October 2010 - Page 2 of 4

Changing Face of the Yolo County Judiciary

By David GreenwaldOctober 24, 20108 comments

Good article this morning in the Daily Democrat, pointing out that most of the judges in Yolo County have now been appointed within the past four years. Of the 10 judges, six have now been appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger with the addition of Judge Daniel Maguire in the past week.

Yolo Judicial Watch focuses a large amount of attention on the District Attorney, but it is very clear that problems in this county go well beyond just the DA’s Office. Yolo County judges have by-and-large been conservative, appointed by Republican Governors, and many are former prosecutors themselves. Of course, mandatory sentencing laws in this state do not help, nor do juries that often shift the burden of proof.

Budget Picture Likely to Remain Murky For Some Time

By David GreenwaldOctober 24, 20105 comments

By Samantha Lynch –

Bruce Colby addressed the District Board Meeting Thursday night, October 21, 2010, on the 2010-11 State Budget Update. The question was whether the state budget and where the district had ended the fiscal year last year significantly changed the budget for this year. The answer, simply put, was no.

However, several risk factors may have a significant impact on the budget— ranging from accelerated withholding, a total of eight million dollars in State IOUs, expenditure cuts, a non-improving economy, the veto of AB 3632, and the ending of five-year flexibility.

Polling Shows Oil-Backed Initiative in Trouble

By David GreenwaldOctober 23, 201013 comments

It was last June when the voters of California sent a loud and clear message that they would not be fooled by a deceptive ballot measure backed by tens of millions from PG&E in order to help PG&E corner the market on energy, under the guise of democratic protections that in most cases already exist.

Apparently big Texas oil -Texas-based Valero Energy Corporation and Tesoro Corporation along with Kansas-based Koch Industries (Kansas apparently does not generate the same fear as Texas oil) – did not get that memo however, as they sponsored Proposition 23. This time they sought to use the economy as a wedge to get Californians to suspend the ambitious AB 32, which has stringent requirements for carbon emission reductions.

Commentary: O’Donnell Shows the Ignorance of the Tea Party Movement

By David GreenwaldOctober 23, 201036 comments

I was watching this whole flap develop about Christine O’Donnell and whether or not she is ignorant of the First Amendment and whether there is a separation of church and state.

As I listened to the flap I did not really think it was a big deal. The conservative argument on the separation of church and state, after all, points out, correctly that there are no words “separation of church and state” found in the constitution. That is an accurate statement.

Developer Submits Application for 600 Unit Cannery Park Proposal

By David GreenwaldOctober 22, 201046 comments

“ConAgra is proposing a project that picks up where Lewis Planned Communities left off”

According to the staff report, On September 7, 2010 ConAgra submitted a land use application to the City for consideration of the Cannery Park project.

In December of 2008, the Davis City Council heard a proposal on this property from the previous applicant, Lewis Planned Communities. Council voted at that time to support an equal-weight EIR, looking into the planning for both a mixed-use housing-commercial project, as well as a business park proposal for which the site is currently zoned.

Deal Makes Pruno Charges Go Away

By David GreenwaldOctober 22, 201014 comments

A behind-the-scenes deal was apparently reached between the Public Defender’s Office and the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office. The deal, which can be largely viewed as a victory for the defense, made the pruno charge against Jesus Arias go away and puts Mr.Arias on schedule to receive probation rather than prison time for his August convictions of possessing a stolen weapon and violating probation, each with a gang enhancement.

Deputy DA Ryan Couzens had pushed for a deal which would involve prison time in exchange for dropping the pruno charges. Pruno, as explained previously by the Vanguard, is the alcoholic beverage made in prisons from fruits and other ingredients. Deputy Public Defender Dan Hutchinson filed a motion charging the DA with vindictive prosecution.

Is Meg Whitman in Trouble?

By David GreenwaldOctober 21, 201035 comments

The Associated Press this morning is reporting on the latest Public Policy Institute of California polling on the California’s Governor’s race. The PPIC poll, released late yesterday, shows that former Governor Brown now holds an 8-point lead over Meg Whitman, 44 percent to her 36 percent among likely voters.

