Month: August 2010

The Vanguard has complained in the past of the sometimes misleading press releases coming  out of the Office of the District Attorney, Yolo County.  However, Monday’s press release on the Michael Artz case really takes the cake.  Nowhere does it mention that the jury acquitted  Mr. Artz of the main charge, forced oral copulation.  It instead focuses on elements, most of which were either never charged by the DA or were exonerated by the jury.  The local media did themselves and the public no favors by posting the press release verbatim.

On Monday, The Vanguard spoke for a second time with Defense Counsel for Mr. Artz in the criminal trial, Kathryn Druliner.  She stated that “[The DA’s press release] absolutely misstates what happened.  He was acquitted by twelve people of the only charge over which the jury had discretion.  That is the charge that he forced [the victim] to engage in any sex act.”

A Yolo County Jury Friday found Michael Artz, a graduate of Davis High School, not guilty of forced oral copulation for an incident that occurred more than two years ago involving another Davis High Student who was 16 at the time.  However, they did find him guilty of two felonies, oral copulation with a person under 18 and contact and communication with a minor with the intent to have sexual relations. 

Mr. Artz had just turned 18 at the time of the incident and was just a year ahead of the victim in school.  Yolo County Deputy DA Tiffany Susz was unable prove that the encounter was non-consensual, and instead was only able to prove that Mr. Artz received oral sex from a minor.  For that transgression, he may now have to register as a sex offender for life.

The ongoing California budget crisis has put huge strains on large sectors of the economy as businesses and people are in financial trouble.  In particular, it is putting a huge strain on those entities who rely on state money to provide various services to the population. 

The Vanguard has learned that several local Drug Treatment Facilities have stopped receiving payments since  March of 2010.  As a result, while they are not closing their doors, they are laying off staff members and releasing patients from their facilities.

In one of the more high profile cases in Yolo County from the summer of 2008, Marco Topete allegedly shot Yolo County Sheriff’s Deputy Anthony Diaz near the town of Dunnigan.  Deputy Diaz had attempted to pull over Mr. Topete on suspicion of drunk driving, and discovered a four-month-old girl inside.  Deputy Diaz died at the hospital later that night.

The case received even more notoriety however when the press and family members were locked out of the courtroom during arraignment.  This led to a series of accusations from the media, including this site, about the propriety of the process.  Attempts to have the venue moved outside of Yolo County have proven futile, despite the fact that the victim worked in the Courthouse for years and knew the staff, the Judges, the attorneys, and the bailiffs.

As the trial of Michael Artz, a Davis High graduate accused of forced oral copulation with a minor, winds toward a verdict possibly as soon as this morning, the spotlight has shifted away from the problems with the case and towards the conduct of Yolo County Judge Stephen Mock.

Throughout the lengthy testimony, Judge Mock has had to rule on a large number of objections. There are issues such as the admissibility of evidence, that we will discuss after a verdict is reached. However, his rulings on a number of hearsay objections, as during a lengthy cross-examination of Davis Police Detective Jeff Beasley by defense attorney Kathryn Druliner, raised some questions.

Last year Davis Enterprise columnist Rich Rifkin wrote a piece that generated as much attention and criticism as any he has written.  In his column, Mr. Rifkin describes a rather horrific and senseless crime, where an individual pulled out a knife and stabbed another individual without warning several times.

From that he picks his bone against the ACLU, arguing that the these stories are “the product of successful lawsuits decades ago by the ACLU that “freed” the mentally ill from psychiatric hospitals.”