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mikez

Newsbrief: Federal Civil Rights Lawsuit Filed In California "Hippie Profiling" Case
Drug War Chronicle Newsletter | 4/16/04


A year ago this week, DRCNet reported that the California Court of Appeal had overturned the "hippy profiling" marijuana convictions of Jason Fishbain and Chris White (LINK).

The dreadlocked pair had been convicted after being pulled over on US Highway 101 in Northern California by a California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer notorious as an anti-drug zealot because their vehicle bore no front license plate -- registered in Arizona, it did not need one -- and because an air freshener was hanging from the rearview mirror.

The officer then claimed he smelled burned marijuana and searched the vehicle over the protests of its occupants, finding five pounds of marijuana that Fishbain and White maintained was for medical use.

Now one of the men accosted by Officer Doug Mertz has filed a federal lawsuit naming Mertz, as well as the CHP officials and staffers responsible for hiring and training officers, as defendants. Jeffrey Fishbain, who is also the Americans for Safe Access coordinator in his north Humboldt County area, filed the lawsuit March 16. He seeks unspecified damages.

Fishbain suffered through years of legal travails, spending almost $125,000 according to an account posted on his web site (LINK).

As the lawsuit puts it, he "suffered personal injuries, emotional distress, humiliation, embarrassment, damage to reputation, loss of earning capacity and the incurring of attorney fees to defend himself from the false charges."

The reason he suffered such indignities, the lawsuit alleges, is that Mertz and unnamed CHP staffers "acted in their individual capacities and with malice, oppression and in conscious disregard for (Fishbain's) health, safety and legal rights." The lawsuit points to Mertz's lack of probable cause in detaining Fishbain and charges that CHP higher-ups hired Mertz and others involved in the case "without adequate training or qualifications and, after their hire, inadequately trained and supervised them in the exercise of their authority... including stopping, detaining, searching, seizing and arresting citizens without probable cause."

Mertz is well-known among Humboldt County defense attorneys as an officer who never saw an air freshener that didn't seem like probable cause for a search.

CHP should have reined him in, the suit says. CHP staffers "were aware of prior instances of Mertz (and other officers and officials) violating the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights of citizens, but took no steps to prevent the occurrence and/or reoccurrence of such incidents," the lawsuit alleges.

Fishbain's attorney, Richard Massa, told the McKinleyville Press Fishbain he had been drained by the years of legal hassles. "The legal fees alone are substantial, because my client had to deal with a couple of trials and an appeal," Massa said.

But while Fishbain is the plaintiff in this case, Massa added, a victory for Fishbain would be a victory for the Constitution. "The Civil Rights Act is one of the most important laws in the United States," Massa said. "And it's the only law in which an individual can actually enforce their Constitutional rights.

There is no way to vindicate their civil rights other than through a civil rights case. Mr. Fishbain is simply taking the only alternative he has to gain compensation for the wrong that was done to him."

And Californians with dreadlocks or air fresheners should thank him.

__________________
"I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." --Thomas Jefferson.

 

Suetaz

In the first paragraph it says Jason Fishbain and in the 4th paragraph it says Jeffrey Fishbain. Is this a typo, or did a relative file the suit?

Another rogue cop giving other cops a bad name. I doubt Mertz cares about the damage he has done and I hope they win this lawsuit to at least teach other cops that they can't tread on anyone's constitutional rights.

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SmokyThePenguin

Another dumbass smoking pot while driving giving stoners a bad name. **** him.

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Live, learn, then get a lighter

Bellatrix

Um...Smoky, there's nothing in the article to indicate that anyone in the car was high. The cop didn't have probable cause to search the vehicle. His "claim" that he "smelled burning marijuana" is a bold faced lie. He just wanted an excuse to search the car. This was a VERY clear example of an overzealous cop, badly trained, self-imprtant, inebriated by his own power and allowed to run rampant over the people he's supposed to be working to protect.

