Source: http://equalrights4all.us/www.chrisconrad.com/docs/expert.witness/urziceanu.htm
Timestamp: 2019-04-25 19:48:06+00:00

Document:
Appellate court in People v. Urziceanu ruled that while Prop 215 may not have protected collective medical marijuanagardens and activities, HS 11362.7 (SB420) did so.
C045276 (Super. Ct. No. 01F07538) APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Sacramento County, Trena Burger-Plaven, Judge. Affirmed in part and reversed in part.
Scott Concklin, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.
Bill Lockyer, Attorney General, Robert R. Anderson, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Jo Graves, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Carlos A. Martinez, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, Catherine G. Tennant, Deputy Attorney General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
Use Act FN1 and for other patients and primary caregivers who also qualify under the Compassionate Use Act. The People assert defendant and his codefendant, Susan B. Rodger, 2 were illegally cultivating and selling marijuana.
After trial, the jury acquitted defendant of cultivating marijuana, sale of marijuana, and being a felon in possession of ammunition. The jury, however, found him guilty of conspiracy to sell marijuana and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
1 Health and Safety Code section 11362.5. All further statutory references are to the Health and Safety Code unless otherwise indicated.
2 Rodger is not a party to this appeal.
The Prosecution's Case In August 2000, the police learned that marijuana was being distributed from defendant's home in Citrus Heights. From newspaper articles and the Internet, Detective Steven Weinstock discovered defendant claimed to be engaged in medical marijuana activity. Police set up surveillance on the home and questioned people who came from that home. All but one of the subjects questioned had a medical marijuana recommendation -- but that one person had a cooperative card from the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative.
Given our disposition, we do not decide whether defendant should be required to register as a narcotics offender under section 11590 if he is again convicted of conspiracy to sell marijuana.
During their conversation, defendant told Detective Weinstock that he planned to establish a medical marijuana cooperative like the ones operating in the San Francisco Bay Area. On August 9, 2001, Sacramento County Sheriff's Sergeant Karlene Doupe drove to defendant's Citrus Heights home. She had a laminated medical certificate for marijuana and a Department of Motor Vehicles driver's license in her undercover name. Sergeant Doupe knocked on the door and Rodger opened it. Sergeant Doupe asked to speak with defendant and explained that she wanted to purchase some marijuana for her headaches. While she was in the house, Sergeant Doupe saw defendant in the kitchen and noticed about 15 to 20 marijuana plants in the backyard.
Rodger explained they normally only saw new members on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, but because it was slow, she could fill out the application paperwork. When Sergeant Doupe said she did not have her medical certificate, Rodger told her she could fill out the paperwork and bring her certificate in the next day. Rodger, however, would not provide Doupe with marijuana without a certificate. Sergeant Doupe went out to her car and brought in her certificate.
cannabis. The document stated, "I understand that my contributions to F.C.H.H. through products I may acquire from the organization, are used to insure continued operation of F.C.H.H. and that this transaction, in no way, constitutes commercial promotion." The agreement further stated that the membership fee for FloraCare was $25 per year and that she agreed she would pay for the costs of goods provided and services rendered.
The medical cannabis farm consent form signed by Sergeant Doupe designated FloraCare as her "primary caregiver of health care services for the provision of medical cannabis as per the compassionate Use Act of 1996." Further, by signing the form, Sergeant Doupe confirmed under penalty of perjury that she had a qualifying medical condition and a doctor's prescription and agreed to reimburse FloraCare for the costs of gardening to cultivate her medical cannabis. The consent form further stated all of the marijuana cultivated and transported was the collective property of the person signing the document.
patients and caregivers who have entered into a similar agreement to jointly possess the cannabis that is cultivated under this agreement."
After Sergeant Doupe filled out the paperwork, she returned it to Rodger. She also presented Rodger with her driver's license and the medical certificate. Rodger made a copy of the certificate and explained that the documents would be entered into a computer and then removed from the site so that law enforcement would be unable to obtain them.
Rodger made five unsuccessful attempts to verify the medical certificate by calling the doctor listed by Doupe on the application. Rodger told Sergeant Doupe if the original had a gold seal, she would not have to verify its authenticity.
Rodger left the room and returned with a brown bottle she described as tincture of marijuana (alcohol in which marijuana leaves had been soaked). She offered to place a few drops of the tincture under Sergeant Doupe's tongue to help her headache, but the sergeant demurred by feigning an allergy to alcohol.
