Eastern District of California Blog

Fresno Unified & Uribe Family In New Federal Court Case

The Fresno Unified School District and a family that has beat the district three times in administrative court are now entangled in a second federal court case.

The district is challenging an administrative judge's decision in January to award 22-year-old Krista Uribe adult education programs to make up for services she never received. Uribe has special needs and was twice removed from her former high school because of her disabilities.

Fresno Bee, 4/21/14

Eleven Arrested At Good Friday Beale AFB Drone Protest

The Sacramento Bee reports that eleven anti-drone protesters were arrested and cited for trespassing at Beale AFB on Good Friday, April 18.  And here's the video of the alleged crime:

Ninth Circuit Overturns Yosemite NP Conviction For Refusing To Submit To Blood Alcohol Test

In U.S. v. Harrington, 12-10526, the Ninth Circuit yesterday overturned a misdemeanor conviction for refusing to submit to a blood alcohol test in Yosemite National Park.  The Court held that it is fundamentally unfair and violates due process to convict the defendant of refusal where park rangers falsely told him it was not a crime to refuse to submit to a blood alcohol test.  (It is under federal regulations covering national parks).  Congratulations to Fresno attorney Kathy Hart on the win!

Judge Mueller To Join Three-Judge CA Prison Panel

"The three-judge federal court overseeing the reduction of California’s prison population will have a new member in September: U.S. District Judge Kimberly Mueller of Sacramento, succeeding the retiring Judge Lawrence Karlton."  SF Gate Blog, 4/18/14

Testimony Ends In Fresno Crisp & Cole Mortgage Fraud Trial

[4/18, 5 pm update: jury retires for weekend; deliberations resume Tue morning]

After the defendant and other defense witnesses testified, the defense rested yesterday in the Farmer Crisp & Cole mortgage fraud case.The government had no rebuttal. Jury instructions and closing arguments are scheduled for today. Bakersfield Californian, 4/17/14

 

 

Matthew Keys Case Update

Today's Sacramento News & Review has a piece on the EDCA Matthew Keys prosecution with this lede:

The trial of former KTXL Fox40 Web producer Matthew Keys in Sacramento federal court appears to be approaching its anticlimax.

The 27-year-old blogger and journalist is accused of helping hackers break into the Los Angeles Times website, where they changed the headline of a story. Keys has even confessed to the substance of the crime, though it hardly qualifies as misdemeanor vandalism. So why make a federal case out of it? Couldn’t Department of Justice resources be better directed elsewhere?

The district court denied Keys's motion to suppress in this Order (see Wired summary) and a further status conference is set for May 21, 2014.

Drone Protester Acquitted!

The Sacramento Bee reports that Judge Drozd found Beale Air Force Base drone protester Shirley Osgood not guilty today in a misdemeanor bench trial, explaining that he harbored a reasonable doubt based on the inconclusive video.  Congratulations to McGeorge law school and Federal Defender clinic students Katie Reed and Michael Heumann for their victory!

According to the Bee: "The government did not prosecute three others who were arrested with Osgood in November. Likewise, no charges have yet been filed against five protesters, including three ministers, who were arrested after they stepped across the line on Ash Wednesday and knelt in prayer. They carried crosses and sprinkled ashes to commemorate the deaths of children allegedly killed by U.S. drones."

Kern County DA Won't File Charges In David Silva Case

With multiple EDCA civil rights lawsuits pending, see here and here, the Kern County District Attorney announced in this video that prosecutors won't be filing any charges against law enforcement over the circumstances of David Silva's death.

 

This video contains a response from Silva's brother.

 

En Banc Ninth Circuit Reverses EDCA Court 11-0 In Delta Smelt Case

In NRDC v. Salazar, No. 09-17661, the Ninth Circuit, sitting en banc, unanimously reversed two of former Judge Wanger's rulings in the delta smelt cases. Here's the start of the (unofficial) summary at the beginning of the opinion:

The en banc court reversed the district court's judgment in favor of federal defendants in an action brought by environmental groups concerning long-term water contracts the federal Bureau of Reclamation entered pertaining to California’s Central Valley Project, the threatened delta smelt, and the requirement under Section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act that federal agencies must consult with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service prior to taking any agency action that could affect an endangered or threatened species or its critical habitat.

More coverage: NRDC press release; KCCP 80.3 Blog; and Fresno Bee.

Evidentiary Hearing On Marijuana As Schedule I Controlled Substance Confirmed

After arguments this morning, Judge Mueller denied the government's motion to reconsider the granting of an evidentiary hearing on defendants' constitutional claims challenging, among other things, the rationality of classifying marijuana as a federal Schedule I controlled substance in United States v. Schweder, et. al., No. 2:11-CR-0449-KJM.  The parties are to file a joint report regarding scheduling and witnesses.  The evidentiary hearing is currently set for June 2 and is expected to last a "few days." 

You can follow this case on my blog at this link:  Schweder Marijuana Case