Bush Lawyer

Jan Molenaar was the man at the centre of the 2009 'Napier seige'.  What began with police executing a cannabis search warrant ended with Molenaar killing one police officer and wounding two more as well as several members of the public, before committing suicide.
 

Advice regarding Police Disclosure

On 2nd February 2007 police searched my property and charged my boarder and I with three offences; cultivation, possession for supply and supply of cannabis. We pleaded not guilty to these three charges, then later pleaded guilty to cultivation.  After a crazy piece of theatre called a "trial", a jury found us guilty of the other two charges and we were sentenced to 300 hours of community work and a year of home detention on 3rd April 2009.
 
We agreed to plead guilty to the cultivation charge, but only on our own medicinal evidence, not on the brief fictionalised police "Summary of Facts", which contained over 58 lies, errors and false speculations. The lawyer originally agreed, but then refused to comply with our instructions at a hearing. There is now a Restriction Order on my property, based on the false police "Summary", and a colossal debt to Legal Services because I own my own home. These issues are still to be addresed.

If you are reading this you have probably been charged by the Police for a cannabis offence under the Misuse of Drugs Act or you have been investigated/drug tested under suspicion of cannabis use by your workplace.

Try not to worry, cannabis is a part of everyday life in Aotearoa and we all need to band together to show the authorities that they can't treat us this way simply because we make the adult decision to use cannabis in our own time.

Bush Lawyer is set up to help people who are keen to defend their rights against these unjust prohibition laws.

The cops came and searched my car when I was pulled up in a parking lot. I wasn't doing anything and I wasn't driving but they came up to see what I was doing and said they smelled cannabis. Then they searched the car and found cannabis. What can I do? help me!

Charge(s):
Possession of cannabis

Court District:
Nelson

Date of Court appearance:
April 20, 2010

Police Evidence:
Summary of so called 'Facts'

Defence Evidence:

Other Documents:

A list of lawyers suggested by NORML NZ who appear to be sympathetic to cannabis law reform and may be interested in helping you to get the best outcome from your cannabis charge:

Disclaimer:
These lawyers are suggested as having some experience and expertise in defending cannabis cases.

Please note that they are not endorsed by or acting for Bushlawyer or NORML and we can offer no guarantees.

Whangarei:
David Sayes 09 434-4377 or 021 127-4966
Nick Leader 09 438-4039

Auckland:
Peter Winter 09 379-7658
Johnnie Kovacevich 09 309-3364

Civil Rights Guide - You and the Law

source: http://norml.org.nz/page11.html

Demand to be treated with respect, but show some respect in return. Be clever, not smart.

Suspected ?

Many places of employment require their employees to submit to drug tests under certain circumstances. Unfortunately this practice is disproportionately discriminatory against cannabis users because the standard urine test for cannabis in New Zealand does not indicate current cannabis use, it only indicates use within the past 4-6 weeks. This is due to the test looking for the presence of the inactive metabolite as opposed to the active metabolite.

Several recent cases have highlighted the practice of Police attempting to coerce defendants into incriminating themselves via the use of threats. In many of these cases the Police will ask the accused if the substance they uncovered is cannabis. Of course admitting that a substance in your possession is cannabis is a guarantee of a guilty verdict, and no defendant in their right mind would incriminate themselves in that way.

Going through Court
The next step after being released on bail is your first court appearance. Bide your time. There is not need to rush into making a plea, as you will most likely have two or three preliminary appearances before anything really happens.

Talk to the duty soliciter as tell them that you wish to enter No Plea while you consider your options.

The legal system wants to find you guilty and sentence you as soon as possible. Do not oblige them.