Commonwealth v. Richardson (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-061-18)

NOTICE:  All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports.  If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Judicial Court, John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square, Suite 2500, Boston, MA, 02108-1750; (617) 557-1030; SJCReporter@sjc.state.ma.us   SJC-12375   COMMONWEALTH  vs.  JOSHUA A. RICHARDSON.       Middlesex.     December 7, 2017. – April 17, 2018.   Present:  Gants, C.J., Gaziano, Lowy, Cypher, & Kafker, JJ.     Marijuana.  Medicine.  Controlled Substances.  Search and Seizure, Affidavit, Probable cause, Warrant.  Probable Cause.  License. Jury and Jurors.  Evidence, Expert opinion, Intent.  Intent.  Practice, Criminal, Affidavit, Motion to suppress, Warrant, Instructions to jury.       Complaint received and sworn to in the Framingham Division of the District Court Department on September 9, 2013.   A motion to dismiss was heard by Douglas W. Stoddart, J.; a pretrial motion to suppress evidence was heard by Martine Carroll, J.; and the case was tried before David W. Cunis, J.   The Supreme Judicial Court granted an application for direct appellate review.     Allison Callahan for the defendant. Elizabeth J. May, Assistant District Attorney, for the Commonwealth.     KAFKER, J.  The defendant, a medical marijuana patient, was arrested when police discovered twenty-two marijuana plants growing in his basement.  After a jury trial, he was convicted of unlawful cultivation of marijuana and possession with intent to distribute marijuana.  On appeal, he argues that (1) the criminal complaint and the search warrant lacked probable cause; (2) the jury instructions were in error; (3) the evidence was insufficient to find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt; and (4) the medical marijuana law’s sixty-day supply limit is unconstitutionally vague as applied.  For the reasons stated below, we reverse in part and affirm in part. Background.  The defendant, Joshua A. Richardson, was an unemployed tattoo artist living in Framingham at the time of his arrest.  On July 2, 2013, he obtained a written certification from a qualifying physician that approved his use of medical marijuana to treat a number of medical conditions.  The certification constituted a valid hardship cultivation registration permitting the defendant to grow up to ten ounces of marijuana every sixty days for his personal, medical use.[1]  Approximately two months later, on September 7, 2013, the defendant telephoned 911 to report a home invasion at his residence.  The defendant told the 911 operator that three men had entered his home and “started beating the hell out of [him].” Officer Wayne Jordan reported to the defendant’s residence within a few minutes of receiving the dispatch.  The defendant told Wayne that three men had broken into […]

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