Yolo County

I watched as Deputy District Attorney Clinton Parish became increasingly unhinged in Judge Kathleen White’s courtroom as a series of ruling went again him to the point where he seemed to becoming threatening to both Judge White and the defense counsel he was up against.  Whether he was actually speaking for the DA and illuminating new policy is something that we will have to see.

The DA is filing two separate motions for the exclusion of not-testifying witnesses.  “Plaintiff requests that those witnesses not testifying be excluded from the Courtroom pursuant to Evidence Code section 777(a).”  And in a separate motion, “Plaintiff would ask that Court to receive a representation from defense counsel that any person remaining in the courtroom during testimony will not be used for any part of defendants’ case (in chief, rebuttal or otherwise) before allowing that person to stay in the Courtroom.”

Specifically they will use the fact that Angel Sanchez testified that he was a gang member, specifically a member of the Broderick Boys and that they have engaged in a pattern of criminal activity for years.  We covered this case a few weeks ago.

In a letter to family, friends, and well wishers, Ajay Dev said, “This June 25, 2010 marks one year since the worst miscarriage of justice that has occurred against me and my family. It has been tremendously difficult as the wounds of betrayal, injustice and the loss of my freedom are still very fresh.”

Amy Block Joy filed her complaint in September 2007 and a subsequent investigation by the university verified many of her allegations.  These included activities of another employee over a 6 year period.  The employee pled guilty in 2008 to theft in 2008, admitting to spending federal funds on hundreds of items.  Remarkably, the employee was only sentenced to a year in prison and ordered to pay government restitution of $128,681.80.

Mr. Reynoso sustained a number of broken bones, ribs and a collapsed lung and will be healing for some time.

The article went on to point out several inaccuracies or omissions that the Daily Democrat reprinted without fact-checking.  From our standpoint this is a problem as the public receives a very slanted view of what actually transpired and there is no effective media check against the DA’s PR campaign.

In March of 2009, the victim was walking to the store when he ran across a friend along with Angel Sanchez.  The victim did not know Mr. Sanchez prior to this date but was introduced by their mutual friend.  Together they walked back to Mr. Sanchez’s apartment and decided to start drinking alcohol.  In total there were individuals inside the apartment drinking.

Last week, a federal judge in San Francisco allowed a lawsuit to move forward that charges the unlawful collaboration between the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department and the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to unlawfully target, arrest, and detain Latinos in Sonoma County.

However, we also take issue with the notion that news covered by traditional media outlets, such as newspapers necessarily represent fair, unbiased, and accurate assessments of what has actually happened.  While we believe that individual reporters endeavor for journalistic standards of fairness and balance, the decisions made by editors introduce bias in terms of what gets covered and what does not get covered.  But just as important, newspapers given their lack of staffing and resources will often rely on third-party press releases and news accounts from government agencies to be printed, almost verbatim.

According to a release from the DA, the jury found Vasquez guilty of robbery with intentional use and discharge of a firearm causing great bodily injury, assault with a firearm causing great bodily injury and attempting to dissuade a witness. The jury also found that the crimes were committed for the benefit of a criminal street gang.

In that op-ed that focused mainly on the particulars of the proposition, they argued, “We believe in drug courts and the real possibility that drug courts can help people escape addictions and turn their lives around.”

Kamala Harris is arguing that her office must first review the names and only after going to court for permission would her office alert defense attorneys to the officers’ problems.