Ramey and I had gone to a little shed on a farm where Ramey had been living with another fellow for a while. The dirt-floor shed (devoid of furniture) didn't have a wall on one side. After we had sat down on the dirt floor, Ramey told me he was renting the shed from a farmer for $60 a month and that he was two months behind in rent payments.

The farmer from whom Ramey was renting the shed walked in, sat down and said he had discovered marijuana growing amidst the corn in a nearby corn field. The farmer (40 years old ) was carrying a little book about marijuana and he began describing the marijuana he had found in the field. I spoke with the farmer about the marijuana, but Ramey remained quiet and didn't say a word during the entire conversation.

The farmer showed me a picture in the book and said the marijuana in the field was about a foot high. Obviously the farmer was very intelligent. When he showed me the book, I saw a legal section in it, and in the back of the book was an Ohio court case dated 1969. After explaining to the farmer that I had studied law for a year, I took the book and began trying to read the Ohio case, trying to understand the law regarding cultivation of marijuana in Ohio, but the farmer took the book back before I had a chance to finish. He then stood and left.

While I had been talking with the farmer, I had concluded that Ramey had planted the marijuana. I told Ramey, "Whatever you do, don't go down there and try to pick any of that marijuana because he is probably going to be watching you with his field glasses from the house."

Ramey said it was about time he packed up and left the area. He said he saw a whole new life opening up for him and that it was all for the best anyway. Before Ramey could leave, however, the farmer returned and handed Ramey what appeared to be a citation for Ramey to appear in court. When I asked Ramey if I could see the paper, he handed it to me. It consisted of three or four pages of what seemed like thin white cardboard.

On the paper, I saw a row of words which said, "Accusation." I couldn't fully understand what the accusations were because so many abbreviations were among the accusations. I said the citation was vague and ambiguous. Ramey and I both continued trying to read it, but neither of us could understand it.

The farmer stood watching us with his hat in hand.

Finally I deciphered the citation: the charge was that Ramey was a never-do-well, that he hadn't been working for about a year and that he hadn't been doing anything.

I told the farmer that he could sue Ramey, but that a lawsuit was going to cost the farmer considerable money, and that Ramey might sue the farmer in turn. I told the farmer that I would try to find a good lawyer for Ramey and that I was going to show the citation to my law professors.

The farmer seemed taken aback by what I had said; he didn't seem to understand what he had gotten himself into. I explained to him that starting a legal process could be a dangerous affair, and one needed to be quite sure of what one was doing before beginning. I said that the present action was a farce and that the farmer had no grounds for an action against Ramey. I told the farmer he would probably end up being sued himself.

The farmer mentioned that Ramey was two months behind in his rent; from the farmer's statement, I inferred the farmer was thinking of evicting Ramey for non-payment of rent. I became agitated, jumped up and said, "No, you can't simply kick him out. You have to give notice first. But I'm not going to tell you about all that. You're going to have to hire a lawyer to tell you your rights. Of course if you want to pay me something, I might give you some information. But if you want to kick him out right now, go ahead and do it now while there are two witnesses here and then see what happens."

I thought of telling the farmer he would find Ramey and his friends would be honest in the whole matter if called to testify, but then I decided not to say anything else.

I told Ramey, "Just don't say anything else to him. Just tell him to get off your land."

Instead of waiting for Ramey to tell the farmer to leave, I jumped up and said, "Get out! Get off this land. Even though the land does belong to you, Ramey has rented it and you are a trespasser. If he tells you to get off and you come back on, you can be sued for trespassing."

The farmer picked up his hat and left.

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