Court Watch

D-Day Approaches for AB 109 and Realignment – No One Sure What It Means

prison-reformThe October 1 date is rapidly approaching. That is the date when AB 109 takes effect, the date that whole classes of low-level offenders get sent to local counties, where there is not the capacity to handle them, and no one knows exactly what that means.

At the local level, we have heard much in the way of conjecture, rumors, and idle talk.  It is a wholesale change in strategy.  What we had hoped is that the transfer of prisoners who commit drug and other non-violent crimes would mean that local District Attorneys would be less likely to prosecute such cases, that we would turn away from the punishment model of low-level criminals and toward rehabilitation.

Did We Execute an Innocent Man in Troy Davis?

We Cannot Answer that Question Now – But Enough Doubts Exist That We Should Never Have Executed Him –

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The execution of Troy Davis should haunt any reasonable person that is concerned about the possibility of executing an innocent person.  This is not a case of Cameron Todd Willingham, where we know for a fact that the forensic evidence used at the time of his execution to determine that it was an arson fire was flawed.

But an evaluation of the evidence in the Troy Davis case is enough to make a reasonable person concerned that we sent an innocent man to his death.

Will West Sacramento Murder Suspects Face the Death Penalty?

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Billy Wolfington and Shannon Silva were in court on Thursday before Judge Janet Gaard, as their attorneys asked for a four to six week continuance due to what they said was new discovery.

The suspects stand accused of stabbing a 29-year-old black male at the Town House Motel, located in the 900 block of West Capitol Ave.  The victim was transported to the hospital and later died from his injuries.

Deputy District Attorney to Challenge Judge in Yolo

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Deputy District Attorney Clinton Parish surprised many on Wednesday when he suddenly announced he would challenge the newest judge, Judge Daniel Maguire, appointed just last year by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In a press release, Mr. Parish said he has criminal experience that Judge Maguire lacks.  Furthermore, the prosecutor criticized, in both the Sacramento Bee and Daily Democrat, the political nature of Judge Maguire’s appointment.

Man Sues CHP For Yolo County Tasering Incident

taserSuit Alleges DA Reisig Prosecuted In Order to Cover Up Law Enforcement Wrongdoing

In the early afternoon of Tuesday, September 8, 2009, Thomas Dias received a call advising him that his niece, with whom he worked at a family-owned flooring company, had run out of gas and was on the shoulder of I-80 eastbound, east of Reed Avenue in West Sacramento.

He went to assist her with a can of gasoline.  Mr. Dias put in enough gas to allow her truck to get off the freeway and then followed her to a gas station for the purposes of making sure she was all right, as well as to transfer some work materials to her truck..

Defense Strategy: Topete Suffers From Mental Disorders and “Lost Control”

Topete-Defense

One of the big questions coming into this trial was how would the defense defend a case in which there was virtually no doubt that the defendant shot and killed Deputy Tony Diaz.

For the last two weeks, the prosecution had hinted that the defense would be shifting strategy to that of some sort of diminished mental capacity.  On Monday, the defense finally delivered their opening statement, and we learned for the first time what the defense would be in this case.

Analysis: County Begins Planning For AB 109 Changes – Major Changes in Criminal Justice on the Way

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One of the broadest and most sweeping reforms in years is about to take place on October 1, when counties will directly assume responsibility for so-called low-level criminal offenders – those who have been convicted of non-violent, non-serious and non-sex crimes.

But that is just the start, it is not simply a prison release plan as some have both implied and feared.  Instead, it is a fundamental shift in the way that low-level criminal offenders are handled, from incarceration, to monitoring, to a shift in parole violations in the county and finally to reentry in terms of job training, anger management and substance abuse programs, all in efforts to reduce the California recidivism rate that is tops in the nation at 70 percent.

YJW Analysis: Will Playing the Video “Confession” in Topete Case Backfire on the Prosecution?

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Sometimes the old adage “be careful what you ask for – you might get it” is spot-on.  Last week, the prosecution, citing a change in defense strategy, worked hard to convince Judge Richardson to show the jury Marco Topete’s post-arrest interview, which the prosecution saw as a confession.

The defense fought equally hard to keep it out, citing their view that the interrogators ignored Mr. Topete’s right to remain silent.

Defense Accuses Deputy DA Ryan Couzens of Relying On Confidential Juvenile Records For Gang Charges

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Judge Stephen Mock allowed gang charges to stand for Jose Duran, despite the prosecutor’s violation of juvenile confidentiality provisions and the testimony of a detective about a juvenile case that should not have been permitted.

During an August PC 995 hearing to dismiss charges, Public Defender Charles Butler accused Deputy District Attorney Ryan Couzens of intentionally airing confidential juvenile records in a callous disregard for the rights of his client.

Court Overturns Death Sentence, Ruling Prosecutors Knew Witness Was Lying

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NY Times Editorial Slams GOP and Governor Perry on the Death Penalty –

Last week the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the death sentence of an Idaho man convicted of killing a coworker in 1981 at a gas station near Boise, Idaho.  The victim was repeatedly shot and stabbed.

