USSC To Hear 2nd Amendment Medical Marijuana User Case ?

By Damian Mann
for the Tidings
Posted: 2:00 AM October 06, 2011


A three-year legal dispute in Jackson County over issuing concealed
handgun licenses to medical marijuana patients has piqued the
interest of the U.S. Supreme Court.

The case involving Sheriff Mike Winters versus Cynthia Willis has
cleared an important first hurdle with the high court, which sent
out a Sept. 30 letter asking Willis' attorney, Leland Berger, to file
a written response to the sheriff's legal arguments.

Winters denied Willis a concealed handgun license in 2008 on the
grounds that she uses medical marijuana, considered a controlled
substance by the federal government. The sheriff argued that he
couldn't give the license to Willis because that would violate the
Gun Control Act of 1968. Winters has lost every court case so far,
including the Oregon Supreme Court.

In July, Winters appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Willis, a Gold Hill resident, said she hopes the Supreme Court takes
up the case, saying it's time someone stood up for individual rights.

"The Second Amendment doesn't say, 'nobody can have a gun if they
do cannabis,' " she said. "I'd like to see a firm ruling."

Ryan Kirchoff, county counsel representing Winters, said the fact
that the case has advanced to this stage indicates the court is
interested in the constitutional arguments presented by the county.

However, Kirchoff said the court's initial interest doesn't ensure it
ultimately will hear the case, or even hand down a ruling. He said
more will be known after Willis' attorney files a response before
the deadline of Oct. 31.

Four votes from the nine-member court are required to push the
case onto the formal docket. Of the 10,000 cases sent to the
Supreme Court in a given year, only about 200 prompt a formal ruling.

This week, the court rejected 1,800 appeals before its session even began.

The Oregon Supreme Court determined that under the rules of
Oregon Revised Statute 166.291, Willis, who has a clean criminal
record, should receive a concealed handgun license.

Winters argues the Gun Control Act is designed to keep guns out
of the hands of people Congress considered potentially dangerous
or irresponsible, such as those who use controlled substances,
including medical marijuana users.

The sheriff's petition to the Supreme Court states the Oregon
Supreme Court essentially determined federal and state laws serve
different purposes. The petition criticizes the Oregon court for
skirting the issue of the conflict between federal and state laws.

Washington County, which lost a similar concealed handgun and
medical marijuana case, also appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Elmer Dickens, senior assistant counsel for Washington County, said
the cases are extremely similar.

"The only difference is the names of the parties," he said.

Dickens said the Supreme Court has also expressed similar interest
in his county's case, which could get combined with the one in Jackson County.

Leland Berger, attorney for Willis, said he had written the Supreme Court
a letter explaining why he didn't think the Jackson County case had any merit,
but he wasn't surprised that the court requested an additional
response from him to address the sheriff's specific legal arguments.

However, he said the request doesn't provide a clue as to whether
the court will make any kind of ruling.

"I'm not sure what you can read into these tea leaves," he said.

Berger said California had a state versus federal legal dispute
involving marijuana.

Officials in San Diego and San Bernardino counties had refused to
issue medical marijuana cards, maintaining that California's medical
marijuana law would be a violation of federal law, specifically the
1970 Controlled Substances Act. The Supreme Court declined to
hear the case in 2009.