As well he should. Doug Mertz deserves to lose his job for this kind of behaviour, but he's only a symptom of a larger problem. Officers like Mertz, who manfacture probable cause and harass otherwise peaceful people, actually make money for cash-strapped law enforcement agencies by superficially padding arrest numbers. Thus they can ask the state and federal governments for more money at the end of the fiscal year, using these numbers to "prove" that they need more cash flow to fight the "war" on druuuuuugs. That's why nobody "reigned" this cop in. It was this kind of twisted system that contributed to the Tulia debacle.

There is absolutely no excuse for this kind of abuse. Are they so desperate to hire cops that this qulaifies as acceptable behaviour? How often does this happen, but we just don't hearabout it? END THE DRUG WAR NOW.

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Niteshift

The cop didn't have probable cause to search the vehicle. His "claim" that he "smelled burning marijuana" is a bold faced lie.

Is that a FACT or just an OPINION? It looks like you are stating it as FACT. Were you there? Do you have secret information that nobody else has seen?

As for the rest of that response......... It's not worth the effort to address.




(I see you can't resist dragging Tulia out yet again. It's starting to look like that's the only example you can use.)

__________________
A burning desire for social justice is never a substitute for knowing what you're talking about. -Thomas Sowell

Sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel is muzzle flash.

 

Bellatrix

Ummm...Niteshift, did you read this? The cop could NOT have smelled "burned marijuana" because there WASN'T any. Yes, there was a stash was in the trunk, but it wasn't "burned." The cop didn't see anything incriminating before he searched the trunk, like ashes or roaches in the front seat, so it's pretty obvious he's lying.

And if I may borrow a line of yours - "As for the rest of that response......... It's not worth the effort to address."

Niteshift

Ummm...Niteshift, did you read this? The cop could NOT have smelled "burned marijuana" because there WASN'T any. Yes, there was a stash was in the trunk, but it wasn't "burned." The cop didn't see anything incriminating before he searched the trunk, like ashes or roaches in the front seat, so it's pretty obvious he's lying.

That is your OPINION, based on your conlusion of what was present.

Can you state, for a FACT, that nobody had recently smoked pot in the car and the smell was still present?

Can you state, for a FACT, that one of the occupants wasn't wearing clothing that they were wearing when they smoked and the clothing retained the smell?

No, you can't. That's why your conclusion is an OPINION.

Do you have any idea how many times I've smelled alcohol before I even got up to the car door, but there was none present in the car at the time of the stop.

The smell of pot lingers, just like cigarette smoke. To someone who doesn't smoke it, the smell is very noticeable.

Once again, you've rendered an OPINION and stated that it is a FACT.

smoking_joe_lee

The bottom line is that the courts ruled this an illegal search.
As for the smell of burning mj, just because no ashes or roach were found does not absolutly rule it out. Hey, I've rode around with friends, smoking. In an ashtray half full of cigarette butts, ashes from a jay or two would not be noticed. A roach can be swallowed.
One thing I found curious about this story is that the two other stories I read about this case(yahoo search Jason Fishburn news) said $10,000 in cash was found besides the 5 pounds of pot. It makes 'em look like dealers to me, but that is just my opinion. Just can't help wonder what they were doing in a car with out of state plates, a lot of cash, and 5 pounds of weed...

Niteshift

Some have apparently misunderstood and thing that I am defending the practice of "hippy profiling".

I do not. As far as I'm concerned, it is not much different than racial profiling and that is a practice that I not only oppose, but actively teach is wrong.

My sole point in this thread has been discussing the OPINION that was incorrectly presented as FACT. The poster who made that statement has absolutely no proof to back it up, not even convincing evidence. It's just an opinion. I have no problem with opinions, just don't expect them to be accepted as factual.


Hopefully that will clear up the misunderstanding that some have had.

prop215

I am glad to see that there was some chat on this topic I know the defendents in this case and am very farmiliar with the entire history of the court case, I would be more than happyu to answer any questions you have to clear up any issues as to the money and quanity of marijuana it was maintained through their attorneys that it was medical cannabis for one of the passangers mother who died during the first trial of the pair
STOPHIPPIEPROFILING.org

END THE DRUG WAR