Court Watch

The campaign to link the budget with reforms to the criminal justice system got another boost this week, and activists descended on Sacramento to urge the California Legislature to protect critical social services — including education programs and drug treatment — by cutting the Corrections budget.

One simple reform would free up $450 million dollars, they say. According to them, that is the amount California taxpayers spend to lock up adults who were convicted of non-violent instances of possessing a small amount of drugs for personal use.

Much has been made on these pages about the fact that the DA has a tendency to bring some rather problematic cases to trial.  For the most part the DA loses these cases, but they exact a toll nonetheless, as we saw in the case of Fernando Ortega who faced criminal charges stemming from what was largely explicable, by the fact he was carrying a truck battery and had a number of tools on him at the time he encountered Woodland Police.

However, Mr. Ortega remained in custody nearly five months, missed going to the funeral of his daughter, and lost his residence.  Mr. Ortega is one of the fortunate ones, exonerated by the a jury trial and now out of custody and free to move along in his life.

Fernando Ortega, on November 6, 2010, was having a belated birthday party at his home when his friend informed him that he had left the light on in his truck.  He saw the lights on his car had dimmed and believed he had a dead battery.

Mr. Ortega went out to take out his battery, and for some reason was confronted by the police.

After some lengthy discussions about the interrogation process, following the conviction of Bennie Moses for the rape of his daughter over a nine-year period, it seems that there is a need to revisit the issue of false confessions.

To be extremely clear, in the Bennie Moses case, there is no reason to believe he falsely confessed. However, we do believe, with a good deal of justification, that the interrogation tactics used were improper, even if they were likely completely legal.

On the surface it should have been a routine drug case.  After all, police found drugs on the defendant Maria Cortez late at night on June 1, 2010.  She admitted that she was high on meth at the time of the incident and a blood test confirmed it. 

And yet a jury acquitted her of possession of meth and hung 10-2 in her favor (presumably) on a charge of transportation of marijuana.  The DA immediately dismissed the second charge, a misdemeanor count.

Last week a Yolo County Jury convicted Bennie Moses of 62 counts of rape and a variety of sexual assault and sex with minor charges, stemming from a string of incidents in which the defendant had sex and forcible sex with his daughter from the time she was 12 until she was 21.

In July of 2009, Mr. Moses was arrested by West Sacramento Police after an individual named Hakim helped the daughter escape Mr. Moses and called the cops.  They had been staying in a West Sacramento hotel at the time of the arrest.

Humberto Morales was arrested in Davis last year.  He was stopped at 7:45 am by the Davis Police Department who found car stereos and CD players with wires sticking out of them in his vehicle.

Within an hour the police department was able to locate a victim whose car had been burglarized.  Within Mr. Morales’ vehicle was a number of stolen items.

It was a rainy day in February as a group of over 100 friends and family gathered to pay their respects to Richard “Andy” Schirnhofer.  Funerals are never easy, but especially when they are that of a twenty-year-old, taking his own life in a prison cell far from the comfort of home.

This one was particularly hard.  His friends, carrying out his casket, formed the word  “injustice.”  I did not know Mr. Schirnhofer, but the experience was very moving.  The consensus was that he was no saint, he had his problems, but he seemed universally loved and admired by those in attendance.

Last summer, the Vanguard covered the trial of Brienna Holmes in which the jury split on both counts.  They voted 10-2 to acquit Ms. Holmes of a battery charge and 6-6 on a charge of resisting arrest. 

The DA in this case decided not to refile the charges and Ms. Holmes has now filed a federal lawsuit which alleges her treatment violated her civil rights through unreasonable seizure, excessive force, malicious abuse of process and battery.

Yolo County gears up for a death penalty case, in the case of Marco Topete, accused of shooting and killing Yolo County Sheriff’s Deputy Tony Diaz back in 2008.  Like many in this county who have suffered from violent crimes, the family of Deputy Diaz has been brought into court to watch the proceedings with help from victims’ advocates, generally funded through grants in the DA’s Office.

In our view, we commiserate with their likely unbearable pain that they have had to suffer for all too long, and hope that this trial can provide them with both the closure and solace that they need.

A federal court on Thursday heard arguments in a case where gun-rights advocates have challenged the courts to determine how much discretion California’s law enforcement officials have in issuing concealed weapons permits.

