ACLU OF ALASKA WINS PRIVACY CHALLENGE TO MURKOWSKI MARIJUANA BILL
Juneau Judge Voids Law Criminalizing Possession of One Ounce in the Home
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 10, 2006
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JUNEAU — Juneau Superior Court Judge Patricia Collins this afternoon gave a clear win to the ACLU of Alaska and struck down a new law imposing criminal penalties for possession of less than one ounce of marijuana in the home. The ACLU of Alaska argued that the law violated the state’s constitutional right to privacy. Governor Frank Murkowski had pushed hard for passage of the legislation in the final days of the 2006 regular session. Read the decision >>>
“The court’s opinion is a strong statement upholding the concept of privacy in one’s home,” said Jason Brandeis, staff attorney for the ACLU of Alaska. “Possessing a small amount of marijuana should not serve as the basis for police intrusion into a private home.”
Judge Collins relied on the case of Ravin v. State, a 1975 decision of the Alaska Supreme Court that first established the principle that possession of small amounts of marijuana in the home was protected under the state’s right to privacy. The State had argued that the findings of the Alaska Legislature were sufficient to overturn the Ravin decision. Collins disagreed, saying that the “[Ravin] decision is the law until and unless the supreme court takes contrary action.”
“Throughout this process – both before the Legislature and now in court – the battle has been to reject high pressure political tactics and preserve an individual’s right to keep the state out of one’s home in the absence of sufficient justification,” said Michael Macleod-Ball, Executive Director of the ACLU of Alaska. “Despite the state’s unfounded claims to the contrary, the best scientists in the country say that marijuana is no more dangerous today than in 1975. The state can’t create the justification for restricting a fundamental right out of whole cloth.”
The ACLU of Alaska had asserted in its court pleadings that the legislative hearing process was biased from the outset. Committee chairs cut short scientists who opposed the legislation and one Senator even rebuked a state-employed witness for speaking against the Governor’s proposal. The Legislature adopted findings that were contrary to the testimony of nationally-known academic scholars.
The original complaint was filed on behalf of the ACLU of Alaska and two anonymous plaintiffs who said they use marijuana. The state had sought to dismiss the complaint, saying neither the ACLU nor the plaintiffs had standing to bring the challenge. The court summarily denied the state’s request before ruling in favor of the plaintiffs.
The decision negates the need for a trial in the dispute and constitutes a final decision of the trial court. The State may now appeal the decision to the Alaska Supreme Court. Alaska remains the only state in the country that constitutionally protects the possession and use of small amounts of marijuana in the home from criminal sanction.
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