And Another Ruling On Ypsilanti Pot Law

It appears virtually certain that 14th District Judge Thomas F. Shea's ruling last week which declared Ypsilanti's $5 marijuana law void will be overturned next Wednesday in Washtenaw County Circuit Court. Attorneys for two Detroit area men arrested on July 31 when Ypsilanti Police allegedly caught them with approximately 12 ounces of marijuana have appealed Shea's ruling - the second time in three months he has sought to knock down the local ordinance. The two defendants were charged under the more stringent state law rather than under Ypsilanti's law, which makes possession of pot punishable by a maximum $5 fine. Police failed to comply with the local ordinance by taking the case to the county prosecutor rather than the Ypsilanti city attorney. The appeal - actually a request for an order of superintending control over Shea - was assigned to Judge Edward D. Deake. But by agreement of the county's four circuit judges, it was reassigned to Judge Patrick J. Conlin. In August, Conlin upheld the validity of the Ypsilanti marijuana ordinance - in effect overruling a previous decision by Shea to the contrary - and it is expected he will reaffirm that ruling when he hears the appeal. Shea is to appear before Conlin at 10 a.m. next Wednesday for a hearing on the appeal. Attorneys for the two Detroit area men are seeking to have the marijuana charges against their clients dismissed because Ypsilanti Police disregarded the local ordinance.