Rodger put the drops of the tincture on some bread and gave the bread and a cookie that contained marijuana to Sergeant Doupe. Rodger claimed the cookies and bread were normally $2 each, but because they needed to be eaten, she would give them to Sergeant Doupe for free. Rodger also told Doupe that defendant owned the home, but that he was donating it to the business. They were going to remodel the home so there would be a room for members to relax in and a waiting/reception room.
Rodger then went into the kitchen and brought back a coffee can filled with small bags of marijuana. Rodger told Sergeant Doupe to take what she needed and that the bags were $50 each. Rodger also told Sergeant Doupe that the marijuana in the can had been donated by members of FloraCare, but there were 100 plants growing in the backyard.
Doupe took three bags and gave Rodger $160. Each bag contained 3.5 grams of marijuana and had a sticker with the word "FloraCare" on it. The sticker also bore the words: "The cannabis contained herein is intended for approved medical uses only pursuant to Health and Safety Code sections 11362.5 and 11357-11358 in accordance with the laws of the state of California." Rodger gave Sergeant Doupe three more slices of bread and $5 back as change.
Despite the forms she filled out during this transaction, Sergeant Doupe testified she never designated Rodger or defendant as her primary caregiver. Further, she testified neither Rodger nor defendant provided for her housing, health, or shelter.
On September 18, 2001, Detective Dan Donelli served a search warrant on defendant's home. During that search, officers found a greenhouse structure in the backyard that contained at least 51 plastic drinking cups, each with a marijuana plant two to four feet tall. Around the pool and backyard, police found several different marijuana gardens that contained 159 plants which weighed a total of 410.65 pounds.
Officers also discovered over $2,800 in cash and what they concluded were pay/owe sheets in the home. Defendant began to smoke marijuana during the search. After the search, officers arrested defendant and Rodger. They found $1,100 in her coat pocket. It was Detective Weinstock's opinion that defendant's marijuana operation was a front for drug dealing and that they were making money by selling marijuana.
marijuana. Outside the house, the officers found 15 small marijuana plants, and a marijuana garden with 22 plants. The computer seized from the home contained files for 42 FloraCare identification cards, business cards, and labels for various baked goods that would likely contain marijuana.
Three months later, on January 3, 2002, officers conducted a probation search at defendant's Citrus Heights home. This time, the front room of the house looked more like a reception office, with a desk with a computer on it, rows of chairs, a coffee table with marijuana periodicals, and FloraCare business cards on top of it. This was a significantly different set up from the September 2001 configuration. During this search, officers found a little more than three ounces of marijuana, business cards for FloraCare, labels for baked goods containing marijuana, some ammunition, and a large number of plastic baggies, some with FloraCare stickers on them.
Defendant was charged with cultivation of marijuana, two counts of possession of marijuana for purposes of sale, distribution of marijuana, two counts of conspiracy to sell marijuana, and three counts of being a felon in possession of either a firearm or ammunition.
Defendant is 38 years old and the founder of FloraCare. His former mother-in-law owned the Citrus Heights house that housed FloraCare.
Defendant worked for the New Jersey Department of Corrections for five years. He suffered three fractured vertebrae while he worked for corrections and suffers pain from that injury. In the early part of 1990, defendant was hit by a drunk driver while on his motorcycle. In that accident, he broke his knee, chipped his heel, and dislocated his shoulder.
Defendant worked as a bouncer, bartender, and manager for various clubs and was injured in a number of fights. At the times FloraCare was in existence, defendant testified he worked at the "Body Shop" as a bouncer, bartender, and manager. Defendant suffers from rheumatoid arthritis in his knee, migraine headaches, bursitis, and degenerative disks. Over the years, defendant has obtained recommendations from several physicians to use marijuana to treat the pain from these conditions.
Rodger is 48 years old. She has been in two automobile accidents and suffers from back problems, severe menstrual pain, and endometriosis. She has a written recommendation from Dr. Philip Denny to use marijuana to treat these conditions. She became a member of FloraCare in March 2001 and intended FloraCare to be her caregiver. Dr. Denny confirmed his diagnoses of defendant and Rodger and that he issued recommendations for them to use marijuana.
place like the cannabis clubs in the Bay Area which provide medicinal marijuana in a safe environment and at affordable prices.
Defendant claimed that each of the members of FloraCare were caregivers for each of the other members of the cooperative. Defendant claimed FloraCare and its members were caring for the health and safety of the members of FloraCare.
