Spanked. That’s what the city of Gilroy got in court Tuesday
when seeking a preliminary injunction to close down the MediLeaf
marijuana dispensary on First Street. Not only that, Judge Kevin
Murphy added insult to injury, essentially telling the Council it
did not comply with the state open government law.
1. Judge: no injunction and a city violation of state open meeting law
Spanked. That’s what the city of Gilroy got in court Tuesday when seeking a preliminary injunction to close down the MediLeaf marijuana dispensary on First Street. Not only that, Judge Kevin Murphy added insult to injury, essentially telling the Council it did not comply with the state open government law.
No injunction, Brown Act violation. That’s an extremely lousy legal record.
How could the city fare so poorly on an issue painted to be so cut and dried? What’s clear is that the advice of the very expensive city attorney didn’t pass muster. That’s bad. It’s worse that the same firm – Berliner-Cohen – sent another Santa Clara County city just up the highway, Los Altos, on a totally different legal path.
2. Bottom line: Berliner-Cohen didn’t craft a successful legal strategy
That begs a number of questions, but the bottom line is this: We didn’t get what we paid for and, moreover, our city’s contracted legal firm apparently can’t even craft a successful strategy that will shut down a drug-selling business operating without a license.
What’s terribly wrong with this picture is that numerous other California communities have managed to fend off proposed marijuana dispensaries, which is exactly what the City Council voted to accomplish. Extended moratoriums are in place elsewhere and, no doubt, the legal bills were far less painful than what Gilroy will be billed.
City Councilman Perry Woodward, also an attorney, has thusfar been right on the money with his prediction of expensive legal woes. And the boycott of the closed session by Woodward, Councilman Craig Gartman and Councilman Peter Arellano received, in essence, the judge’s blessing.
3. Council needs to err on the side of open government, not closed doors
So, not only did the Council receive lousy legal advice on the marijuana dispensary issue, but Berliner-Cohen continued a long-standing and ill-advised tradition of pushing the Council behind closed doors to discuss issues that Gilroy residents should be able to witness in public.
It’s time for a change.
And perhaps the Council can stick to the facts in looking at this, instead of trying to make it personal, as has been so emblematic of this ineffective elected group.
The Council should consider an in-house lawyer. It should demand, as Woodward has suggested, for a refund related to the dispensary issue and it should have a forensic accounting firm review past bills from Berliner-Cohen. Is Gilroy getting its legal money’s worth? Not very likely in our view.
