Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words
Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words
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To Whom It May Concern, I am writing to express my concerns regarding the news of the State of California Bar appointing George Cardona as Chief Trial Counsel. Since the California State Bar is currently undergoing much awaited reforms, it is particularly important that the new Chief Trial Counsel is highly skilled and has a history of ethical and professional conduct. This communication is being submitted to the California Bar in the form of an open letter because the Bar has recently been the...
Infectious Disease Doctor From UCLA Health Warns City About Threat of Typhoid and HIV in Garages Used as Campground by Homeless Third Street Promenade property owner John Alle asked Dr. Lewis Simon, an infectious disease doctor from UC San Diego, currently working for Santa Monica's UCLA Health Center, to walk through the city's public garages with him over a year ago, when Alle first noted the meth manufacture and human waste in the structures. Dr. Simon came on his own tour of the area last...
Courts & Rulings California Supreme Court rules prison inmates not allowed to have marijuana The California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the state's law allowing the use of recreational marijuana does not apply to prison inmates, overturning a 2019 appellate court ruling that allowed prisoners to possess up to 1 ounce of pot. In a 5-2 decision, the state's high court ruled that "it seems unlikely" voters sought to decriminalize possession of marijuana in prisons. Courthouse News Service...
A rising tide of violence in Los Angeles There were more aggravated assaults in Los Angeles in July than during any month in over a decade, with 1,299. The spike highlights one of the emerging concerns about public safety during COVID-19. Overall crime has fallen sharply, as social distancing and lockdowns kept people apart. But violent crimes - from murders to shootings and assaults - have been climbing to alarming levels. Crosstown With 46 murders, Los Angeles sees deadliest month in more...
If you are planning to attend classes on campus at Santa Monica College this fall, you need to be vaccinated. So says the local college as it is gearing up for the fall semester which starts August 30. In a letter to students, Santa Monica College detailed its mandatory vaccination program. The major requirements include: Evidence of vaccinations for all students taking on-ground classes beginning in the fall semester; All employees must report their vaccination status to the College District...
Courts & Rulings Judge asked to boot Gascón's special assistant from case Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brian C. Yep will be asked this morning to recuse a prosecutor who, according to a motion on behalf of the family of a murdered man, is a former deputy public defender who, after becoming a special assistant to District Attorney George Gascón, continues to fight for the interests of criminal defendants. The recusal is sought in a case where, at stake, is whether a man who committed a g...
Courts & Rulings CHP not liable for shooting by drunken off-duty officer Conclusory allegations pinning blame on the California Highway Patrol for a non-fatal shooting by one of its deputies while drunk and off-duty did not suffice, the Court of Appeal for this district held yesterday, affirming a judgment of dismissal which followed the sustaining of demurrers without leave to amend. Justice Kenneth Yegan of Div. Six wrote the opinion, which was not certified for publication. Metropolitan...
Courts & Rulings Ninth Circuit overturns drug conviction because search for weapon surpassed frisking Police conducting a "stop-and-frisk" can pat someone down for guns or other weapons if they have reason to believe they're in danger. But inside the pockets is out of bounds, and any evidence the officers find there is inadmissible, a federal appeals court said Wednesday. San Francisco Chronicle Warrantless search of motel room of parolee was justified - court A parolee's assent to a...
Depp to get drafts of article at center of defamation case against Heard--WHAS Johnny Depp's lawsuit accusing his ex-wife Amber Heard of defamation enters its third year in court with a ruling that the actress must turn over drafts of an editorial she published in The Washington Post. Fairfax County Circuit Court Chief Judge Penney S. Azcarate ruled from the bench Friday that Heard must also turn over certain communications with partners and associates, along with a passel of other documents...
As the trial of Derek Chauvin begins to draw to an end with the jury beginning its deliberations this week regarding the death of George Floyd, Santa Monica's Police Chief, Jacqueline Seabrook, delivered a message addressing concerns of possible civil unrest. "There have been no threats or any activities specifically targeting our community," Seabrook wrote although she acknowledged "concerns happening in the broader environment." Apparently because of those concerns (and possibly keeping in min...
A fight that broke out among pier vendors on Sunday afternoon highlights a persistent and dangerous problem at the Santa Monica landmark: criminal gang involvement in illegal street vending. Several police officers were called after a fight began in the parking lot just north of the Santa Monica Pier at 2:30 on Sunday afternoon. After the fight was stopped, with great difficulty, six individuals were eventually cited and released. According to a highly placed government official, all of the...
The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District has just announced it will officially reopen its campuses for full-time, in-person instruction on April 19 for elementary students and on April 26 for secondary students. In a letter to parents, posted online over the weekend, SMMUSD Superintendent Ben Drati said the newly-released, distancing guidance from County Department of Public Health – which allows students to sit three feet apart in classrooms instead the old requirement of six – "op...
Courts & Rulings Commissioner Campos says DA's policy doesn't override CA's remand order Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Benjamin Campos on Friday reconsidered his March 3 order that dispositional proceedings involving a man who was convicted in 2016, at age 22, of a murder committed six years earlier, while a minor, will take place in Juvenile Court, deciding that, instead, he will conduct a "transfer hearing" to determine if the case did belong in the criminal court, where it was origi...
