Court Watch

There is no other way to describe it other than this is just a typical Ryan Couzens case, which apparently can never go smoothly without bizarre and sometimes mind-boggling twists and turns.

On the surface this should have been a straightforward case, whether Ken Woodall cut Bert Lok in the mouth with his knife.  However, by the time the jury came back for a second time with a not guilty verdict on all counts, this case became yet another chapter in the bizarro book being written in Yolo County by Deput  DA  Ryan Couzens.

Are Yolo County’s efforts to impose a death sentence on Marco Topete, when his now three-year-old case comes to trial again next month, running up against a strong current against the death penalty?

Last week, the ACLU reported that just three death sentences were handed down in California from January to June 2011 compared with the same period last year when there were 13.

Those who were around probably remember the sob story from Daily Democrat Jim Smith, who suddenly found himself and his paper under fire when they decided to run verbatim a press release that, at best, distorted a court case and, at worst, outright deceived the public.

In running a story on the Michael Artz trial, the DA’s office sent their typical press release which made it sound like the defendant had been convicted of certain crimes that he was not even charged with, at the same time omitting the fact that he was acquitted of the main charges.

Following a preliminary hearing last week, Yolo County Judge David Rosenberg has allowed the case against Cafe Mediterranee owner Ashot Manukyan to move forward and stand trial on charges that include a felony count of assault with intent to commit sexual penetration, penetration with a foreign object and false imprisonment, and a misdemeanor charge of sexual battery.

The alleged victim had worked at the popular Davis restaurant for five months prior to the January 31, 2011, alleged incident.

The movie “A Time To Kill” I saw for the first time as a new graduate student in the Chemistry Building, back in 1996.  It featured the story of a black man in Alabama, whose 11-year-old daughter was brutally raped by two white men.  Rather than leaving their fate up to an all-white jury, the father shot and killed both men.

Now he faced his own all-white jury, that he derisively asked, “This is a jury of my peers?”  In his closing statement, his defense attorney tried to flip the race card, drawing up a vivid picture of the attack on the daughter.

The trial that will not end is apparently not over, as the jury hung basically right down the middle on all charges against both Dom and Anthony Kalah, while they convicted Saengphet Onsri of all charges.

During the trial, Judge Fall dismissed charges against a fourth co-defendant, Det Kalah, on a 1118.1 motion.  Det Kalah had been in custody for six months, refusing to take a plea agreement that would have released him early, based on the fact that he maintained his innocence.

The traditional view of the death qualification process is that death-qualified juries tend to be more likely to convict.  The death qualification process is one where prospective jurors are put through a rather intensive interview process to gauge their views about the death penalty.

Those who oppose the death penalty are not qualified to serve.  Those who would consider the death penalty are qualified to serve.

Last week, Charles Rios and his codefendant Benito Morales were sentenced to 16 months in prison for their role in an attack on a solider in West Sacramento that left him beaten and robbed on the night of March 12, 2008.

Mr. Rios was just 15 years old at the time and the case lasted so long that Mr. Rios had long since been released on his own recognizance.  The 16-month prison sentence was a mere paper sentence, as both Mr. Rios and Mr. Morales were instructed to go directly to the parole office, a move that was highly unusual.

The media was quick to act as judge, jury and executioner of Casey Anthony.  To them, there seemed no possibility of a not-guilty verdict, no presumption of innocence, no need indeed for the prosecution to actually prove their case.

“The devil is dancing,” said Nancy Grace, the former prosecutor turned commentator on CNN Headline News, who in many respects led the media lynching before the verdict even came in. “There’s no way this verdict speaks to the truth.”

Senator Hanock chairs the Senate Public Safety Committee and the Senate Budget Subcommittee on Corrections, which oversees all funding for the prison system.

Oddly enough, he paid for everyone else except for the cheese that was in his pants. When confronted by the Loss Prevention Officer, Robert Ferguson attempted to flee and then was taken down to the ground. The Nugget Market worker described Ferguson as “embarrassed and remorseful.” The cheese had only cost 3.99, and he had nine dollars on him.

It has been a three-week trial that has dragged out longer, due to the peculiarities of the court calendar, which has necessitated one week on, one week off.  The final decision rests in the hands of the jury, and on one hand you have the prosecution alleging a dangerous fledgling gang that has engaged in drug dealing and criminal conspiracy.

