Monday June 15, 2009
Notice of Appeal Filed

Saturday June 13, 2009
THC Expo

Went to THC Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Was pretty crowded people lined up to get in and paid ten dollars to get in. Once inside there were a variety of booths from Dispensaries, Doctors Rec's, bongs and pipes, grow equipment, magazines, hemp and activist groups. I saw Tommy Chong so went and talked to him. He said that he had heard about my case and he talked to me for about 5 minutes as a line formed behind me. I ended up giving Tommy my card and asked him to give me a call sometime. Also was good to see Mickey Martin, he had on his ankle bracelet and had a judges order to attend the event. Pretty funny right next door they had the LA Erotica show. Outside of the convention center there was a huge sign that said LA Erotica, but there was no sign for the THC expo. Was great to see that all these 'dangerous' pot smokers could get into the same room without a bunch of mayhem. Made me sad to think that there w ere over six hundred dispensaries in Los Angeles and not a single one in the County I live in, and to top that off that I was one of the biggest criminals in the building. I was there with Cheryl and her family and we walked through the entire expo. Many people recognized me and came up and thanked me for putting up a fight against the unjust laws of the Federal Government regarding medical marijuana. Forgot to bring my camera so didn't have any photos of the event. Decided that since I was there I went ahead and checked out the Erotica Expo next door.

Thursday June 11, 2009
Sentencing Day

Today arrived in court not sure what to expect. The Judge had changed the time from 10 am to 9:30 am so we were there at 9:15 am to find the hall filled with supporters from around the state. Also LA Times, New York Times and Associated Press were there with pens in hand. We entered the court room and sat on our side of the room while the Prosecutor and his hench men sat across from us. The prosecutors tend to keep their face down acting like they are reading cause they don't really want to have to look anybody in the eye. One of the prosecutors Rasha, looked at me in the eyes and gave me a friendly smile. Not sure what my response was. Anyhow the Judge called the case United States of America vs Lynch. My attorneys had filed some new motions and the Judge started off pretty mad because of the late filings. My attorneys started by asking for a new trial based on the statements made by the prosecutor during an off the record meeting where he said it was policy of thier department to only prosecute cases that violated state and federal law even before Eric Holder's recent statement and how they with held information that would have helped the jury find me innocent. Also the motion accused the Prosecutor of misconduct for with holding information. The prosecutor got pretty mad and annoyed and boilded over has he argued his position. Reuven Cohen one of my Federal Public Defenders filibustered for the new trial. At one point the Judge said that we would not be able to resolve such an issue today hinting at another continuation. The judge finally denied the motion and moved to the sentencing arguments. John Littrell, one of my other Federal Public Defendors, argued about the one year sentence and noted that the laws says that the one year required on one of the counts is not required if there is a stiffer sentence in other charges. Since I was facing 5 year mandatory minimums this seemed to make sence but the judge called it a 'hat trick' and denied the legal interpretation. The judge then stated that he did not see a  way around the 1 year required on the sales to persons under 21. My body flushed blood and went numb knowing that now I was going to get at least 1 year. Next they started arguing about the 5 year mandatory minimums. The government continued their argument that I was the leader organizer and while my attorneys argued against it. Finally Cohen asked the judge what he planned to do and that would help him to know if he needed to continue the arguments. The judge finally stated that he was going to apply the safety valve to avoid the 5 year mandatory minimums based on the facts that I had 'registered with government and was not the typical drug dealer the laws were designed for. The proseuctor really got mad and the judge told him that he would write his opinion on this so that it was clear why he applied the safety valve. In a way I was releived that I was not getting a five year sentence. The judge continued, not looking up, saying that there appears to be grounds for appeal in this case that have not been brought up yet and that I was not a flight risk so he allowed me to stay out on bail pending appeal. He then ended the hearing and everybody got up to leave, when one of my other lawyers, Guy Iverson, realized that he was not done. He quickly pointed out that it was not clear what the sentence was for each of the counts. And so with half the court room still standing the judge went back on the record and continued the sentencing count by count. I essentially recieved a 1 year and 1 day sentence with four years of supervised release. The extra day allows me to get out on good behaviour if I ever actually go to jail. After the hearing I spoke with the LA Times, New York Times and Associated Press and then walked out of the court room to supporters who applauded as I walked out of the court house. There was a press conference on the steps and then we went to lunch. In regards to the prosecutor I have never seen anybody so mad that somebody was not going to spend five years in prison and then on the other hand my people were so glad that I only got one year. I just wish that it would be over so I could get on with my life.

Tuesday May 5, 2009
Reporting to the Feds

Today I had to drive to Los Angeles, about three hours one way, to report to Pre Trial Services. I was pretty tired cause I was up all night working on websites but hopped into my car and drove to LA anyway. Once I got there I ran into the Federal Building and took the elevator up to he seventh floor. I walked into the waiting area and checked in via the fingerprint computer system that asks me a series of questions and logs my reporting in. Once I have checked in I sit and wait for about ten minutes until my Officer, Kristiana Janich comes out and gets me. I walk with her to her office and she asks me a series of questions and then says 'ok that will do it'. So I run back out to my car and get back on the road as quickly as possible so I don't get stuck in traffic and head on home. Essentially I drive seven hours for a 10 minute meeting twice a month as part of my release on bail. Once I get home I call the drug testing number to see if I have to drug test the next day. Fortunately I don't have to drug test tomorrow so I take a little snooze and relax and enjoy my conditional 'freedom'.

Thursday April 30, 2009
Bankruptcy and DEA

Today I drove to Santa Barbara and signed the final Bankruptcy papers. I have been working on getting estimates and documents together for months now preparing for Bankruptcy. Ever since I was arrested I have had little income other than some small website projects and donations from my website. I am used to working on major projects doing great work but for the past few years there has not been much for me to do.

From Santa Barbara I drove down to the DEA office in Camarillo and picked up my laptop. Agent Burkdoll the lead agent on my case is cold and cruel. When she walked out the door Rick Ray was standing there with a camera and she asked who he was and told him to get out. Then she had me sign some paperwork and gave me back my latoptop computer which was taken from me on March 29, 2007, over two years ago.

Rick Ray who is working on a documentary on my story was there at the Bankruptcy signing and to get footage of me picking up my laptop at the DEA office. We then went to his house and had dinner with some of his friends and family and then we played some music. Rick plays a pretty mean piano and I strummed along on the guitar. It was a fun time and then I drove home and got home around 12:30am.