Robert J. Corry, Jr.

Warren Edson is a criminal defense attorney practicing in Denver since 1995. He has been the lucky recipient of two prior NORML scholarships. In 1997, he was successful in using "choice of evils" as a medical marijuana affirmative defense. Since assisting with the passage of Colorado's Medical Marijuana Amendment, he has worked closely with patients and caregivers, facilitating the return of plants, growing equipment, and cured marijuana. He pays the bills by acting as the Chief Public Defender for the Lakewood Municipal Courts.

Gerald H. Goldstein is a nationally prominent criminal defense attorney based in San Antonio, TX who specializes in complex federal and state criminal trials. Mr. Goldstein is a past president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; co-chair of the NORML Legal Committee; general counsel for the Texas Civil Liberties Union; and a board member of the Texas Resource Center.

Harold A. Haddon practices law in Denver, Colorado. His battles with the press in high-profile matters have intersected both politics and law: He was Gary Hart's campaign manager and, as a lawyer, he has represented John and Patsy Ramsey, Kobe Bryant and several public companies accused of criminal wrongdoing.

Matt Kumin is a civil rights litigator and small business transactions attorney in San Francisco and senior partner at Kumin Sommers LLP. Since the passage of California’s Compassionate Use Act in 1996, Matt has counseled numerous medicinal cannabis cooperatives, helping them comply with California corporate and tax law and working to improve the standards of this emerging service sector. Matt’s most significant legal victory in the field of medical cannabis was the US Tax court decision, CHAMP v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 128 T.C. No. 14 (2007) (co-counseled with Bill Panzer) in which the Judge affirmed that dispensaries could deduct expenses for care-giving activities. Until that decision, the IRS took the position that dispensaries could not take any deductions on their federal income tax returns for their activities, a position that would have made it economically unfeasible for dispensaries to operate. Besides the civil work, Matt has also defended a cannabis grower charged in federal court with cultivation, using the Religious Freedom Restoration Act defense.

Christopher Lanter was born in New York City but grew up in Atlanta, Ga. His father, an architect, was the director of Georgia Tech's Fine Arts Program in Paris, France where Lanter spent two years of his youth with his family eating tête de veau, escargots, sweetbreads and coq au vin. After attending the University and working at DePalma's in Athens, Ga., he returned to France where he cooked for two years professionally in Auvergne, L'île de Groix, and in Paris at Chez Toutoune under Chef Philippe Deschamps. Lanter worked for Buckhead Life Group in Atlanta's top restaurants and moved to Aspen, Co. in 1996 where he was sous chef at Campo de Fiori and then the Caribou Club. He has been the executive chef at Cache Cache since August 2000. He and Jodi Larner bought the restaurant in June 2004. He lives with his wife and two children in Basalt, Co. Lanter continues to puff on the hootie rat quite frequently.

Lauren Wolpin Maytin is a former Colorado State Public Defender and is currently an attorney in private practice in beautiful Aspen, Colorado where she has been since 2002. She was the John Flowers Mark Scholarship winner in 2001 and has committed her life to representing those accused of crime and in need of a lawyer well versed in the constitution. Her practice focuses primarily on criminal defense work but also involves complex toxic tort cases and real estate matters. Most recently, she represented a fugitive who was featured on America's Most Wanted. After 10 years of being on the run, Lauren walked her client after the judge dismissed the case at the conclusion of the preliminary hearing. She is an active member of the NLC, CCDB, CBA and is a real estate broker. She was recently married and during her free time enjoys snowboarding, skiing, hiking, mountain climbing and going to concerts.

Jeralyn E. Merritt is a Denver attorney in private practice primarily representing persons accused of serious federal drug and financial crimes. She served as one of the principal trial lawyers for Timothy McVeigh in the Oklahoma City Bombing Case. She has been a television legal analyst since 1996, most frequently appearing on Fox News, MSNBC, and CNBC. An expert in using Internet resources in the practice of law, she has created two nationally recognized websites, Crimelynx.com and Talkleft.com, for criminal defense lawyers and journalists covering crime-based news and politics.