When he founded FloraCare, defendant spoke with law enforcement officials, members of district attorneys' offices, and attorneys.
Defendant downloaded the membership application documents used by FloraCare from the Internet. He also consulted with other cooperatives to obtain further information about those forms. Each member was required to fill out those forms as a condition of membership. Defendant testified that he used these forms so that he could follow the law. Further, each member was required to produce a valid California driver's license or type of identification and his or her original physician's recommendation. FloraCare also followed up each application with a telephone call to the physician to verify the information unless the member had a card from another club.
FloraCare had problems providing marijuana to its members. Thus, defendant would sometimes buy marijuana on the black market by the pound to supply the members.
Rodger claimed that sometimes marijuana was given away for free. She also admitted, however, that she typed up a list for some marijuana products with suggested donation values.
Before and after work, Rodger volunteered her time at FloraCare providing computer services, making baked goods, answering phones, helping people fill out applications, and doing whatever needed to be done. She also attempted to create a computer system for tracking the members of FloraCare.
There were a few hundred members of FloraCare. At least a dozen of the members assisted with pruning and growing the marijuana. Often defendant or one of the members would deliver marijuana to patients. Upwards of 15 members assisted FloraCare in processing new members. Members who assisted with the intake of new members were often reimbursed for intake work, in the form of gas money or marijuana, for example.
Rodger also testified she donated significant money to FloraCare. She donated $4,200 for a printer and software. She donated money to other members of FloraCare. She also paid $5,000 for a retainer at a law firm. She further lent money to FloraCare interest free. Rodger did not receive any money from FloraCare.
Rodger also testified that the money found at the property on the day the search warrant was executed was for "bonafied reimbursement" for time and materials at FloraCare.
Rodger did not usually perform the intake procedures. On the day Detective Doupe came in, she went over the application paperwork in detail with the detective and obtained her medical certificate and photo identification. Rodger told Detective Doupe that she would have to donate money to FloraCare to reimburse them for the expenses of growing the marijuana. FloraCare did waive the application fee for her.
Chris Conrad testified as an expert on the cultivation of marijuana and consumption rates for medicinal patients. He testified the 159 plants seized at defendant's residence would yield 10.2 to 11.1 pounds of bud marijuana based on an estimate that the officers seized about 191 pounds of marijuana plants. It was his opinion that this was sufficient marijuana for a half dozen users for a year. If the amount was actually closer to 400 pounds (as the officers testified), Conrad claimed the marijuana would yield between 11 and 32 pounds of marijuana bud and would be sufficient for 12 to 20 chronic users for a year.
ultimate opinions about crop yield and number of users who could benefit from the crop at defendant's home. Conrad also testified that generally when patients go to the cannabis clubs existing in other counties, they pay $45 per eighth of an ounce of marijuana. The street value of medical marijuana is between $35 to $65 per eighth of an ounce.
Defendant and Rodger offered the testimony of a number of the people who used the services of FloraCare. Those people testified that they had qualifying medical conditions, had physician prescriptions for the use of marijuana, and used FloraCare to obtain marijuana for personal medical uses. The patients testified that they were required to provide proof of their identification and their certificate authorizing their marijuana use and fill out paperwork before FloraCare would provide them with marijuana.
6 At least one patient testified he was not a member of FloraCare, but rather was a member of the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative. Additionally, some members obtained marijuana at both the Oakland club and FloraCare during the same time periods.
provided them with free marijuana and free marijuana plants. On the other hand, one witness testified that he paid $50 for an eighth of an ounce of marijuana at FloraCare and he stopped going there because he thought it was too expensive. Some patients testified that FloraCare provided them with a safe place to obtain marijuana. The patients testified they volunteered at FloraCare. Others donated money, food, and clothes. One member donated horse manure for fertilizer and a security camera.
Joel Peterson testified that while he worked at FloraCare as a volunteer, the organization could take in $3,000 to $4,000 a day. Other days, FloraCare took in nothing. Peterson testified the money that came in went to buy fertilizer and supplies for FloraCare.
The jury found defendant guilty of conspiracy to sell marijuana and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. The jury acquitted defendant of cultivating marijuana, sale of marijuana, and being a felon in possession of ammunition. The jury hung on one count of possession of marijuana with the intent to sell, and one count of conspiracy to sell marijuana.
firearm/ammunition convictions and imposed a two-year term for the firearm enhancement but stayed it. Defendant appeals.
