Eastern District of California Blog

UC Davis Prisoner Civil Rights Litigation Training, June 6

Next Friday, June 6, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the UC Davis School of Law and the Sacramento Chapter of the Federal Bar Association are sponsoring a seminar on prisoner civil rights fundamentals.  Here's a link to the seminar with full details and a list of confirmed participants.

Medtronic Settles Whistleblower Suit For $9.98 Million

Federal prosecutors in Sacramento said Wednesday they obtained a $9.98 million settlement against Medtronic Inc. over allegations that the medical-device company improperly paid doctors to implant the company’s pacemakers and defibrillators.

The settlement, announced by U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner, stems from a 5-year-old lawsuit filed by a former Medtronic employee. The U.S. Justice Department eventually took over the case, but the employee, Adolfo Schroeder, will receive $1.7 million of the settlement under the whistleblower provisions of the federal False Claims Act.

Sacramento Bee

Chico Florist Convicted Of Contempt & Other Charges

A Chico florist who ceased paying federal payroll taxes in 2000 was convicted Tuesday on contempt and for filing false debt claims against officers.

A jury convicted James O. Molen, the 70-year-old owner of Touch of Class Florist, on two counts of contempt, two counts of filing false liens against federal officers and a count of interference with the administration of tax laws, according to a press release from U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner.

Chico ER.  Case is United States v. Molen, No. 2:12-CR-0252-TLN.

Fresno Court Rejects Attempt To Stop Water Flow From Friant Dam

The U.S. District Court in Fresno Tuesday refused to stop Millerton Lake water from being sent to wildlife refuges and farmers with historic rights on the Valley's west side.

East San Joaquin Valley farmers, facing a zero allocation of Millerton water, asked the court last week to stop the flow.

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In rejecting the bid for a temporary restraining order, the court said the water allocation is a result of the way Congress wrote laws, not government regulators prioritizing fish and wildlife above farmers and the economy.

Fresno Bee

EDCA Court Grants Acquittal On Obstruction Of Justice Charge In Bid-Rigging Case

In this order, Judge Shubb granted Andrew Katakis's motion for judgment of acquittal, overturning his conviction for obstructing justice in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1519 for allegedly deleting emails in the recent bid-rigging case.  Here are the first few paragraphs from the Modesto Bee story:

Saying a rational jury could not have found Modesto businessman Andrew Katakis guilty of destroying evidence to throw off investigators, a federal judge has thrown out Katakis’ March 11 obstruction conviction. Katakis said he is “gratified” and will seek a new trial to reverse the same jury’s guilty verdict of rigging bids at public foreclosure auctions.

“I have always maintained that I am innocent of the government’s claim of obstruction of justice,” Katakis said in an email to The Modesto Bee. “Fortunately, my trial was in front of a judge who does care about the truth.”

How the overturned conviction or a new-trial motion might affect Katakis’ sentencing on the bid-rigging charge, scheduled for June 9, could not be determined.

After a four-week trial and four days of deliberating, jurors declared Katakis and Donald Parker guilty of bid rigging in San Joaquin County, and Katakis guilty of obstruction. Jurors could not agree on whether the men had committed mail fraud, and they cleared auction crier Ted Longley of having a role in a conspiracy involving 11 other defendants who had pleaded guilty earlier.

Katakis hired another law firm and asked that the obstruction conviction be tossed. Last week, U.S. District Court Judge William Shubb, who had presided at the trial, agreed.

In his order, Shubb noted that federal prosecutors relied on various theories of Katakis deleting supposedly incriminating emails in 2010, moving from one to another and then a third when the first two theories fell apart. A former FBI agent hired by Katakis’ defense team discredited a prosecution computer expert, who was forced to admit the error when recalled, Shubb noted.

Recent EDCA Sentences

A Citrus Heights man was sentenced by Judge England to 27 months in a marriage fraud scheme.  No. 2:11-CR-295-MCE.  Sacramento Bee. 

Judge England also sentenced a Stockton man to 135 months for conspiracy to rob a "fake" stash house.  No. 2:13-CR-0078-MCE.  Stockton Record; see also 5/5/14 stash house post.

Fresno Indictment Charges Offenses Involving Three Pipe Bombs

A Raymond man believed responsible for pipe bombs found at a Chowchilla gas station and at the Crossroads Christian School in Madera was indicted by a federal grand jury on Thursday, U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner said.

Richard Wilson Key, 37, faces a nine-count indictment that charges him with crimes associated with the possession and use of three pipe bombs.

Fresno Bee, 5/22/14; see earlier story on Key's arrest: Fresno Bee, 5/13/14.

An EDCA Blog Tribute to Samantha Spangler

Thanks to guest blogger Assistant Federal Defender Tim Zindel for putting together this piece on Sacramento AUSA Samantha Spangler, who passed away last month.  Tim obtained these photos of Samantha from former Judge Garcia's staff.

    By Tim Zindel:

Samantha Sue Spangler

             AUSA Samantha Spangler, who spent nearly 25 years with the court in Sacramento, died on April 10, 2014,  from progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP).  She was 55.  Samantha began her career with the Court in 1989 as a law clerk to Hon. Edward J. Garcia, EDCA U.S. District Judge.  In 1993 she became an Assistant U.S. Attorney and served in that position for 20 years until complications of her disease led to retirement.

