A federal appeals court reinstated Monday a lawsuit by a 250-member Native American church in Honolulu seeking to halt any federal drug prosecution against its members for using marijuana for religious purposes.
But the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of another part of the lawsuit seeking compensation for a pound of marijuana seized by federal authorities from FedEx in June 2009.
The marijuana was addressed to Michael Rex "Raging Bear" Mooney, founder and president of the Oahu chapter of the Oklevueha Native American Church of Hawaii.
The three-judge panel of the appeals court unanimously set aside the dismissal by U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway of the part of the lawsuit that seeks protection from the federal drug laws.
The appeals court noted that a government lawyer acknowledged that the seizure of the marijuana, worth about $7,000, was the result of a call from FedEx and not the result of any investigation.
The appeals court said Mollway was correct that Mooney and the church are not alleging any threat of prosecution related to their marijuana consumption; they had not been arrested in the 2009 seizure case, and there has been no other seizure of their marijuana.
But the appeals court said Mooney and the church do not have to allege a threat of future prosecution because the federal government already seized their marijuana.
Mooney and the church contend that their use of marijuana is protected by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
The ruling clears the way for court proceedings here by Mooney and the church for a court order barring the prosecution for their religious use of marijuana.
Michael Glenn, attorney for Mooney and the church, said his clients are happy with the ruling.
"Now we get our day in court, which is all we really wanted," he said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Derrick Watson said he did not have any comment.