County Sheriffs, the plaintiff argue, who handle the bulk of these situations, must issue permits to anyone who completes a training course and has no mental health problems or criminal background.

Jury selection has begun this week in the Yolo County Courthouse in Woodland. The task will be tall, picking a death-qualified jury in the case of Marco Topete, who is accused of murdering Yolo County Sheriff’s Deputy Tony Diaz.

In that case, Defense Attorneys were rebuffed by Judge Paul Richardson in their effort to exclude the death penalty, based on the excessive delay in California’s administration of the death penalty, that is argued to constitute cruel and unusual punishment.

We have been following the case of Bennie Moses, in which the trial began early last week.  Mr. Moses faces multiple lifetimes in prison if convicted of charges that included raping and having sex with his daughter from the time that she was 12 until she was 21. He was arrested in July of 2009.

We will have a fuller discussion of the nature of the charges and the arguments in this case when the case concludes and the jury reaches its verdict.

On Monday morning, as the trial was set to begin, Public Defender Tracie Olson announced there was a possible settlement in the case in which  Pedro Ramirez and Johnny Morales were accused of a brutal attack on a Sikh taxi driver November 28, 2010.

After a lengthy meeting in chambers, Mr. Morales announced he would plead to a probation charge, a single count of assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury, which would not carry either a prison sentence or count as a strike.  He would be required to pay $15,000 in restitution to the victim.

Last week as we arrived at court, we discovered a number of familiar faces gone.  Deputy Sheriffs who provide security among other services to the court had been laid off.

Because of state laws which require the sheriff to adequately staff the courthouse, Sheriff Ed Prieto was forced to move deputies from the field to the courthouse.  That means there are now ten fewer Sheriff’s Deputies in the field protecting the community.

“Well Martin’s dream has become Rodney’s worst nightmare. Can’t walk the streets, to them we are fair game, our lives don’t mean a thing…  Make sure it’s filmed, shown on national T.V.  They’ll have no mercy.  A legal lynch mob like the days strung up from the tree. The L.A.P.D.” – Ben Harper 1995.

This past week marked the 20-year anniversary of the beating of Rodney King.  I watched the special on CNN, and it was interesting to see how much Rodney King has cleaned up his life.  He did say the nightmares are still there, however.

There is mounting evidence that despite the legal status of medical marijuana in California, and the Board of Supervisor’s approval of medical marijuana cards, that the official policy in Yolo County runs counter to state law on this matter. 

In many jurisdictions, law enforcement begins an approach for possession of marijuana with a question as to whether the individual has a medical marijuana card.  That does not appear to be happening in Yolo County, in fact just the opposite, as law enforcement appears to arrest individuals and put the burden on them in a court of law to confirm that they have a legal right to possess the drug.

Judge Timothy Fall on Thursday further reduced the charges faced by Nicholas Benson, stemming from the January 21, 2011, incident that captured regional headlines after he was arrested for making threats to harm himself and others,  and carrying an assault rifle with over 100 rounds of ammunition in his vehicle.

Following his preliminary hearing, Mr. Benson now only faces a single felony charge for possession of an assault weapon.  Judge Fall reduced the second charge, which had been a felony obstructing an executive officer, down to a misdemeanor after officers admitted on the stand that Mr. Benson did not strike them or use force to resist their commands.

What constitutes an independent investigation appears to be a major point of contention among members of the community.  In this context, an independent investigation appears to refer to the department or agency investigating the conduct of another with whom they are not officially responsible for or in charge of.  What’s more, an independent investigation can rely on the information previously produced by law enforcement agencies when determining what action to take.

With that said, questions regarding the impartiality of the DA’s investigation into the Gutierrez shooting have been discussed in the past.  The DA’s direct involvement with the Yolo County Gang Task Force has some wondering whether or not they should have handled any part of the investigation into the conduct of the sergeant and deputies much less conducted their own independent investigation.

Last week, the Vanguard reported that Leighton Dupree was sentenced by Yolo County Superior Court Judge Janet Gaard to 27 years to life in prison for a bank robbery he committed on January 12, 2010.

Mr. Dupree was convicted back in October of second degree burglary.  He had two prior serious felonies as well, which contributed to the length of the term.