Court interpreters, 90's murder, racial stops ok'ed by Supreme Court, RCBA dinner, this week's edition

Good morning,

It's Sunday, Sept. 14. As a reminder, all articles published on Aug. 31 are now free. You can find those articles here.

Incarcerated truck driver to stand trial for 1993 murder

Douglas Thomas will be brought to trial for the 1993 murder of Sherri Herrera. The former truck driver has been held in Texas prison since May 2022, when DNA evidence linked him to the murder of a Texas woman, according to Molly Smith, public information officer for the Riverside District Attorney’s Office. Thomas faces 40 years in Texan prison after being convicted of the murder there.

Prosecutors charged Thomas with murder in June 2022, with an enhancement for rape. He pled not guilty on Sept. 10. Tim Mulhere prosecutes. Public Defender Francis Donzanti defends.

Court interpreter union negotiations delayed over competitive wages, contractor questions

Negotiations between superior courts and the statewide court interpreter union are being stymied by the courts’ undercutting of employee interpreters with contract interpreters, said interpreter union president Carmen Ramos.

“(Interpreters) won’t come to the courts, and we have letters from these independent contractors who say the reason they are not employed by the courts (on staff) is because they are not paid enough,” said Ramos.

Supreme Court rules race-based stops can continue, without explanation

The Supreme Court overruled a federal judge’s order against race-based immigration stops on Sept. 8. The overrule was published without a majority opinion, leaving the reason for the stay unknown. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote a dissent, in which she said that the lack of published reasoning will lead to confusion in lower courts.

On July 13, a United States federal judge told federal agents to stop racially profiling people in immigration stops. On Aug. 3, the Ninth Circuit affirmed her ruling. On Sept. 13, it was overruled by the United States Supreme Court. In an 11-page concurring opinion, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said that race can be used as reasonable suspicion for a person’s immigration status. The court did not hold oral argument. 

DA's Office responds to attorney's defense of judge in Haro case

Last week, I published a letter from the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) in defense of the judge who handled Jake Haro’s previous child abuse case. That judge had been criticized by both Riverside District Attorney Michael Hestrin and Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco. Haro, who prosecutors now allege killed his baby, was let off easy, and should have been sentenced to prison, Hestrin and Bianco said. The letter rebuked their claims, saying that multiple prosecutorial errors had led to Haro being free. Chief among those: the prosecutors did not argue that Haro’s abuse of his daughter had resulted in great bodily injury. The letter was given exclusively to Inland Empire Law Weekly on Sept. 4. Brian Rokos of the Press-Enterprise wrote an article on the letter. His reporting included an interview with retired San Bernardino Judge John Pacheco and an interview with former federal prosecutor Laurie Levenson—but only quoted three sentences from the four-page letter.

The newspapers owned by the hedge fund Alden Global Capital—Orange County Register, Press-Enterprise, Los Angeles Daily News, Daily Bulletin and the Daily Facts, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Press-Telegram—ran Rokos’ article. So did a tech company called Haas Unlimited, for some reason. I wish I had their distribution.

Meanwhile, the District Attorney’s Office responded to my request to comment on the ABOTA letter with their own. The letter said that prosecutors were likely to increase the charges if the case had gone to a preliminary hearing, and that the prosecutor objected to the suspension of the prison sentence.

“We believe that granting Mr. Haro probation under these circumstances, on these facts, was an inappropriate use of that discretion. And that was the basis of our objection,” the letter said.

Governor candidate sues Bianco for wearing uniform while campaigning to lead state

Democrat governor candidate Stephen Cloobeck sued Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco on Aug. 19 for wearing his uniform while campaigning for governor.

Cloobeck says Bianco’s actions violate Government Code Section 3206: “No officer or employee of a local agency shall participate in political activities of any kind while in uniform.”

California lawmakers deliver major Democratic climate, housing and labor wins to Newsom

The California Legislature slogged through a marathon final week this week, extending its session into Saturday to push through a major package of climate and energy policies. The Saturday vote was needed because Gov. Gavin Newsom, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire didn’t finalize their privately negotiated deal on how to extend the state’s cap-and-trade greenhouse gas emissions program until early Wednesday, past the normal legislative deadline for introducing bills. 

How Google organized opposition to a California privacy proposal

The outreach was particularly noteworthy because Google had not itself taken a public position on the bill. The tech giant was so quiet about its opposition that Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal, the author of AB 566, did not know about Google’s email push until a CalMatters reporter asked. 

Riverside Bar holds largest installation dinner in 20 years

The Riverside County Bar Association honored attorneys Harlan Kistler, Brian Unitt, Megan Demshki, Mark Easter, Virginia Blumenthal and Steve Weinberg during its Sept. 11 Installation Dinner at the Mission Inn.

Editor’s column: On violence and lies

I know that the majority of people are good people. The only question is how to show each other that. It will become harder and harder the more power we give to social media.

Reminder: On Sept. 17 San Bernardino, the Riverside American Board of Trial Advocate will host a reenactment of Crawford v. Board of Education of the City of Los Angeles at the University of La Verne School of Law.

News from elsewhere

Senator Cervantes files claims against City of Sacramento following DUI allegation | KTXL

Allegations of mismanagement, overspending in California fire cleanups raised in whistleblower trial | Los Angeles Times

Judge says in tentative ruling Huntington Beach can’t restrict children’s book access | The Orange County Register

‘Secret policy’ alleged in lawsuit accusing ICE of interrogating unaccompanied migrant children | The San Diego Union-Tribune

If The Thieving AI Company Can Survive The Legal Settlement, Then It Is Not Big Enough | Defector

Bolsonaro sentenced to 27 years for plotting military coup in Brazil | The Guardian

Pastor convicted of sexually assaulting girls in OC, Riverside | Press Enterprise

Founder of California-based porn empire sentenced to 27 years in federal prison | Press Enterprise

Journalist detained by ICE sues Noem, Bondi for his release | Politico

Judge says in tentative ruling Huntington Beach can’t restrict children’s book access | The Orange County Register