending adult entertainment and liquor selling in Washington, D.C. highlights the need for purveyors of such controversial items as medical marijuana (which has never been grown and sold legally in Washington, D.C.), adult entertainment, and liquor need to fully know the peculiar lay of the District's social, political, legal and historical land, and to hire effective people -- I said effective people, not merely people who have dealt with the system ineffectively nor mere hired hacks -- who have handled the necessary landscape and have lived in D.C., if they do not know the lay of the land.
The District of Columbia is peculiar for such factors as forever, to date, being denied statehood (and, therefore, being denied full voting representation in Congress) while having many trappings and obligations of a state while also needing to run as a city, with a land and population size of a modest-sized city. D.C. is a majority African-American city that suffered customary segregation right through the 1950's at the very least, and that now suffers second-class status to its citizens being denied voting Congressional representation. It is a densely populated place, at least in terms of there likely being a very limited number of potential medical marijuana growing sites that meet the requirement that they be at least three hundred feet from schools and recreation centers. Continue reading "D.C. medical marijuana dispensary applicants will do well to know the peculiar political territory."Thursday, February 2. 2012Defending marijuana for non-U.S. citizens.By Jon Katz, a criminal defense lawyer, drug defense lawyer, marijuana defense lawyer, and DWI/ DUI/ Drunk Driving lawyer advocating in Fairfax County, Virginia, Montgomery County, Maryland, and beyond for the best possible results for his clients. http://katzjustice.com
Image from public domain.
An actual conviction for marijuana possession (let alone for other drug convictions) raises immigration issues, even when the marijuana does not weigh over 30 grams. Therefore, a non-United States citizen defendant might be in a pickle if s/he gets found guilty of possessing marijuana not over 30 grams, but if the marijuana weight not over 30 grams is not both in the documentary record even if the amount needs to be stipulated by the parties if there is no chemist's certificate. It is also beneficial for such a weight to be on the oral record, preferably with a court reporter present, Finally, a second marijuana possession conviction for a non-citizen is a big problem, as is any drug paraphernalia conviction. Wednesday, February 1. 2012Using medical marijuana as an affirmative defense and sentencing defense in Maryland.By Jon Katz, a criminal defense lawyer, drug defense lawyer, marijuana defense lawyer, and DWI/ DUI/ Drunk Driving lawyer advocating in Fairfax County, Virginia, Montgomery County, Maryland, and beyond for the best possible results for his clients. http://katzjustice.com
Image from public domain.
Since mid-2011 in
My general analysis on
Here is a general overview of
- The ailment involved must be debilitating;
- The ailment must be severe and resistant to conventional medicine;
- Marijuana must be likely to provide therapeutic or palliative relief for the ailment.
This affirmative medical marijuana defense is not available if the defendant was using marijuana in a public place or was in possession of more than one ounce of marijuana. Md. Crim. Cod § 5-601.
For several years, I have been presenting medical marijuana defenses running from prosecutions for simple possession to prosecutions for cultivating dozens of marijuana plants, not only for obtaining medical marijuana dispositions, but sometimes also in an effort to obtain misdemeanor rather than felony convictions for multiple plant cultivation cases. Many times when raising a medical marijuana defense, I have worked with medical marijuana expert David Bearman and marijuana cultivation expert Christopher Conrad, whom I discuss here.
Using the medical marijuana defense in Maryland for an affirmative defense and sentencing defense, and using the medical marijuana defense to try to avoid a felony conviction involves many detailed considerations that exceed what is covered in this blog entry. A qualified lawyer needs to be consulted to address the full details. Thursday, January 26. 2012Thursday, January 5. 2012Gatewood Galbraith leaves the planet.
Image from public domain.
In 1990, before Al Gore invented the Internet, I obtained a substantial bulk of my information about the marijuana legalization movement from High Times magazine, which I started subscribing to in protest of a federal prosecutor's subpoena of the magazine's advertiser records, apparently looking to go after the customers of indoor hydroponic growing equipment sellers.
Through High Times, I heard about such colorful marijuana legalization advocates as Jack Herer, the Lone Reefer, perennial Kentucky third party or independent candidate Gatewood Galbraith, Don Fiedler, Keith Stroup, and numerous federal medical marijuana recipients. I ultimately met all on the foregoing list, except for Gatewood and several of the federal medical marijuana recipients.
Thanks to the listserv member who sent the news that yesterday Gatewood left his body. I did not know much else about Gatewood other than what I have listed above, other than that he practiced criminal defense, and the theme about Kentucky being a natural place for hemp to be grown as a cash crop.
Sending all good karma to Gatewood and his family. Monday, November 7. 2011Thursday, October 13. 2011California federal prosecutors turning their attention to marijuana advertising.By Jon Katz, a criminal defense lawyer, drug defense lawyer, marijuana defense lawyer, and DWI/ DUI/ Drunk Driving lawyer advocating in Fairfax County, Virginia, Montgomery County, Maryland, and beyond for the best possible results for his clients. http://katzjustice.com
Image from public domain.
Flashing back to 1990, I first took out a subscription to High Times magazine in protest over a Louisiana federal prosecutor's subpoenaing the magazine's advertiser records -- as reported by Index on Censorship -- in an apparent effort to clamp down on hydroponic sellers and customers, and various other suspected marijuana-related vendors. I wrote to then-attorney general Dick Thornburgh about my protest, and cc'd it to High Times; I received a reply from neither. I read each issue, and perhaps the most beneficial article was the one on then-NORML national director Don Fiedler, whom I discuss here.
I met Don Fiedler at Earth Day, soon after reading a High Times interview with him. We broke bread together a few months later, and I asked him for some tips on transitioning into criminal defense from my corporate law firm job doing corporate litigation and regulatory work for financial institutions and transportation companies. We discussed the public defender option, and less than a year later, I joined the Maryland Public Defender's Office. Don sponsored me for membership in the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. In short, the Louisiana federal prosecutor's subpoena to High Times ended up spurring me on to subscribe to High Times, to leave a corporate law firm to become a public defender lawyer, and to finally find a way to marry my passion for civil liberties with my daily work life, to this very day.
Now it turns out this week that federal prosecutors in California are turning their attention to advertising for state-legal medical marijuana. Hopefully that step will encourage all the more people to stand up and let their voices be effectively heard for legalizing marijuana.
ADDENDUM: Thanks to the listserv member who provided a link to the news about the feds' focus on advertising about marijuana.
See Jacob Sullum's Reason piece on Obama's approach to drugs.
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