State of Minnesota v. Angela Brown Continuance for Dismissal Petition Accepted by Court

MADISON, Minn. - April 20, 2015 - PRLog -- On April 17, 2015, the Honorable Judge Thomas Von Han signed the Continuance for Dismissal Petition in this matter. The remaining charge is now set to be dismissed in 90 days. The jury trial that was set to begin this week has been cancelled. The Brown family will not have to make any further court appearances in this matter. This is not a “plea deal” and Mrs. Brown has not pled guilty or admitted to any charges or allegations. This was the state agreeing to dismiss this case to avoid having to present evidence to a jury and prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mrs. Brown committed an act of child endangerment as charged in the complaint. Mrs. Brown simply agreed to allow the matter to be dismissed and to pay a nominal court cost, as opposed to demanding a jury trial. Mrs. Brown and Mr. Hughes were looking forward to challenging the allegations brought against her. The state was threatening to subpoena Mrs. Brown’s child and forcing him to testify at the trial, despite the obvious trauma this would cause to someone his age and with his medical conditions. Throughout this matter, Mrs. Brown has consistently made the well-being of her son her top priority. This resolution reflects Mrs. Brown’s love for her son and her constant efforts to protect and help him with his traumatic brain injury.

The irony of this case is that the state through their own actions and their misguided zeal to which they continue to wage war on a plant, actually caused more harm to the Brown family and their son by bringing these charges. The Brown family now has to relocate to the state of Colorado. They will leave their family and long-time homes in western Minnesota and eastern South Dakota. They will join a growing number of refugee families who have to leave the places they are from in order to access medicine from a plant. This is a sad reality that many people throughout the United States face today, even as cannabis laws continue to change. Mr. Hughes has promoted drug policy reform for almost 30 years and was honored to represent Mrs. Brown in this matter.

“My client is a hero. She did what any parent would have done and probably what many did once Colorado had legal cannabis available in 2013. I am glad that all the charges will be dismissed. The family has been through so much since Trey’s injury and the last year has only exasperated the problems. Hopefully, they can now move forward with their lives and continue to help their child treat his medical conditions. The really sad thing is that they have to move so far away from their friends, family and support network. This is a failure of our politicians over the last 40 years. They continue to ignore science and now the law. We are in the midst of a serious Constitutional crisis involving cannabis laws and the federal government needs to deal with the conflicts between federal and state laws. For every day that the politicians fail to address this issue, another family like the Brown’s will either face relocating their families or criminal prosecution. Both of these are unacceptable options for anyone simply trying to use a plant based medicine. Cannabis’ known medical uses are acknowledged in at least 34 state laws. How much longer can we continue to give credence to a federal law which fails to recognize both modern science and a vast majority of state laws?”

Any inquiries about the case can be made through Hughes Law:

contact@mrhugheslaw.com

Phone: 541-408-9884

1133 NW Wall Street, Suite 202

Bend, OR 97701