Court Watch

By Vanguard Court Watch Interns

The trial of People v. Jimmy Medel began on Tuesday, January 15 with opening statements by Deputy District Attorney Johnson and Public Defender Olson. Mr. Medel is charged with 3 counts of residential burglary in Davis, during the summer of 2011. One incident occurred on June 22 and the others on July 13 and 14.

A similar, dark-colored SUV and portions of the license plate number were identified by witnesses in all 3 incidents. Several of the witnesses saw a Hispanic male removing items from the homes and leaving the crime scenes.

This past week, the local newspaper featured an article on one of the top professional skaters in the world, Nyjah Huston, who also happens to be a native of Davis.  Mr. Huston, who just turned 18, is using his fame to help people less fortunate than he.

Writes the Davis Enterprise, “In 2008, Nyjah and his mother Kelle Huston formed a nonprofit called Let it Flow, which raised enough money to build a well in Ethiopia. Now, the Hustons have a new Indiegogo.com campaign that aims to raise funds by Jan. 18 to build four more wells in African countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania.”

By Dan Aiello

Citing California Governor Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown, Jr.’s veto last session of a bill that would have allowed reporters access to prisoners protesting conditions within the state’s 33 prisons, reform advocates called on judges, legislators and news media to ignore Brown’s claim that the state’s prison crisis “is over.”

The Brown administration began the week in court with a motion before the 9th Circuit Federal to vacate the population cap imposed on the state’s overcrowded prisons, citing the state’s realignment plan as evidence the cap is both dangerous and no longer needed.

By Vanguard Court Watch Interns

Steven Lopez, an inmate at the Yolo County Jail, had his sentencing hearing this past Friday, January 11^th. He has been charged on four counts, mainly pertaining to theft and unauthorized use of vehicles. While the counts he has been charged with are not something to be particularly curious about, this case embodies the stigma all too often placed upon these “criminals.”

While in custody, Mr. Lopez started hysterically crying to Judge Mock of Department 3. Although I am certain this is not uncommon in the courtroom, it is cases like this that shed light on the indisputable truth that many people seem to forget – that those in custody are human just like the rest of us.

Editor’s Note: Every week, the Vanguard Court Watch of Yolo County sends a number of interns into the Yolo County Court in Woodland.  Beginning today, we will be publishing some of their accounts of what they have observed.

Many of these are collaborative efforts and will be published under the byline of Vanguard Court Watch Intern.  Others will be published under the intern’s individual name.  This feature will at least be published on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Governor Brown Issues Poignant Demand to End Federal Oversight of California’s Prisons- “The prison emergency is over in California,” Governor Jerry Brown declared during a pointed press conference on Tuesday.

He told reporters, “California is a powerful state, we can run our own prisons.  And by God, let those judges give us our prisons back.  We’ll run them right.”

By Will Matthews and Rebecca McCray

A recent study from the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (CJCJ) demonstrates that decriminalization of marijuana can actually improve our children’s futures while saving taxpayers billions of dollars.

In 2011, Senate Bill 1449 was implemented, which reduced the punishment for simple marijuana possession from a misdemeanor criminal offense to a civil infraction punishable by a fine of no more than $100. Data from the California Department of Justice’s Criminal Justice Statistics Center for 2011 reveals an impressive 20 percent decrease in overall youth arrests in the state compared to the previous year, and a 60 percent decrease in marijuana arrests. The CJCJ analysis determined that the “largest contributor to [the overall] decrease was a drop of 9,000 in youths’ low-level marijuana possession arrests” since the passage of SB 1449.

We are closing the seventh calendar year of the existence of the Davis Vanguard.  In some ways, our mission has changed over that period of time, but in fundamental ways, we remain the same with the idea of providing the alternative voice to the discourse provided in more mainstream publications.

The future of the death penalty in California could not be more murky.   In November, the voters had a chance to end the death penalty in the state, but Prop. 34 was narrowly defeated, 52 percent to 48 percent.  That leaves the system still alive, technically, though on life support.

The case of Marco Topete began in June of 2008, when the parolee led Sheriff’s Deputy Tony Diaz on a high-speed chase that ultimately ended with the tragic shooting of the sheriff’s deputy.

From the time Mr. Topete was arrested and the time that reporters and the public were locked out of the Yolo County Courtroom, until the jury ultimately reached the verdict during the penalty phase to impose the death penalty – there were numerous twists and turns.

They stood last week in front of the Yolo County Courthouse, a few mothers, less than a month after their sons had been convicted of attempted murder as they shot into an inhabited dwelling.  With the enhancements, it is likely that their sons face 35 to life.

German Vizcarra, 19, Juan Reyes, 21, and Rolando Arismendez, 38, had their trial in late October and were found guilty on all counts.

By Maggie Clark

On a Las Vegas morning, crime investigator Gil Grissom surveyed the scene of an apparent suicide by a wealthy casino heir, dusting for prints, looking for fibers – any clue to help him and his team find the true story. Through drug analysis, fiber testing and close contact with the police, Grissom determined that the dead man was killed by his brother, who hoped to get a piece of their family’s fortune. Grissom was right. The brother confessed to the crime and was sent to prison.

When Clinton Parish, a Deputy DA in the Yolo County District Attorney’s office, announced just over a year ago that he intended to challenge Judge Dan Maguire for his judicial position, he did so with the full backing of his boss, District Attorney Jeff Reisig.

However, when he mailed attack brochures to county residents that proved to have unverified accusations against the judge, many of Mr. Parish’s backers, including Yolo County Sheriff Ed Prieto and DA Reisig, quickly withdrew their support.

In the immediate aftermath of the loss of Proposition 34, the ballot measure that would have ended California’s death penalty and replaced it with life without parole, its ballot sponsors took solace in the relative closeness of the election.

“The mere fact that the state is evenly divided is nothing short of extraordinary. In 1978, 71% of the electorate supported the Briggs Death Penalty Initiative and now, after hearing the facts, voters are almost evenly split,” said Jeanne Woodford, the official proponent of the SAFE California Campaign and former Warden at San Quentin State Prison where she oversaw four executions.