The defense argues that you have two small time drug dealers, dealing on their own, and several largely innocent bystanders who got caught up in the web.

A recent federal raid on a Davis home has raised serious questions, after resulting in a pregnant woman’s miscarriage and property damage that is still unaccounted for. The raid, conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents outfitted in paramilitary gear, was part of an ongoing child pornography investigation.

Shortly after 6 a.m. on April 26, eight to 12 ICE agents busted into an Oak Avenue home, destroying doors and denting floors with a battering ram. Although the agents announced upon entering that they were police and had a warrant, several residents of the home spoke limited English and hid from what they thought were attackers or terrorists. At gunpoint, the agents ordered the residents on the ground and handcuffed them. One terrified resident, a visiting scholar from Vietnam who was pregnant, suffered a miscarriage three days later.

Two weeks ago, in the Kalah trial, Deputy DA Ryan Couzens spawned accusations and anger as he attempted to get in testimony from Officer Duggins of the West Sacramento Police Department about a conversation he had with Marco Benitez.

Mr. Couzens attempted to establish that Mr. Benitez, a witness for the defense, was assaulted by Tommy Kalah, a brother and son to some of the defendants.  The implication here was that Mr. Kalah had done this to intimidate the witness.

It was a study that occurred in Illinois, but it could have been written about any state at any time.  The Center on Wrongful Convictions, based at Northwestern University, is one of many such centers that have popped up in recent years as researchers and attorneys become more aware of the problems of wrongful convictions.

This study, conducted by John Conroy of the Better Government Association and Rob Warden, the executive director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions, Northwestern University School of Law, focused on the costs of such convictions.

Judge Mock sentenced Ronnie Barahona to 29 years in prison after he was convicted of a single charge of assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, with an enhancement for using a firearm.

Back in May, a Yolo County jury deadlocked on whether Ronnie Barahona, when he shot four times at police officers, was attempting to kill them as Prosecutor Clinton Parish claimed, or was merely attempting to get away. This followed a failed robbery attempt on a Sacramento ATM that culminated in a high speed pursuit and a subsequent foot chase.

The lesson for the courts is clear, never invite me to jury duty.  This Monday I was excited to go to jury duty – I have always been called to jury duty only to have my session canceled before coming in. 

This time, at least, I made it in the door before the case – which we covered earlier this week – was continued.  I went in knowing full well that there was more of a chance of June snow in Yolo County than my being selected to serve on the jury, but I still wanted to watch the process from the inside.

Judicial Watch has been thinking hard about the Yolo County Law Day.   Law Day is a national observation honoring the legal system, especially the criminal justice system, and the people (particularly cops, lawyers and judges) who create and administer it.  Often the activities include educational opportunities for school students, such as visits to the courts or the production of mock trials, to give them a sense of the fundamental and basic role the law plays in maintaining our culture and civilization.

In Yolo, it often takes the form of a gathering in the administration building for a free lunch, with speeches and awards by and for those who work for the system.  The last one, held on May 2, 2011, was such a magnificent spiritual, cultural and political celebration of “the Law” that we simply could not bring ourselves to report upon it.

As a general matter of speaking, trials are set for a given date, but can be granted continuances based on a notion of good cause.  What constitutes good cause may seem somewhat nebulous, but it generally is reserved for matters of logistics – the unavailability of a key witness, the failure to receive evidence with sufficient time to review it, delays caused by reports or tests from other agencies, etc.

Last week the case of Kenneth Woodall was confirmed for trial to begin on Monday.  That means both parties – represented by the Deputy DA Ryan Couzens and Deputy Public Defender Dan Hutchinson – agreed they were ready to proceed.

The Yolo County District Attorney’s office issued a press release announcing that Yolo County Superior Court Judge Kathleen White issued a final “Judgment Granting Injunction After Trial” against the Broderick Boys criminal street gang in West Sacramento.  The gang injunction issued by the court imposes a curfew and restricts other activities of gang members in a defined area within West Sacramento called the “Safety Zone.”

According to the DA’s office, “After hearing all of evidence at trial and reviewing the exhibits and the post-trial briefs, Judge White found that the Broderick Boys is a criminal street gang, the Broderick Boys has created a public nuisance in the Safety Zone by its conduct and activities, and the public nuisance caused by the Broderick Boys has created irreparable harm to those who live and work in the Safety Zone.”