In addition, they found that Senator Barbara Boxer continues to hold a small lead of five percentage points over her challenger.

Rap Star or Gang Member?

By David GreenwaldOctober 21, 201020 comments

Are the Gang Experts Conflating Rap and Hip Hop Culture with Being a Gang Member? Questioning of Expert Witnesses in Gang Injunction Case

Two weeks ago we had an article on the problematic nature of expert testimony by the gang expert in the case of Michael Romero. For the last few weeks we have seen the testimony of the plaintiff’s gang experts in the Gang Injunction Trial.

First, Joe Villanueva took the stand as an expert. Detective Villanueva currently works on the City of Fairfield gang unit, but up until the end of 2007 headed the Yolo County Gang Unit.

Word To The Wise: In Support of Our Commissions

By Elaine Roberts MusserOctober 21, 20105 comments

It Is What Makes Davis Uniquely Davis

By E. Roberts Musser

The night of Oct. 5, 2010, the City Council surprisingly decided to go ahead and appoint candidates to the various existing city commissions. Yet in a previous “Subcommittee Report” it was stated “With new appointments pending in the next few weeks, this is the best window of opportunity to restructure commissions”. This specific comment referred to the Sept. 21, 2010 City Council agenda item to consolidate city commissions in Davis from 20 commissions to 13. It would have ultimately eliminated more than a third of all commissioners. The targeted commissions that would have been effected were:

How Much Liability Does the City Face From Zipcar Contract?

By David GreenwaldOctober 20, 201023 comments

The Vanguard reported last week that the city was in the process of revising its contract with Zipcar to eliminate city employee obligations with regards to maintenance of the vehicles, that may have exposed the city to additional liability. The city deserves at least some criticism for being lax on the issue of liability, although the nature of the discussion of Zipcar has frankly bordered on the realm of hysteria, when the amount of the contract and city obligations have always been small.

Last night Davis Enterprise Columnist Bob Dunning attempted to keep the fire going by offering us a peek into what he calls, “the murky world of Zipcar.”

More Cash for Convictions

By David GreenwaldOctober 20, 201038 comments

Did Grants Drive Prosecution of Artz Case As Statutory Rape Case?

The Vanguard has previously reported on the DA’s Cash for Convictions Program, and now for the first time we may see an example of such a program at work. We have covered at length the Michael Artz trial, in which the defendant was accused primarily of forced oral copulation with a younger classmate, but acquitted of that charge. He was, however, convicted of sexual contact with a minor and having a conversation with that minor about sexual contact.

The Vanguard has now learned that prosecutor Tiffany Susz is designated as the Statutory Rape Grant Prosecutor, and 30% of her salary comes in part from a Vertical Prosecution Block Grant. This supplies the DA’s Office overall with $480,000 and funds portions of four prosecutors including Ms. Susz, and also Ryan Couzens (40%), Robert Gorman (45%) and Robin Johnson (45%). Data from the DA’s grant application illustrates this.

Reliance on Gang Expert Testimony in Gang Injunction Trial Fraught with Pitfalls

By David GreenwaldOctober 19, 20109 comments

The Gang Injunction Trial continued on Monday with a new expert witness, Jason Winger, taking over after last week’s witness Joe Villanueva. Sgt. Winger now heads up the Community Response Team, a team of officers monitoring crime in the community and ineracting with the community.

One of the questions that continue to plague us as we observe this case is how accurate the evidence may be. With few exceptions, the prosecution has relied upon the testimony of officers, talking about various criminal incidents. The problem is that in a criminal trial, the defense is able to cross-examine witnesses and cast doubt on the claims of law enforcement.

Governor Appoints a New Judge to Yolo County

By David GreenwaldOctober 19, 20104 comments

A Monday release from the Governor’s Office states, “Governor Schwarzenegger announced today the appointment of Daniel P. Maguire to a judgeship in the Yolo Superior Court. This appointment fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Thomas E. Warriner.”