            A memorial service is scheduled to be held on Saturday, May 31, at 1:00 p.m. in the Sierra Room at the ARD Canyon View Community Center, 471 Maidu Drive, Auburn, California.  Donations in Sam’s honor may be made to www.curePSP.org.

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From Judge Garcia and His Staff

            Samantha worked as Judge Garcia’s law clerk for four years, from 1989 to 1993.  In that capacity she demonstrated integrity, industry, and intellect, all the qualities that the judge looks for in a lawyer.  Sam was exhaustive in her research and honest in her writing.  Her work ethic was Herculean and she possessed superior knowledge of all the obscure and esoteric areas of law into which a federal judge must delve.

            In addition, all lawyers must be accomplished Thespians.  Samantha didn’t let us down.  In a chambers gathering, which took place in 2003, she took on the role of Antonia Sierra, aka J. Tony Serra, defender of the downtrodden.  Here she is at her finest, draped in the American flag, arguing for the rights of her client.  Although Samantha was a prosecutor for almost 20 years, she pounced on the opportunity to show her versatility, wit and sense of comedic timing in this chambers skit.

            The chambers of a federal judge is akin to a second family.  With Samantha’s passing, we have lost a vibrant and vital member.

 

From Magistrate Judge Edmund F. Brennan

            Samantha was very devoted to the profession and her career.   She was obviously intelligent and a hard worker.   But she was also a unique individual who had a talent for finding new perspectives for examining an issue.   And yes, that penchant for novel approaches did include dressing up as and imitating Mr. Serra at Judge Garcia’s surprise birthday celebration.   In the courtroom she was a strong advocate for her position, but she never lost sight of her role as an officer of the court.   She believed strongly in the mission of the Department of Justice in general and the U.S. Attorney’s office in particular.   But whether she prevailed or not she always believed in and had great respect for the process.

 

From Tim Zindel, Assistant Federal Defender

            I met Sam when I arrived at the Court as a law clerk in 1991.  After two years at Judge Garcia’s elbow, she knew more about ERISA, CERCLA, and other complicated areas of law than  the rest of us would learn during our clerkships.  She offered help to all without hesitation.

            Starting in 1993, I litigated against Samantha for 20 years.  During that time we had many disagreements, some of them quite strong, but we communicated well and she always showed her candor and integrity.  Sam had a deep love of life – she enjoyed music, theater, gardening, the outdoors, and later took up yoga and studied to be a massage therapist.  Her love of life helped her to recognize the humanity of the men and women she prosecuted.  Sam always surprised me when we discussed cases and I will deeply miss her unique and refreshing perspective.

Fresno Leads Country In Laser Strike Prosecutions

A lengthy online story in arstechnica.com focuses on laser strike prosecutions in Fresno and describes AUSA Karen Escobar as "the leading prosecutor in the nation for laser strike prosecutions." Here are some excerpts:

It may seem like a silly thing, but laser strikes against planes, helicopters, and other aerial vehicles have become an increasing epidemic nationwide. Since the FBI began keeping track in 2005, there have been more than 17,000 laser strikes in total—more than a fifth (3,960) in 2013 alone. During the first three months of 2014, the FBI reported an average of 9.5 documented incidents every single day.

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Typically federal prosecutors, like Fresno's Karen Escobar, the local Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) for the Eastern District of California, would spend the bulk of their time bringing drug cases. Here, that's not necessarily the case.

“I prosecute primarily drug cases and have quite a few of those, but for some reason our district—34 counties, including Fresno [in Fresno County] and Bakersfield [in Kern County]—has the highest rate of laser strikes that are reported,” Escobar said.

There's no single reason for this uptick, but it has thrust Fresno into the national discussion around the trend. In March 2014, local law enforcement agencies—California Highway Patrol (CHP), the Fresno Police Department, and the Fresno County Sheriff's Department—had a "round table" laser strike symposium with the US Attorney's office and the FBI among others. And these local groups continue to keep regular contact with other federal authorities (like the Federal Aviation Administration) in Washington, DC.

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Escobar said since that first case, “incidents just increased tremendously and I kept getting more and more referrals.” It's even attracted the attention of her superiors in Washington, DC.

“She’s probably the leading prosecutor in the nation for laser strikes,” Johnson, the FBI air marshal, told Ars. “She in particular takes this very serious and she has prepared training for other US Attorneys in the ways you should prosecute a laser case.”

Escobar's colleague, Michael Tierney, another AUSA in the Eastern District of California, attributed Fresno's push to litigate to her. As a former judge advocate general in the military, he says the increased prosecution of laser strikes is justified as well. "It's too high of a risk to take [to not prosecute]."

In one of Escobar's most recent cases (from April 2014), she brought fresh charges against three more alleged laser strike suspects in Bakersfield and Fresno.

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Rodriguez and Coleman have both become two of eight laser strike convictions (with three more cases ongoing) from the Eastern District of California centered in Fresno County since 2007. Combined with an additional 20 state convictions from this same region, this federal district alone constitutes 35 percent of the only 80 total laser strike convictions nationwide—state and federal—since the FBI began keeping track a decade ago.

Schweder Marijuana Case Evidentiary Hearing Continued

After additional briefs were filed on various legal issues, Judge Mueller yesterday heard argument, set a schedule for further court filings, and continued the evidentiary hearing in the Schweder case from June 2 to August 18, 2014, at 9:00 a.m.  Schweder case posts.