Duty Magistrates for March: Judge Brennan in Sacramento; Judge Austin in Fresno. Next month, Judge Drozd in Sacramento; Judge Beck in Fresno.
While the Barry Bonds trial in the N.D. Cal. is on hold indefinitely for the U.S. Attorney's Office to appeal an evidentiary ruling, trial watchers should consider checking out U.S. v. Caza before Judge Damrell in Sacramento. This multi-week trial is scheduled to start March 10, 2009, and involves allegations of fraud and false statements in asylum applications against attorneys and interpreters at an immigration law firm, Sekhon & Sekhon. Defendants are represented by SF attorneys Michael Stepanian, Randy Sue Pollock, Jai Gohel and Sacramento attorneys Clyde Blackmon, David Dratman, and AFD Tim Zindel. Prosecutors are Ben Wagner, Camil Skipper, and Kyle Reardon.