Defendant argues the trial court erred in refusing to allow him to present the defense that the Compassionate Use Act allowed him to form FloraCare to collectively cultivate and possess marijuana for qualified patients and primary caregivers.
In this regard, defendant contends nothing in the statute prohibits qualified patients and their caregivers from joining together to pool efforts to collectively cultivate and/or obtain medical marijuana for their own personal medical uses. We disagree.
"(a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the Compassionate Use Act of 1996.
that medical use is deemed appropriate and has been recommended by a physician who has determined that the person's health would benefit from the use of marijuana in the treatment of cancer, anorexia, AIDS, chronic pain, spasticity, glaucoma, arthritis, migraine, or any other illness for which marijuana provides relief.
"(B) To ensure that patients and their primary caregivers who obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes upon the recommendation of a physician are not subject to criminal prosecution or sanction.
"(C) To encourage the federal and state governments to implement a plan to provide for the safe and affordable distribution of marijuana to all patients in medical need of marijuana.
"(2) Nothing in this section shall be construed to supersede legislation prohibiting persons from engaging in conduct that endangers others, nor to condone the diversion of marijuana for nonmedical purposes.
"(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no physician in this state shall be punished, or denied any right or privilege, for having recommended marijuana to a patient for medical purposes.
personal medical purposes of the patient upon the written or oral recommendation or approval of a physician.
"(e) For the purposes of this section, 'primary caregiver' means the individual designated by the person exempted under this section who has consistently assumed responsibility for the housing, health, or safety of that person."
"caregivers" can collectively pool talents, efforts, and money to create a stockpile of marijuana that is to be collectively distributed.
The statute's statement of purposes includes encouraging "the federal and state governments to implement a plan to provide for the safe and affordable distribution of marijuana to all patients in medical need of marijuana." (§ 11362.5, subd. (b)(1)(C).) The plan contemplated by this provision is inconsistent with defendant's argument the Compassionate Use Act envisioned the interim proliferation of private enterprises and collectives to provide medical marijuana to patients. To the extent the authors of the initiative wished to include these types of organizations in its ambit, they could have expressly authorized their existence in the statute.
Case law further supports this view of the Compassionate Use Act. (See People v. Galambos (2002) 104 Cal.App.4th 1147, 1165-1169 (Galambos); People v. Young (2001) 92 Cal.App.4th 229, 235-238 (Young); People v. Rigo (1999) 69 Cal.App.4th 409, 412- 416 (Rigo); People ex rel. Lungren v. Peron (1997) 59 Cal.App.4th 1383, 1389-1400 (Peron); People v. Trippet (1997) 56 Cal.App.4th 1532, 1543-1551 (Trippet).) These cases demonstrate the Compassionate Use Act does not allow for collective cultivation and distribution of marijuana by someone who is a qualified patient for the benefit of other qualified patients or primary caregivers.
his actions of conspiring to possess marijuana for sale, or selling it, by proving that he was a patient and all of the marijuana was for him. Neither did he attempt to prove that he was the primary caregiver for all of the patients who patronized his cooperative, FloraCare. Defendant did not present evidence that he consistently provided for the housing, health, or safety of the other members of FloraCare beyond their designation of him as a primary caregiver in the documents submitted to him. Instead, defendant attempted to argue that the people who collectively made up FloraCare constituted the primary caregiver for the patients and caregivers who purchased marijuana for personal medical needs. Defendant's argument misses the mark. As the above cases demonstrate, the Compassionate Use Act was drawn narrowly to apply to a patient and his or her primary caregiver. It affords a limited defense to the patient and the primary caregiver to grow and utilize marijuana under certain specified conditions. A cooperative where two people grow, stockpile, and distribute marijuana to hundreds of qualified patients or their primary caregivers, while receiving reimbursement for these expenses, does not fall within the scope of the language of the Compassionate Use Act or the cases that construe it.
stockpile, and distribute any other legitimate prescription medication.
Defendant argues he "was denied his constitutional right to present a mistake of law defense to the conspiracy charge" and "the court erred by denying [his] request to have the jury instructed concerning his claim that the governing law was too vague to give adequate notice." On the first point, defendant asserts his good faith mistaken belief that his formation of FloraCare was legal, constituted a defense to the conspiracy charge because it negated his specific intent to violate the law. On the second point, defendant contends the jury was required to determine whether the vagueness of the Compassionate Use Act negated this intent as well.
