Our Placentia medical marijuana criminal defense attorneys were interested to see that a double DUI manslaughter case recently ended in a mistrial. On April 15, the Orange County Register reported that the case of Trevor Mark Coffman, 38, will have to be retried later in 2010 or 2011. Jurors in Coffman's case couldn't agree on whether he was guilty of two counts of negligent vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, for the deaths of Frank Howd, 62, and Catherine Malloy, 72. In addition, the crash left Howd's wife, Sally Lee Howd, with a broken skull and broken ribs that kept her from walking unassisted for six weeks afterward. Prosecutors claimed that Coffman was both drunk and high on marijuana when he crashed into Howd's stopped car on Interstate 5.
The crash took place late on the night of March 15, 2007. Howd and his wife, Sally Lee Howd, had traveled to the Los Angeles International Airport to pick up Malloy. As they made their way home, a Toyota in front of them was hit by a driver who left the scene. The disabled Toyota ended up facing the wrong way in the carpool lane, and Howd's Volvo hit it. Coffman's Ford F-150 then rear-ended the Volvo at high speed. Two tests of Coffman's blood-alcohol level found it was 0.099 and 0.105, and a blood test found marijuana in his system. Coffman argued that he is a legal medical marijuana user who did not smoke the night of the crash, and that other tests showed his BAC was under the legal limit. He told the court the accident happened so fast that he didn't have time to stop.
As Pomona marijuana criminal defense lawyers, we suspect that this jury deadlocked because Coffman really did present a strong defense. OCNN reported that a defense expert testified that Coffman's BAC was closer to 0.066, which is under the 0.08 legal limit, and that the marijuana in his system did not impair him. The article doesn't say why, but it's widely known that inactive marijuana-related substances called cannabinoids stay in blood for about a month, meaning that people who are not at all intoxicated can still test positive for marijuana use. If the expert was correct about both the marijuana and the alcohol, there would have been no evidence that Coffman was actually intoxicated. That evidence is a vital part of any prosecution for a DUI crime, because without it, it's much harder to prove that the accused was intoxicated. In this case, Coffman had to respond quickly to an unexpected accident on the road, which may also have influenced the jury.
Howard Law, P.C. is proud to defend people entangled in the legal system because they buy, sell, possess or use medical marijuana. The Compassionate Use Act made medical uses of marijuana legal in our state years ago, but some law enforcement officers simply don't accept that because they don't like the idea of legal drugs. As a result, dispensaries have been banned and harassed and their owners and customers face all types of criminal charges, including serious drug offenses as well as nuisance charges designed to drive them away. Our Westminster medical marijuana defense attorneys help these people defend themselves from unfair or overstated criminal charges. In some cases, we can simply point out to the judge that our clients followed state law. In others, we will aggressively defend clients who are criminally charged because of overenthusiastic or controversial prosecution techniques.
If you've followed state law to the best of your ability but you still face criminal charges over medical marijuana, Howard Law, P.C. can help. To learn more at a free consultation, send us an email through our site or call toll-free at 1-800-872-5925.
