Marijuana activist Ed "NJ Weedman" Forchion is one for one in his latest string of court battles.
A federal judge denied a motion last week from the Trenton City Police Department seeking to dismiss Forchion's civil suit, which accuses the department and the Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo Onofri of violating his civil rights when officers from both agencies raided his eatery and "weed temple," in April 2016.
Forchion said in the suit that he was unlawfully arrested and he accused the police of not properly training their officers.
The suit was originally filed in Mercer County Superior Court before being moved up to a District Court in Nov. 2016. Forchion now has until April 9 to submit an amended complaint.
The activist also received the news last week that his latest attempt to be released from jail was denied. Forchion has been jailed since March 7, 2017.
Forchion had filed an emergent motion with the New Jersey Supreme Court after he was denied by an appeals court.
In the original motion, Forchion argued he is being jailed in retaliation for filing three lawsuits against the City of Trenton and because he spoke out against the administration.
A judge order Forchion to be jailed in March 2017 to ensure the safety of witnesses or informants in a case of alleged witness tampering, which was connected to his 2016 marijuana dealing arrest.
He's since been found not guilty on one count of witness tampering, but faced a hung jury on the second count in November 2017, and an eventual retrial.
The new attempt to get out of jail added 57 more days to the maximum amount of days that the state can keep Forchion in jail, according to his appeals attorney John Vincent Saykanic.
Those additional 57 days are expected to push back the start of his re-trial, which was expected to begin in late April, by several weeks.
Forchion also faces 13 counts of marijuana possession and distribution, two counts of drug paraphernalia and maintaining a narcotics nuisance.
Olivia Rizzo may be reached at orizzo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @LivRizz. Find NJ.com on Facebook