Hemp seed case ends in mistrial

By Crystal Kua

The hemp seed trial of Aaron Anderson ended in a mistrial Wednesday after
jurors said they could not reach a unanimous verdict.

"We are deadlocked," said the final written communication signed by all 12
jurors.

Deputy Prosecutor Kay Iopa said she has not yet decided whether to retry
Anderson.

"It's kind of premature," she said. "We need to evaluate it thoroughly.",

But courtappointed defense, lawyer Brian De Lima said that he will be
filing a motion to ask that the charge against Anderson be dismissed.

"It's obvious they didn't have enough to prove it ... beyond a reasonable
doubt," De Lima said.

The 60yearold hemp activist is charged with seconddegree commercial
promotion of marijuana, a class B felony with a sentence of up to 10 years
in prison.

The charge stems from a 25pound shipment of hemp seeds Anderson ordered
from a mainland company in May 1991.

A police dog sniffed out the package after it arrived in Hilo via Federal
Express.

Anderson contends that the seeds he ordered were sterile hemp seeds.

But police said marijuana plants sprouted when they grew the Seeds.

The prosecution argued that it didn't matter whether the seeds were sterile
because the seeds fit within the definition of marijuana.

But the defense argued at trial that there wasn't enough evidence to prove
that the seeds were indeed marijuana.

The majority of jurors apparently agreed with the defense.

Jury foreman Wayne Whiteside Said the jury was deadlocked at 93 in favor
of acquittal.

The first vote taken was 8 4 and the best they probably could have done
was 10 2 the foreman said.

"We knew we were deadlocked an hour after deliberations," Whiteside said.

The jurors who voted for a not guilty verdict felt that the prosecution
didn't prove that the seeds were marijuana.

"There was too much of a lack of evidence to be convinced beyond a
reasonable doubt," said Whiteside, who voted with the majority.

Whiteside said he even took whiff of the seeds and still wasn't convinced
that seeds were marijuana. "It did not smell like pakalolo," he said.

Whiteside also pointed to the defense contention that based on the street
value of marijuana seeds, the package should have been worth between
$500,000 and $2.8 million, but Anderson instead paid $72 for the shipment.

"If you order marijuana, who would send $2 million worth of seeds across
the ocean for less than $100," Whiteside said.

At least two of the jurors voting for a guilty verdict were solid in their
stand that tests showed that the seeds were marijuana, Whiteside said.

Whiteside also explained about a communication jurors sent out to the
judge, asking about whether a juror could be disqualified.

He said that during one of the breaks in deliberation, someone had brought
a newspaper that contained a story about the trial.

A few of the jurors read the headline and first few paragraphs of the story
before they realized the story was about the case they were deciding,
Whiteside said.

"It didn't have an effect on the a outcome," Whiteside said.

Whiteside said that the defense, De Lima in particular, put on an
"excellent" case while the state's case was lacking.

"After six years, they should have had stronger evidence," he said.

Circuit Judge Greg Nakamura declared a mistrial and then said he will
schedule a hearing to decide whether to dismiss the case against Anderson.

Iopa said that the prosecution needs to consider resources and availability
of witnesses and evidence before deciding whether to pursue a second trial
against Anderson. "All options are still open", she said.

De Lima said that a second trial would be a waste of resources "It's very
expensive and I don't think their case is going to get any better," he said.

Anderson said that this case has consumed a big chunk of his life and he
would like the cloud to be lifted.

The seeds that were confiscated were going to be used for entrepreneurial
efforts, he said.

Anderson said he is basically broke as a result of this case.

"My personal funds are totally depicted," he said.

Anderson and former codefendant Roger Christie have filed a $3 million
federal lawsuit against the county stemming from their prosecution in this
case.

Christie was charged with the same felony offense as Anderson, but
prosecutors eventually dismissed the case against Christie.

Christie and Anderson allege that they were targeted for prosecution
because of their outspoken promarijuana views.

Their civil lawyer, Steve Strauss, said that each time the county
Prosecutor's Office continues with the case, the more it will cost the county.

"We believe the damages continue to accrue," Strauss said.

Trial for the civil case is scheduled for July 15 before U.S District judge
David Ezra.