One of the more interesting things about sitting in a courtroom is listening to the conversations that take place when there is no judge or jury around.

I was sitting around Department 7 Wednesday morning waiting to see when the jury might return in the case of Maria Pastor charged with possession of 0.0118 grams of meth.  The conversation between the Deputy Sheriff and Deputy DA Sean King quickly turned to the case.  It was not about the absurdity of charging someone with possession for that small of an amount of meth, but rather the defendant's excuse that it was someone else's purse.

A disability pride celebration marking the 20th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, July 31, in Davis' Central Park (between 3rd and 5th and B and C Streets) . It will begin with a sidewalk parade around the park, starting and ending at the Rotary Stage by the carousel, followed by speakers and performers at 9:30 a.m.  Central Park is also home to the Davis Farmer's Market at this time, so we hope you come and enjoy all the produce and goodies as well.

Organizers say they hope to “strengthen the pride, power and unity of people with disabilities, our families and allies” and “challenge the way many people think about and define ‘disability.’ ”
Davis High School and UC Davis graduate Sara Granda will serve as grand marshall for the parade. Paralyzed from the neck down after a car accident in 1997, Granda made headlines last year during her successful fight to take the bar exam. She has since been appointed special assistant to the chief counsel for the State Department of Health Care Services.

by Yolo Judicial Watch Intern

Wednesday 21 July, approx. 9:45am. Department 2.

by Yolo Judicial Watch Intern

There was an unusual occurrence in court Tuesday morning.  Madkins is an African-American male.  All the prisoners sitting were removed save for one, and the court officer told him to move to the farthest left, cuz "he wouldn't' want to be near this one".  Then they escorted Madkins in.  Right away, he started talking to the other prisoner in a very loud voice using a string of expletives and had to be quieted by the officer.  His public defender talked to him.  When his file was up, he said he had to defend himself b/c of the system and screamed that he was an African American fascist nazi and talking about the master race and expressed his hate for "niggers", which was really ironic.  There were a number of African Americans in the room.  He claimed that he was wrongfully imprisoned and the judge silenced him, ordering the court officers to remove him.  After, the judge made a joke on that's why he needed to be mentally evaluated but it was apparent that something was wrong with him mentally. 

A disability pride celebration marking the 20th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, July 31, in Central Park. It will begin with a parade around the park, starting and ending at the Rotary Stage, followed by speakers and performers at 9:30 a.m.