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Marijuana Activist Wants Judge Off Referendum Case
The Crawford County judge oversaw the man's 1994 pot cultivation trial and sentenced him to prison.
Adam Milasincic | Oil City Derrick | 08/08/06

Townville's homegrown marijuana man is planning a new angle in his fight for a pro-pot ballot initiative.

Charles E. Stiles Jr. filed suit last month to compel a Crawford County marijuana referendum under the same law that allows local liquor elections. Now, Stiles wants Crawford County President Judge Gordon R. Miller bounced from the case.

Miller oversaw Stiles' 1994 marijuana cultivation trial and sentenced him to eight years in prison. Stiles recounted a long list of grievances with Miller's handling of the trial, alleging among other charges that Miller tried to commit him as a mental patient to Warren State Hospital.

He said the judge refused to instruct jurors to vote "not guilty" if they felt Stiles was a victim of unjust prosecution.

"I admitted that I had seven plants, but they set me up to railroad me," Stiles said, adding that he believes police conjured up an extra 14 plants so he could be charged with felony possession.

Stiles also blamed the judge for sparking a 15-hour standoff with state police. Miller issued a bench warrant for Stiles' capture after the convicted defendant failed to appear for sentencing. Stiles said he believed an appeal was pending and that the 10:30 p.m. raid on his home was illegitimate.

"My biggest concern was somebody out here with a bullhorn," Stiles said. "They just want to come out here and hit me with bats and raid my place. I wasn't sure who was out front."

Stiles acted as his own attorney in the criminal case and is doing so again with the suit against Crawford County elections director Marlene Robertson, who rejected a 625-signature petition in favor of a proposed referendum.

After an initial paperwork snare threatened to derail Stiles' suit, Miller issued an order Aug. 2 allowing the case to proceed. Stiles said he still fears bias and will file a request for the case to be heard by Judge Anthony J. Vardaro, his high school classmate.

The ballot referendum would declare cannabis use and cultivation to be legal in Crawford County. Because the initiative would override state law if enacted - and because Pennsylvania's liquor code proscribes seven specific ballot questions - Robertson declined to accept Stiles' petition.

In his Common Pleas Court suit, Stiles seeks a writ of mandamus to force Robertson's hand because "high or low" should be treated the same as "wet or dry." He said he expects a hearing on the matter within 20 days, although the Crawford County prothonotary's office reported no pending court date.

"Every county in America is going to want to know what goes on here," Stiles said. "If we said (marijuana) is the same category as liquor ... every county in America will say, 'Yeah, why don't we do the same thing?' They'll love it."

Whether or not Stiles' question appears on the November ballot - an exceedingly unlikely proposition given that even authorized liquor referenda can only take place in primary elections - he is sticking to plans for a Nov. 4 "Northwest Pennsylvania Hemp Fest" at Diamond Park in Meadville.

The rally is intended to drum up support for a "high" Crawford County but also could draw attention to inequitable federal and state drug laws, Stiles said.

If the suit against Robertson fails, Stiles has no immediate plans to resume a long chain of one-man legal activism that included a civil case against state police in Corry.

"I'm pretty busy right now just getting this thing through," he said.