United States v. Washington

887 F. Supp. 2d 1077 (2012)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
U
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

United States v. Washington

United States District Court for the District of Montana
887 F. Supp. 2d 1077 (2012)

  • Written by Patrick Speice, JD

Facts

Jason Washington and several other residents of Montana (the medical-marijuana sellers) (defendants) grew and sold medical marijuana. The medical-marijuana sellers’ activities complied with Montana’s medical-marijuana law, but the medical-marijuana sellers were arrested and charged with violations of the federal Controlled Substances Act. Before trial, the medical-marijuana sellers moved to dismiss the charges, arguing that the entrapment by estoppel defense applied due to statements from federal officials suggesting that those who sold medical marijuana in compliance with state medical-marijuana laws would not face federal prosecution. In particular, the medical-marijuana sellers cited a US Department of Justice policy memorandum (DOJ memo) deprioritizing prosecution of those who sell medical marijuana in compliance with state medical-marijuana laws, similar public statements from presidential candidate and then President Barack Obama and members of the Obama campaign and administration (collectively, the Obama statements), news reports describing the Obama statements, and a statement from a tribal police officer who inspected the medical-marijuana sellers’ marijuana-growing operation and advised that “everything looks okay” with the operation.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Christensen, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 815,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Marijuana Law

Key Terms