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February 28, 2007
Harvest Fest alleged joint-passing case proceeds as felony distribution
Posted by Gary Storck
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
On Monday, Chris Lankford had his initial appearance on new felony pot distribution charges arising out of a tainted and flawed arrest at Harvest Fest 2006, as hundreds prepared to march up State St. to the Capitol for the festival’s annual parade.
He now faces the following charges for being observed passing a white round cylindrical object to a friend at Harvest Fest:
1 946.41(1) Resisting or Obstructing an Officer Misd. A
2 961.41(1)(h)1 Manufacture/Deliver THC (<=200g) Felony I
3 961.41(3g)(e) Possession of THC Misd. U
The next step in the case will be a status conference in late March, and following that, a preliminary hearing at which Officer Michael Mansavage, the UW officer who made the flawed arrest, the same officer who pepper-sprayed Ben Masel for collecting signatures to run for US Senate, will be on the stand. Stay tuned for the date and time so we have a huge show of support for Chris, and send a strong message that these kind of wasteful prosecutions must stop!
Yesterday, I delivered a $100.00 contribution from Madison NORML towards the estimated $7500.00 cost of taking this case to a jury trial. At the same time, I also dropped off a smaller contribution from myself and New Jersey activist Jim Miller, who spoke at the last 4 Harvest Fests.
Sadly, there has been little other response to the need for donations to help fund this defense.
I cannot understand this. A successful outcome in this case sends a strong message that police should not target peaceful pot smokers at Harvest Fest. Not only that, but the sheer randomness of this arrest means that everyone else present got off easily. They got to march to the Capitol and protest with their cannabis while Chris and his friend were cuffed and hauled off to jail to spend the night. Then, they have had to face criminal charges and the lingering emotional stress and pain. So making a small donation to help ensure a successful outcome in this case is a very small price to pay, not to mention the fact it helps defend future Harvest Fests.
Once again, here is the info for making donations:
Donations should be sent to Steinberg Law Office, P.O. Box 2614, Madison, WI 53701, payable to Peter Steinberg, with the notation "Chris Lankford Defense Fund."
Please help make future Harvest Fests safe from this kind of harassment!
Posted by Gary at February 28, 2007 11:31 AM
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