In a classic case of “you can’t win for losing”, protesters in attempting to aid Barbara Agro’s court case are now being blamed actually doing more harm than good. Their interactions with jury members was seen as tampering.
The 70-year-old woman is a registered medical marijuana patient and caregiver charged with one count of delivery/manufacture of marijuana and may serve up to four years in prison.
This case also exemplifies an increasing trend where the defendant is not able to use the defense of being a patient or a caregiver to support their case.
Jerome Sabbota said jurors in the recent case of Barbara Agro – charged with one count of delivery/manufacture of marijuana, a four-year felony – were approached by the protesters as they walked back into the courthouse.
“The judge then brought each juror in after and said, ‘Are you going to follow the law?’” said Sabbota.
“The court felt (the protest) was jury tampering. In the end, that hurt Barb.”
Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper said there was an attempt to influence the jury. Some protesters handed a statement to jurors.
“Were they able to do (influence the jury)? Apparently not,” said Cooper. “This is a very serious crime and apparently (those tampering ) have been identified on video.”
Cooper said “hi-jinks” such as this are not being attempted by “people who are obeying the law.”
Agro was convicted on June 8. She could receive up to four years in jail, Sabbota said.
Agro, a former Lake Orion police dispatcher, worked as a receptionist at a medical marijuana dispensary in Ferndale called Clinical Relief. When the facility was raided on Aug. 25, 2010, Agro told deputies that she had marijuana plants growing at her home in Lake Orion. Deputies searched the house and found 19 marijuana plants and other items.
Agro is a registered medical marijuana patient and caregiver. In a previous ruling, Oakland Circuit Judge Wendy Potts granted a motion from prosecutors seeking to preclude Agro from referencing the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act during the trial.
“Barb believes the truth did not really come out,” said Sabbota. “There was no reason the jury couldn’t have been told that (she was a patient and caregiver ).”