The issue focused on federal agency enforcement of laws concerning criminal violations of civil rights. Justice Department lawyers argued that unless courts permitted prosecution for illegal medical marijuana prosecutions, law enforcement officials would not know how to enforce federal laws against medical marijuana.

But attorneys for the Attorney General's Office said federal prosecutors had prosecutorial discretion and enforcement authority over medical marijuana laws in states where they were legal. They also argued that federal authorities could lawfully prosecute medical marijuana activities under federal law if state officials permitted them.

In court papers