Jury selection in the retrial of Ed Rosenthal is scheduled to begin in February 2007.

Rosenthal is famous for writing cannabis cultivation books and fighting to legalize the plant for over 25 years and is being prosecuted for supplying medical plants to patients. His conviction four years ago was overturned because a juror was misinformed that she would be punished if she did not vote to find him guilty.    

“Jurors cannot fairly determine the outcome of a case if they believe they will face ‘trouble’ for a conclusion they reach as jurors,” ruled Judge Betty Fletcher. “The threat of punishment works a coercive influence on the jury’s independence.”

The Fully Informed Jury Association, fija.org, is teaming up with local jury rights activist to pass out literature around courthouses reminding potential jurors that they cannot be punished for their verdicts.   

Jury education volunteers have already begun to leaflet around the San Francisco Federal courthouse in an effort to make sure all federal jurors know they cannot be punished if they vote to acquit and are better educated about the historical role juries have played in reforming unjust laws.

FIJA is also leafleting around federal courthouses in Oakland and Sacramento, and plans to expand to other California cities where there are high profile cannabis prosecutions.