Pot Dispensary Judge 'Made a Mistake'

A Long Beach judge recused himself today from the case of two men convicted of illegal marijuana sales at their dispensaries in Long Beach and Orange County, saying he wrote a glowing letter about the trial prosecutor prior to his sentencing of them.

``Frankly, I made a mistake,'' Long Beach Superior Court Judge Charles Sheldon told attorneys in the case of Joseph James Byron and Joe Matthew Grumbine of Lake Elsinore, who were convicted Dec. 21 and were awaiting sentencing by Sheldon.

The attorney for Grumbine and Byron had asserted throughout the trial that the judge was overtly biased in favor of the prosecution and had successfully appealed one of his rulings that was overturned.

A courtroom audience packed with supporters of the two men applauded loudly after the judge announced that he was voluntarily recusing himself from the case. In the "mistake" letter dated Jan. 4, the judge wrote to Deputy District Attorney Jodi Castano's supervisor, Sally Thomas, that the prosecutor ``was unflappable, composed, steady, organized, and totally professional from beginning to end.''

The judge also wrote in the letter that he wanted to let Thomas know that ``you chose the right lawyer to handle this difficult case.'' The judge also forwarded a copy of the letter to attorneys for Byron and Grumbine on Jan. 5, noting in a letter to them that their clients' sentencing was ``coming up soon'' and that he felt they were entitled to know that the letter had recently been sent to the District Attorney's Office and the prosecutor.

``It's pretty obvious who was favored in this case and who wasn't,'' said Grumbine's attorney, Christopher M. Glew. ``To send a letter like that before sentencing, even he said, is a mistake ... Their (judges') job is to be neutral.''

In court papers filed during the trial that sought to have Sheldon disqualified from the case, Byron's attorney, Allison B. Margolin, wrote that ``on repeated occasions during the trial of this case, the judge shouted at, berated and scolded defense counsel for exercising their righteous and ethical duty to zealously advocate on behalf of their clients.''

The case was transferred to Judge Joan Comparet-Cassani, who said she would need time to review the trial transcript. The case is due back in court April 3, when a date is scheduled to be set for a hearing on the defense's motions, which include a bid for a new trial. Byron and Grumbine were charged a year ago following an undercover investigation by the Long Beach Police Department in which 12 undercover buys were allegedly made at the dispensaries, according to the District Attorney's Office.

But supporters of the two defendants have regularly attended the trial, decried the judge for not allowing a medical-related defense and picketed outside the downtown Long Beach courthouse with signs. Supporters viewed the trial as a potentially precedent-setting case for other dispensaries under fire by local law enforcement as a result of marijuana sales being illegal under federal law but legalized for sales for medical use in California.

-City News Service contributed to this story.