During the trial, defendant presented a jury instruction on mistake of fact. Defendant's proposed instruction read, "An act committed or an omission made in ignorance or by reason of a mistake of fact which disproves any criminal intent is not a crime. [��] Thus, a person is not guilty of a crime if he or she commits an act or omits to act under an actual belief in the existence of certain facts and circumstances which, if true, would make the act or omission lawful."
indicated off the record, this is not a case where mistake of fact has been raised by the evidence. What has been raised by the evidence is a mistake of law, and that doesn't constitute a defense, so I am going to refuse to give proposed instruction number 2."
During trial, the trial court repeatedly rebuffed defendant's attempts to argue and present evidence that he believed the formation and operation of FloraCare was legal. For instance, when defendant mentioned that counties other than Sacramento had established standards for what a cooperative is, the court sustained the People's objection that the law did not recognize a cooperative. When defendant began to argue "[m]edical cannabis organizations shall lead to cooperative affiliation," the court sustained the People's objection.
During trial, the court sustained objections to Rodger's testimony that the members of FloraCare were sharing and growing the marijuana collectively for medical purposes. The court also excluded evidence of how other cooperatives operated in other communities to demonstrate that defendant believed his conduct was legal. When the defense argued in favor of presenting evidence of his consultations with attorneys to ensure he stayed within the law, the court responded, "'The defense [that an] action [was] taken in good faith in reliance upon the advice of a reputable attorney that it was lawful, has long been rejected'" and that defendant would have to provide the court with additional authority before this testimony would be admitted.
In reaching its conclusions, the trial court was half right and half wrong. The court correctly concluded defendant's evidence did not establish a mistake of fact, but established a mistake of law. The trial court was wrong in concluding this did not present a cognizable defense. Defendant's good faith mistake of law, while not a defense to the crime of selling marijuana, was a defense to the conspiracy to commit that crime.
"'[A] trial court's duty to instruct, sua sponte, or on its own initiative, on particular defenses . . . aris[es] "only if it appears that the defendant is relying on such a defense, or if there is substantial evidence supportive of such a defense and the defense is not inconsistent with the defendant's theory of the case." [Citations.]' [Citation.]" (Young, supra, 92 Cal.App.4th at p. 233.) Here, we conclude the defense of mistake of law was an available defense supported by substantial evidence and not inconsistent with defendant's theory of the case.
Here, defendant's mistake that his formation and operation of FloraCare complied with the Compassionate Use Act was a mistake of law. Had he been convicted of selling marijuana, this mistake of law would provide no defense. Here, however, defendant was convicted of conspiracy to sell marijuana. To commit the crime of conspiracy, defendant must have had the specific intent to violate the marijuana laws (i.e., he must have known what he was doing was illegal and he must have intended to violate the law) before he can properly be convicted of conspiracy to violate those laws. Because conspiracy requires a specific intent, a good faith mistake of law would provide defendant with a defense.
properly apprise the jury of the affirmative defense to the charge of conspiracy of a defendant's mistake of law. (People v. Bowman, supra, 156 Cal.App.2d at p. 799.) The standard jury instruction for conspiracy states that defendant must have the "specific intent to agree to commit the crime." (CALJIC No. 6.10.) This instruction fails to apprise the jury that a defendant may not have the requisite specific intent to violate the law required for a conspiracy charge based on his good faith mistake of law. Obviously, such an instruction is not necessary where there is no reasonable basis for a defendant to conclude his or her actions in conjunction with the conspiracy were lawful (e.g., conspiracy to commit a murder). Because defendant's specific intent to violate the law is a key element of the conspiracy charge, we conclude the failure to instruct on these points is not harmless under either the standard enunciated by Chapman v. California (1967) 386 U.S. 18, 24 [17 L.Ed.2d 705, 710-711] or under People v. Watson (1956) 46 Cal.2d 818, 836-837. The evidence defendant presented on this point, coupled with the evidence and his arguments in support of his belief that the trial court rejected, demonstrate his intent was a question of fact that the jury should have determined. Thus, we must reverse defendant's conviction for conspiracy to sell marijuana.
