Essayli explained, Prop 50 challenge thrown out, Coachella mayor indicted

District judge keeps Essayli head of Attorney’s Office—Explained

Bill Essayli will continue leading the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California despite being improperly appointed, a federal judge ruled Oct. 28.

California Central District Judge John Michael Seabright wrote that Essayli has authority to supervise the office as First Assistant United States Attorney, despite finding that he had no authority to do so as Acting United States Attorney, a position Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed Essayli has had for months.

Read it here

DA: Coachella mayor tied to developments, programs, he influenced

Coachella Mayor Steven Hernandez was criminally charged Oct. 24 on five misdemeanor counts of voting on developments he was financially tied to, and four felony counts of perjury from lying about his income from rental properties.

The indictment alleged Hernandez committed the misdemeanors on five specific dates and topics: on Nov. 15, 2021, the rehabilitation of the downtown Coachella Fire Station; on Jan. 26, 2022, the Fountainhead Plaza; on May 11, 2022, the Tripoli Mixed-Use Project; on May 10, 2023, an agreement regarding the CV Housing First Program; and on July 26, 2023, the Sunline Transit Hub funding. Each of those alleged violations are a misdemeanor.

Read it here

Temecula Rep. Issa files, loses suit against Prop 50

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Bonsall) filed and lost a case against Proposition 50 in just two days.

The member of the House Committee on the Judiciary filed his suit Oct. 29, asking the Northern District of Texas, Amarillo Division, to halt the gerrymandered congressional districts even if California voters approve it in Tuesday's election. He asked for the court to find that the proposed maps violate the Equal Protection Clause, the one person, one vote doctrine, the Civil Rights Act and the Elections Clause of the US Constitution.

Northern District of Texas Judge Matthew Kacsmary threw out the case on Oct. 31, after finding that Issa would not be harmed from the new maps.

Read it here

15 DUIs, still driving: California’s failure to take repeat drunk drivers off the road

Alcohol-related roadway deaths in California have shot up by more than 50% in the past decade — an increase more than twice as steep as the rest of the country, federal estimates show. More than 1,300 people die each year statewide in drunken collisions. Thousands more are injured. Again and again, repeat DUI offenders cause the crashes.

To understand why so many people are dying under the wheels of drunk and drugged drivers, CalMatters reviewed thousands of vehicular manslaughter and homicide cases prosecutors filed across the state since 2019. We also examined other states’ laws on intoxicated driving and sifted through decades of state and federal traffic safety data.

Read it here