It continues, “Since 2005, Mr. Maguire worked as a deputy legal affairs secretary in the Governor’s Office. He earned a Juris Doctorate degree from Harvard University Law School after completing his undergraduate work at Stanford University. He was admitted to The State Bar of California in December, 1997.”

School District Cautiously Optimistic After Favorable Actuals Report

By David GreenwaldOctober 19, 20106 comments

by Samantha Lynch –

During a recent school board meeting, the Davis School board approved the Unaudited Actuals Report and the 2010-11 Budget Revisions. One positive finding was that the actuals met or exceeded the district’s projection for all funds.

The General Fund ending fund balance is also better than projected, by 1.5 million dollars. This is all due to favorable updates in final funding allocations, shifts to exploit all of the federal stimulus funds, and focused under-spending and savings.

Sentencing in Davis Rape Trial Delayed as Defense Seeks Disqualification of Judge Mock

By David GreenwaldOctober 18, 201039 comments

Last week the Vanguard reported that the defense in the Michael Artz trial was moving to disqualify Judge Mock, based on his purported non-disclosure of his relationship to retired Chief Deputy DA Ann Hurd – who was in that position at the time this case was initiated.

According to court filings by Defense Attorney Kathryn Druliner, she was seeking to disqualify Judge Mock based on section 170.1 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

Prison Guards: Lone Holdout on Pension Reform

By David GreenwaldOctober 18, 20104 comments

Governor Calls Out Republican Legislators for Attempting to Block Reform –

Governor Arnold Schwarzenneger used his weekly radio address on Saturday to call out Republican legislators, who he says tried to block his pension reform bill this month as selling out to the prison guard union for campaign contributions.

The reform was designed to roll back major state worker pension increases that were implemented in 1999 that set in motion a round of local government pension increases that critics have claimed are unsustainable and will increasingly eat up funds needed for general operating expenses.

Commentary: Teachers Are Not the Problem, We Are

By David GreenwaldOctober 17, 201051 comments

The other week Tom Torlakson, who is running for State Superintendent of Public Instruction, really had some thoughtful things to say about education. One the things he said that stuck in my mind had to do with teachers.

“We owe a lot to teachers. I’m fed up with the blame game, pointing fingers, blaming teachers, the teachers are the problem,” he said. “Teachers aren’t the problem, teachers are the solution.”

Report Hammers UC Davis’ Deal with Chevron

By David GreenwaldOctober 17, 201012 comments

In January of 2009, UC Davis announced that the Chevron Corporation had given UC Davis $2.5 million to create a permanent leadership position for the campus’s Energy Efficiency Center.

UC Davis’ then-Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef, speaking at the event, announced, “Chevron’s endowment will ensure long-term strategic leadership for the Energy Efficiency Center. By bridging long-term research with real-world applications, the director will guide the center in its goal of commercializing groundbreaking technologies, powering economic progress and helping to conserve resources.”

AG Holder Says Federal Government Will Enforce Marijuana Laws If Prop 19 Passes

By David GreenwaldOctober 16, 201034 comments

The US Attorney General has now weighed in, to join local law enforcement in opposing the legalization of marijuana.

The Justice Department has strongly opposed Proposition 19, and has been pressured by local law enforcement to take a more active stance against the California ballot proposition.

Topete Case Continues To Highlight Flaws in Yolo County Justice System

By David GreenwaldOctober 16, 20103 comments

Judge Richardson Denies Six Month Continuance, but Pushes Back Trial At Least Until January 2011 –

Judge Paul Richardson denied the motion of Marco Topete, acting as his pro per counsel, a motion to continue the jury trial for an additional six months. In so doing, he argued that the burden for a continuance was on the moving party to extend the trial and that in his motion Mr. Topete had not shown good cause.

Specifically, he failed to provide a timeline of how much time he would need, he failed to identify specific investigations that were needed and the time it would take to complete these investigations, and failed to identify expert witnesses that would be retained and the work they would need to perform in preparation for the trial.

Month: October 2010