Federal judge tosses cannabis grower’s case against Mendocino Co., says it’s a redo from state court

FORT BRAGG 4/19/20 — Federal Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong has thrown out a case brought against Mendocino County and members of the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) by Andres Rondon, a legal cannabis grower whose operation was named Skunkworx. The case was filed over a Oct. 21, 2018 raid at Rondon’s farm on Pine Avenue in Potter Valley. He no longer is farming cannabis there. (See our previous coverage here. And a letter from Rondon here.)

The judge dismissed the case on the legal doctrine of “res judicata” meaning a case can’t be tried twice on the same set of facts in different courts. The case had already been tried in state court and also heard in state appeals court and thus could not be brought again in federal court, she ruled.