Mistrial Hearing for Pot Activist Delayed

The hearing to declare a mistrial for Ed Rosenthal, who was convicted of three felonies for cultivating marijuana and conspiracy to distribute it, won’t be decided for at least 10 days, a judge said Tuesday.

Rosenthal was allowed to grow marijuana by Oakland officials, but during his trial, U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer refused to allow testimony that Rosenthal was growing it for medicinal purposes.

Last week, a juror in Rosenthal’s trial, Marney Craig, testified that she had befriended and discussed the case with another juror, and then she invoked her 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination. Prosecutors Tuesday refused to grant Craig immunity and the judge ordered both sides to file briefs by April 18 arguing whether the testimony from Craig and other former jurors constitutes misconduct.