the laws declaring the use of property for these purposes a nuisance. This new law represents a dramatic change in the prohibitions on the use, distribution, and cultivation of marijuana for persons who are qualified patients or primary caregivers and fits the defense defendant attempted to present at trial. Its specific itemization of the marijuana sales law indicates it contemplates the formation and operation of medicinal marijuana cooperatives that would receive reimbursement for marijuana and the services provided in conjunction with the provision of that marijuana. Contrary to the People's argument, this law did abrogate the limits expressed in the cases we discussed in part IA which took a restrictive view of the activities allowed by the Compassionate Use Act. 9 9 The People do not take issue with defendant's contention that the defense contained in section 11362.775 also extends to conspiracies to commit the crimes listed in section 11362.775. We agree with defendant's contention. Section 11362.775 states a defendant who qualifies under that section "shall not solely on the basis of that fact be subject to state criminal sanctions" under the statutes that prohibit those acts. Under Penal Code section 182, conspiracy is "punishable in the same manner and to the same extent as provided for the punishment of [the underlying] felony." Thus, punishment for conspiracy to violate crimes listed in section 11362.775 is a state sanction for violation of the underlying crimes and is barred by the defense contained in section 11362.775 for those who qualify for its protection.
following the entry, and any other evidence obtained during the search. The court conducted an evidentiary hearing. Defendant stipulated that he was on searchable probation at the time of the officers' entry into his home. At the suppression hearing, Detective Weinstock testified that he and four other officers conducted a search of defendant's home on January 3, 2002, at approximately 4:45 p.m. The officers were wearing police raid entry gear which includes defensive equipment and a black vest emblazoned with a police emblem on the front and the word "Police" in large yellow letters on the back. Detective Weinstock had been to defendant's residence prior to this search and estimated that it was approximately 1,200 square feet. Detective Weinstock also knew defendant had at least three prior cases involving the possession of firearms. Detective Weinstock had visited defendant in the hospital prior to this search related to an incident where defendant had been shot. 10 Detective Weinstock further testified that defendant had never threatened him prior to this search. When the officers approached the front door, they passed in front of a large window. Detective Weinstock testified that the window was covered and he could not see through it. When they reached the front door, Detective Weinstock knocked loudly on the front door. He also announced in a loud voice: "Probation 10 This testimony was stricken by the court based on an objection by the People.
As we have already noted, the trial court concluded, "I think the law in the state is clear that if the officers knock and announce, that they substantially complied. And on that basis, I am going to deny the [Penal Code section] 1538.5 [motion]. I do want the record to reflect that it is not because I do not believe any of the witnesses [who] testified on behalf of the defense."
This "finding" creates more confusion than it resolves. As best we can discern, the trial court concluded that the officers did not comply with the knock-notice law, but their knocking and announcement of their presence was all that was needed to constitute substantial compliance with the knock-notice law.
credit the testimony of Detective Weinstock who testified the officers waited 30 seconds or disbelieve the defense witnesses who testified either the officers immediately entered (Brockes) or waited 8 to 10 seconds (Rodger). Without further explanation, for officers to simply knock and immediately enter does not constitute substantial compliance.
While our ordinary standard of review would dictate that we review this ruling deferring to the factual findings that supported the ruling, thus crediting the 30-second testimony, the court's "finding" that it "did not disbelieve" the defense witnesses points toward the failure of the police to wait at all, or that they waited a very short time.
Counsel for the People and defendant further confuse the issue by their selective choice of which time frame to argue about: The People choose the police's version; the defendant chooses the 8 to 10 second testimony.
at p. 1202), the police here bashed through a locked door with a battering ram. This entry further fails to meet the policy of avoiding potential harm to innocent parties or avoiding a potentially violent conflict and injury to the police by a startled homeowner faced with a swarm of police officers with drawn guns.
If defendant and Rodger are believed, rather than "not disbelieved," the 8 to 10 second time frame before bashing in the door may or may not support a finding of substantial compliance. While the police announcement of their presence and subsequent pause lessens the risk to the people present on the scene, this short time frame does not meet the policy of attempting to prevent damage to the home by allowing the homeowner a sufficient opportunity to open the door.
Finally, a trial court finding, supported by substantial evidence, that the officers waited 30 seconds before they proceeded, in light of the size of this house, may in fact, support a finding that the officers fully complied with the knock-notice law and were refused admittance.
11 Given that the case must be remanded for retrial on other issues and that defendant has not argued the evidence seized in this search had any bearing on the counts we do not reverse, we reverse the trial court's ruling and remand for appropriate findings by the trial court.
11 The People also argued exigent circumstances justify the search but there are no findings to suggest this contention.
DISPOSITION The conviction for conspiracy to sell marijuana (count three) is reversed. The trial court's ruling on the motion to suppress is also reversed.
The convictions for a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition (counts four and five) are affirmed. The matter is remanded for a new trial.

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