Courts & Rulings Grieving family shocked as getaway driver freed in bloody murder of USC grad student from China: 'Reluctant' judge has 'no discretion' Saying he had no choice under a new narrower felony murder rule, a judge Monday changed the conviction against the getaway driver involved in the beating death of a USC graduate student from China to attempted robbery from second-degree murder and sentenced him to time served. MyNewsLA State appeals court won't hear DA's disqualification in SLO...
Courts & Rulings Court narrows law used to target white supremacists A federal appeals court on Thursday struck down portions of an anti-riot law used to target white supremacists. Still, the ruling found enough of the law constitutional to reinstate charges against four men prosecuted under the statute. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision overturned a district court judge's ruling in 2019 that found key sections of the Federal Anti-Riot Act violated the First Amendment by...
ADDA Lawsuit Association of Deputy District Attorneys on LA DA Gascón's reforms (Audio) Last month, we spoke with Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón about his various criminal justice reforms which were meant to address incarceration and racial inequity. Today, we follow that conversation with Michele Hanisee, president of the Association of Deputy District Attorneys for Los Angeles County. Plus, we'll contextualize with our criminal justice correspondent Frank Stoltze. KPCC J...
ADDA Lawsuit Judge blocks some of LA district attorney's reform policies A judge has decided some of Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon's justice reform policies aimed at reducing punishment for some of the most serious crimes were, "unlawful," and cannot be implemented as the new DA ordered. L.A. Superior Court Judge James Chalfant said in a ruling Monday Gascon cannot direct prosecutors to dismiss sentencing enhancements for certain prior convictions, or strikes, in thousands...
Courts & Rulings Sementilli judge torpedoes LADA's scheme to go easy on accused black widow A Toronto family is breathing easier after a Los Angeles judge torpedoed a gambit from the city's new soft-on-crime district attorney to cut an alleged black widow sentencing slack. Superior Court Judge Ronald Coen refused to dismiss the special circumstance clause that can potentially send a convicted felon to prison for life without the possibility of parole. Toronto Sun Judge wrestles with Oakland A's...
Courts & Rulings Allegation of strike as to one count applies to others The Court of Appeal for this district, in a 2-1 opinion, held on Friday that where an information alleged in connection with three counts a prior which, under the Three Strikes Law constituted a "strike," the trial judge did not err in doubling the sentence under another count although a strike had not been pled as to that count. Metropolitan News-Enterprise Requiring daily visits to probation officer by homeless...
The main purpose of this letter is to urge the City Council and Councilmember McCowan to reconsider Mr. Cardona's position as stated in his January 6, 2021 response to Olga Zurawska's Demand to Cure and Correct. Mr. Cardona's position invites a dangerous precedent for democracy by normalizing Brown Act violations In his letter, Mr. Cardona claims that the very fact that Councilmember McCowan had publicly disclosed her serial meetings with the Council majority prior to the selection of Mayor and...
Newly installed LA County District Attorney George Gascon was forced to reverse his initial shot at eliminating all sentencing enhancements in charges filed against criminal defendants last week. On Friday, he sent out a public letter claiming he wanted to be responsive to "input" from the community and was therefore making "some adjustments to my initial directives." He ended up agreeing to apply enhancement in charging to cases involving children, the elderly, and for hate crimes. Gascon enter...
We received the following letter by Third Street Promenade property owner John Alle to City Manager Lane Dilg regarding unsafe and unsanitary conditions at the once-popular outdoor shopping area in downtown Santa Monica. Dear Lane, I have been arriving at my property on the Promenade for the last several days during early morning hours to supervise interior cleaning and maintenance. This last Friday and Saturday I walked the Promenade and surrounding streets. The pictures and videos below...
UPDATE: After winning election as the District Attorney for the County of Los Angeles by 53.53%, Gascon has set about doing every single thing he promised in the below article. While 53.53% may sound like a lot, it leaves a possible 4,647,000 people extremely unhappy with his policies. He hardly has a mandate and will soon discover as much. George Gascon, a Havana-born former police officer, resigned his position as San Francisco District Attorney in October, at the same time announcing his...
Courts & Rulings Juvenile justice reform's legal challenge impacts Santa Cruz child murder case Adrian "A.J." Gonzalez, now 21, was arrested and charged with murder as a 15 year old. The California Supreme Court will soon weigh a case with implications for whether Gonzalez and others like him should face the adult or juvenile justice system. Oral arguments begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday in San Francisco in the "O.G. vs The Superior Court of Ventura County" case, challenging the constitutionality of...
In an appearance on FoxNews, newly elected George Gascón laid out initiatives for his first term as Los Angeles County District Attorney Los Angeles District Attorney-elect George Gascón outlined the initiatives for his upcoming term including stopping the practice of trying minors as adults and ending the use of the death penalty. After serving eight years as district attorney for San Francisco, Gascón was elected as the new Los Angeles County district attorney, replacing Jackie Lacey who ha...