William G. Panzer of Oakland, CA has been practicing criminal law in the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Area for seventeen years, specializing in cannabis cases. Mr. Panzer was co-author of California's Prop. 215, "The Compassionate Use Act of 1996," and has represented patients, growers, and medical cannabis dispensaries throughout California in state and federal court, at both the trial and appellate levels. He was the 2002 recipient of the NORML Legal Committee's Al Horn Award, and has been recognized by High Times Magazine as their "Freedom Fighter of the Month."

J. Tony Serra is a legendary San Francisco-based criminal defense attorney who was sentenced to ten months in federal prison for his refusal to pay federal income taxes and ordered to pay $100,000 in restitution. Read Tony Serra's Letter from Prison (Originally published in the December 2006 issue of California Lawyer.)

Alan Silber, a long time member of the NORML Legal Committee and former NORML Board member, has litigated cases in Federal Courts and numerous State Courts across the United States. He has tried not only sophisticated drug cases, but also major white-collar cases involving RICO, bank, securities, telemarketing, health care, wire and mail fraud, as well as significant money laundering cases, kidnapping (representing a police officer), and murder. His practice is concentrated on federal and state complex criminal litigation. Mr. Silber, who will be lecturing on ethics, also represents lawyers in disciplinary cases.

Allen St. Pierre was hired by NORML in early 1991 as Communications Director, in 1993 he became the organization's Deputy National Director and he currently serves as the Executive Director of NORML and the NORML Foundation. Mr. St. Pierre's experience is unparalleled in the field of drug policy reform. He has been cited in hundreds of international, national, and local news publications (New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, London Times, Le Monde, Der Speigel, Economist, Newsweek, Time). He has appeared on dozens of nationally televised news programs (ABC, CBS, NBC, C-Span, Fox, PBS) and hundreds of radio shows representing NORML.

John Van Ness, with 35 years of practice in the Aspen area, a master of the application of Samurai principles to the art of country lawyering.  Hunter’s neighbor and (therefore) closest lawyer. In his other life an accomplished tournament bridge player and producer of tournaments throughout the West.

Robert T. Vaughn is a 1974 graduate of The University of Tennessee, Mr. Vaughn attended The Nashville School of Law and became licensed to practice law in Tennessee courts in October, 1979. Mr. Vaughn has represented clients in 35 state and federal courts.  Mr. Vaughn has taught law related courses for 25 years at various institutions including Belmont University, various private companies and for the past 9 years served as an adjunct professor at Tennessee State University. His articles on drugs and drug paraphernalia have been published by the Drug Law Review, High Times Magazine and Headquest Magazine.  Mr. Vaughn has been frequently quoted in local and national publications.  He has lobbied and assisted in writing laws in Michigan, Ohio, Hawaii and Washington D.C.  For over 25 years, Mr. Vaughn has continually, on an un-interrupted basis, published “The Letter of the Law”, a monthly update involving the manufacture, sale, and prosecution of drug paraphernalia cases.

Lisa M. Wayne is a criminal defense attorney from Denver, CO. Formerly the senior trial attorney in the Denver office, and training director for the Colorado State Public Defenders Office, Ms. Wayne is now in private practice and serves on the faculty of the National Criminal Defense College, NITA, Cardoza Trial Practice Institute, and as an adjunct professor at the U. of Colorado Law School.

John K. Zwerling practices law with Zwerling, Leibig & Moseley, P.C. in Alexandria Virginia. For the past 35 years, Mr. Zwerling has been defending individuals and corporations who have run afoul of the law in the trial and appellate courts of state and federal judicial systems. His clients include the famous and the infamous. Rock stars and lawyers, politicians and protesters, the innocent and the not so innocent on charges ranging from murder to misdemeanors, including espionage, terrorism, mail fraud, bribery, cyber sex and unwanted sex. He is a nationally recognized and respected criminal defense attorney. His ability to speak persuasively to prosecutors, judges and juries has yielded the type of success that resulted in his peers evaluating him as one of the Best Lawyers in America, a Pre-eminent Lawyer, and a Super Lawyer. He is sought out on the CLE lecture circuit and well as the national media including The Today Show, Firing Line and the NBC, ABC and CBS evening news.