December 5th, 2006

Medical Marijuana Patient Stephanie Landa Ordered to Prison

"No Good Deed Goes Unpunished," Says Judge

by Vanessa Nelson

In a sternly-worded decision issued from federal court today, Judge William Alsup chose the date on which Stephanie Landa will turn herself in to federal authorities and proceed with serving a 41-month prison term.

The 60 year old medical marijuana patient was ordered to surrender to authorities on January 4th, 2007, unless a pending appeal results in a change to the court order.

Vexed by a technical oversight that kept Landa out of prison longer than he had intended, Judge Alsup today expressed his misgivings about flexibility he had previously allowed in Landa's sentencing. "This falls under the category of : no good deed goes unpunished," Alsup said of the consideration he gave to Landa when determining her sentence.

Landa and her ex-husband Tom Kikuchi pled guilty in 2003 to federal charges of "maintaining a place for the manufacture" of marijuana. However, due to special circumstances regarding care for their minor son, Landa and Kikuchi were allowed to serve staggered sentences. By the terms of this agreement, Kikuchi would serve his prison term first, and upon his release Landa would go into federal custody to begin serving her sentence.

"Thinking that may be the humane thing to do, I did it," Judge Alsup said in explanation of his reasoning for granting the staggered sentencing. "I thought that once Mr. Kikuchi went out, Ms. Landa would go in."

Due to a procedural failure, however, the sequence of events didn't play out as predicted.

According to Judge Alsup, the conclusion of Kikuchi's prison term should have triggered the scheduling of Landa's turn-in date on the court calendar. However, Kikuchi's release from custody in August 2005 came and went without Ms. Landa being called to court. In fact, Landa was not scheduled in court to determine her turn-in date until recently, when she responded to a check-up on the case performed by U.S. Attorney George Bevan. "I inquired if she was in custody, and she candidly told me that she was not," Bevan said with exasperation. "As she stands here today, she should be in custody."

Bevan's exasperation was echoed by the judge himself. "I'm upset, and the next time someone asks for something like this, I will remember the frailties of the system," Alsup said reproachfully.

The judge then turned his attention to setting a date for Landa's surrender, about which he remained firm. "41 months was a deserved sentence, and the time has come for Ms. Landa to do her part -- which is to go to prison," Alsup said as he scheduled the turn-in date for January 4th. "In the meantime, I will consider the bail motion."

And it is on this consideration that Landa's hopes are now pinned, with her legal fate in the hands of her Los Angeles-based defense lawyer, Allison Margolin.

"The court must find either special circumstances or a high probability of success, " Margolin explained of the conditions requisite for the validity of her motion. "This case has certified issues relevant to a showing of both."

Margolin then set out a brief explanation of the extraordinary circumstances in her client's situation, citing Landa's documented medical difficulties and injuries. Also noted was the recent death of Landa's father, an occurrence which has left the defendant in sole charge of her elderly mother's care.

Although Judge Alsup agreed to consider the motion, he appeared unmoved by the description of Landa's circumstances. "It's not that the court has no compassion. The court has shown a lot of compassion in your case," Alsup told the defense.

"I can't just do what I think is cool," the judge said with a shrug before moving to his next case. "I have to do what is right under the law."

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Stephanie Landa is currently scheduled to turn herself in to federal authorities at noon on January 4th, 2007. Her surrender will take place on the 20th floor of the federal building at 450 Golden Gate Avenue in San Francisco, CA.