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| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| Stern German Judge Objects to ‘Absurd’ Law Criminalizing Pot | Stern German Judge Objects to ‘Absurd’ Law Criminalizing Pot |
| (17 days later) | |
| Although the judge had steeled himself for a grueling fight, the cannabis case was over in mere minutes. | Although the judge had steeled himself for a grueling fight, the cannabis case was over in mere minutes. |
| The defendant had been caught in his parents’ house with 7.5 ounces of marijuana, and the judge was getting ready for the prosecution to try him as an adult since he was just 18, and technically could be held responsible under the adult laws. | The defendant had been caught in his parents’ house with 7.5 ounces of marijuana, and the judge was getting ready for the prosecution to try him as an adult since he was just 18, and technically could be held responsible under the adult laws. |
| But the district attorney said he planned to try the case under Germany’s youth laws. | But the district attorney said he planned to try the case under Germany’s youth laws. |
| That gave Judge Andreas Müller an opening. Presiding over the courtroom in the traditional black robe and white tie, he immediately threw out the case, citing a youth court statute that encourages rehabilitation rather than punishment. | That gave Judge Andreas Müller an opening. Presiding over the courtroom in the traditional black robe and white tie, he immediately threw out the case, citing a youth court statute that encourages rehabilitation rather than punishment. |
| “Maybe one day, when you’ve had the chance to learn to become an able businessman, you can become a cannabis entrepreneur,” Mr. Müller told the defendant, eliciting chuckles in the courtroom in Bernau bei Berlin, a small, picturesque community north of the German capital. The defendant, Justin H., whose surname is protected by Germany’s strict privacy laws, was too stunned to react other than to nod. | “Maybe one day, when you’ve had the chance to learn to become an able businessman, you can become a cannabis entrepreneur,” Mr. Müller told the defendant, eliciting chuckles in the courtroom in Bernau bei Berlin, a small, picturesque community north of the German capital. The defendant, Justin H., whose surname is protected by Germany’s strict privacy laws, was too stunned to react other than to nod. |