Lacey Mark Sivak, for whom the court found no doubt that he was guilty of the crime, will either be re-sentenced to prison or given a new penalty trial.

YJW Analysis: For “Not a Close Case,” People Seem Oddly Panicked in Topete

Topete-Defense.jpgIn arguing for the admissibility of Deputy Tony Diaz’ photo when he was alive, the people, led by Deputy DA Garrett Hamilton and DA Jeff Reisig, characterized this case as “not a close case” in their view.  The defense took exception to that.

The implication was that, for the people, they did not view this as a difficult case to establish that Marco Topete shot and killed Deputy Tony Diaz.  Nothing has really happened in the first three weeks of trial to change anyone’s view of that.

DA Refuses to Hand Over Video of Confession After Judge Rules Against Them

Topete-Defense

Earlier this week, the prosecution in the Topete trial attempted to introduce DNA evidence that they had collected after the trial had begun, destroyed and failed to discover to the defense.  Judge Richardson, questioning the fairness of the prosecutor, ultimately excluded the evidence from court – evidence that seemed ambiguous at best.

The DA seems to be scrambling a bit this week from what it called a change in strategy by the defense, including the introduction of mental health witnesses.  In a motion, they claim to be “prejudiced and surprised to learn” on August 4, 2011, after the trial had begun, “that the Defense had changed its previous representations regarding guilt phase witnesses.”

Governor Perry’s Constituents Not Interested in Executions of Innocent People

Gov-Perry.jpgTwo weeks ago we ran the story on Texas Governor Rick Perry’s cover up, that he may have executed an innocent man when he refused even to grant a stay of execution for Cameron Todd Willingham.

Our chief concern was not just that he may have executed an innocent person, but that for political purposes he may have tampered with the membership of the Texas Forensic Science Commission to avoid scrutiny and a judgment.

Judge Richardson Questions DA’s Fairness in Topete Trial

Topete-Defense

Last week, District Attorney Jeff Reisig and Deputy DA Garrett Hamilton revealed that they have DNA evidence that purportedly ties defendant Marco Topete to the murder weapon.

However, Judge Richardson, in a rare display of fairness and fortitude, questioned the prosecution’s tactics of revealing the evidence so late in the process – particularly since the case has dragged on for three years.

Central Figure in Original Gang Injunction Arrested For Murder in West Sacramento

Wolfington-MugIt was an ordinary communication sent out on September 3, 2011, by the West Sacramento Police Department depicting a murder that had occurred the evening before.

According to the press release, on Friday, at approximately 6:53 pm officers were dispatched to the Town House Motel located at the 900 block of West Capitol Ave for a possible stabbing. Officers arrived on scene and found the victim, a 29-year-old black male out of Sacramento, lying in the parking lot with multiple stab wounds to his upper body. The victim was transported to the hospital and later died from his injuries.

Different Story This Time as Goodwin Liu Confirmed For California Supreme Court

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It was a lengthy and protracted battle to nominate Goodwin Liu, a UC Berkeley Law Professor, to a seat on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.  Ultimately he would lose, as Senate Republicans filibustered his nomination and he eventually withdrew.

A little over a year later he will sit on the California Supreme Court, having been confirmed unanimously by the State Commission on Judicial Appointments.

Grand Theft Cans? Recycling Fraud Case Hits Yolo

recycling-fraudIt was like something out of a Seinfeld episode from seventh season, an episode that originally aired back in May 1996.  One of the characters, Newman, learns that bottles and cans can be refunded for ten cents in Michigan, as opposed to 5 cents in other states.

Kramer informs him that it would be impossible to gain profit from doing this, since the travel to Michigan from New York would exact heavy costs in terms of gas, toll booths and truck rental fees.  However, Newman becomes obsessed with finding a way to make a scheme work.

Analysis: Prosecution’s Own Evidence Appears to Undermine Gang Motivation Claims

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The prosecution continues to attempt to prove gang charges in the Topete trial.  Gang expert Ron Cordova, the gang investigator for the Woodland Police Department, testified on Thursday that Mr. Topete was a Norteño gang member the night of Deputy Tony Diaz’s murder.

From the start, the prosecution has attempted to establish the gang motive as a nexus to get the gang charge that would provide enhancement to the sentencing, in their seeking of the death penalty.

Commentary: What Gil Garcetti Can Teach Jeff Reisig About the Death Penalty

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On Monday morning, former Los Angeles District Attorney Gil Garcetti, a lifelong supporter of the death penalty, spoke at a press conference to announce an initiative that would eliminate the death penalty and commute all current death sentences to life without parole.

During his brief appearance, along with other former death penalty supporters turned opponents by the expensive and broken process, he said something that really struck close to home.

Death Penalty Opponents Announce Initiative That Would Convert Death Sentence to Life Without Parole

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Yesterday in Sacramento, a group of former law enforcement officials and other anti-death penalty activists came together to announce that they had turned in a ballot initiative for the 2012 general elections to replace California’s death penalty with life in prison with no possibility of parole.

The initiative would convert death penalty sentences to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.