Proposition 215, or the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, is a California law permitting the use of medical cannabis despite marijuana's lack of the normal Food and Drug Administration testing for safety and efficacy. It was enacted, on November 5, 1996, by means of the initiative process, and passed with 5,382,915 (55.6%) votes in favor and 4,301,960 (44.4%) against.
Johnnie Lee Cochran Jr. was an American attorney best known for his leading role in the defense and criminal acquittal of O. J. Simpson for the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. He often defended his client with rhymes such as "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit!" during the Simpson trial.
Vincent T. Bugliosi Jr. was an American prosecutor and author who served as Deputy District Attorney for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office between 1964 and 1972.
Mark John Geragos is an American criminal defense lawyer and the managing partner of Geragos & Geragos, in Los Angeles.
Thomas Arthur Mesereau Jr. is an American attorney known for defending Michael Jackson in his 2005 child molestation trial, as well as Mike Tyson, Bill Cosby and, in 2023, Danny Masterson, a case in which Mesereau was sanctioned by the judge
Gladys Towles Root was a criminal defense attorney in Los Angeles. Root specialized in sexual assault and murder cases, partly because those were the only clients available to a woman attorney at the time and partly because few other lawyers wanted to defend them.
Stephen Lawrence Cooley is an American politician and prosecutor. He was the Los Angeles County District Attorney from 2000 to 2012. Cooley was re-elected in 2004 and again in 2008.
Laura Jean Kriho was an American cannabis legalization advocate and was also known for her part in a jury nullification trial in the mid-1990s. Kriho was also involved in the Cannabis Therapy Institute and in the push for the adoption of Amendment 20 in the Colorado Constitution. She advocated against Colorado Amendment 64, however, which she viewed as not true legalization. She petitioned the state with her own cannabis legalization language but never went for ballot title/signature collection.
Bonnie Michelle Dumanis was the District Attorney of San Diego County, California. She held the office 2003 to 2017. Dumanis is a Republican, though the office she held was officially nonpartisan. She was the first openly gay or lesbian DA in the country. She was the first woman and the first Jewish District Attorney in San Diego.
Bruce Margolin is an American criminal defense attorney who specializes in marijuana and drug laws. Since 1973, he has served as the executive director of the Los Angeles chapter of NORML. He is the writer of the Margolin Guide to Marijuana Law.
In the United States, jury nullification occurs when a jury in a criminal case reaches a verdict contrary to the weight of evidence, sometimes because of a disagreement with the relevant law. It has its origins in colonial America under British law. The American jury draws its power of nullification from its right to render a general verdict in criminal trials, the inability of criminal courts to direct a verdict no matter how strong the evidence, the Fifth Amendment's Double Jeopardy Clause, which prohibits the appeal of an acquittal, and the fact that jurors cannot be punished for the verdict they return.
The American pop musician Michael Jackson faced allegations of child sexual abuse in 1993 and 2003. Additional claims emerged posthumously.
Weldon Angelos is a music producer who was sentenced in a high profile marijuana case involving mandatory minimum sentences that was presented to the United States Supreme Court. The United States Supreme Court declined to hear the case but Angelos was later released from prison 13 years later due to public pressure from celebrities, United States Senators, the judge that sentenced him, and ultimately the prosecutor who prosecuted him.
Cannabis in California has been legal for medical use since 1996, and for recreational use since late 2016. The state of California has been at the forefront of efforts to liberalize cannabis laws in the United States, beginning in 1972 with the nation's first ballot initiative attempting to legalize cannabis. Although it was unsuccessful, California would later become the first state to legalize medical cannabis through the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, which passed with 56% voter approval. In November 2016, California voters approved the Adult Use of Marijuana Act with 57% of the vote, which legalized the recreational use of cannabis.
Laura Elizabeth Duffy is an American lawyer and judge who serves on the San Diego County Superior Court and served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of California from 2010 to 2017.
California Proposition 19 was a ballot initiative on the November 2, 2010, statewide ballot. It was defeated, with 53.5% of California voters voting "No" and 46.5% voting "Yes." If passed, it would have legalized various marijuana-related activities, allowed local governments to regulate these activities, permitted local governments to impose and collect marijuana-related fees and taxes, and authorized various criminal and civil penalties. In March 2010, it qualified to be on the November statewide ballot. The proposition required a simple majority in order to pass, and would have taken effect the day after the election. Yes on 19 was the official advocacy group for the initiative and California Public Safety Institute: No On Proposition 19 was the official opposition group.
Jacquelyn Phillips Lacey is an American politician who served as the District Attorney of Los Angeles County from December 3, 2012 to December 7, 2020. Lacey Was the first woman, and first African-American, to serve as LA District Attorney since the office was created in 1850.
Vicki Michele Roberts is an American attorney and an on-air legal commentator, as well as a television and film personality.
The Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA) was a 2016 voter initiative to legalize cannabis in California. The full name is the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act. The initiative passed with 57% voter approval and became law on November 9, 2016, leading to recreational cannabis sales in California by January 2018.
Mia F Yamamoto, is a Los Angeles-based criminal defense attorney and civil rights activist. Yamamoto is a transgender woman of Japanese American descent, born in the Poston War Relocation Center during World War II.
