Eastern District of California Blog

Report EDCA Election Fraud

United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced today that Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Khasigian will serve as District Election Officer (DEO) for the Eastern District of California for the November 4, 2014, general elections. The DEO is responsible for overseeing complaints of election fraud and voting rights abuses in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington.

“Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and with the confidence that each vote will count and our elections will not be tainted by fraud,” U.S. Attorney Wagner said. “The Department of Justice will act promptly and aggressively to protect the voting rights of our citizens and the integrity of the election process.”

* * *

While polls are open on Election Day, Khasigian can be reached by the public in the Eastern District of California at the following telephone numbers: (916) 554-2700 and (916) 554-2723.

In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on Election Day. The FBI can be reached by the public in the Eastern District of California at (916) 481-9110.

Complaints about ballot access or discrimination can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section in Washington at 1-800-253-3931 or (202) 307-2767.

US DOJ Press Release, 10/30/14

EDCA Feds Decline To Prosecute In David Silva Death Case

The criminal investigation into the death of David Sal Silva has been closed after an independent FBI inquiry determined there was not enough evidence to support a federal prosecution against local law enforcement officers, federal authorities said Monday.

For the seven Kern County sheriff’s deputies and two California Highway Patrol officers present during the May 2013 altercation with Silva, it means they will face no criminal charges.

But Silva’s family and their attorneys say it’s far from over. Civil lawsuits claiming wrongful death and violations of Silva’s civil rights continue in the case.

* * *

The matter was referred by Youngblood to the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Justice Department, and to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.

“To maintain the public’s trust and fulfill the high obligations undertaken by all law enforcement, it is critical that we diligently evaluate such allegations,” U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner said in a news release. “We undertook a careful evaluation of the evidence in this case, and we appreciate the assistance we received, particularly from our partners in the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

“I extend my condolences to the entire Silva family for the loss they suffered with the tragic passing of Mr. Silva.”

* * *

Deputies handcuffed Silva, and, with the assistance of two California Highway Patrol officers, used a hobble restraint on his legs.

Opposing attorneys say officers attached the hobble restraint to Silva’s handcuffs behind his back, a hold commonly known as hogtying. Considered dangerous and potentially fatal, especially to obese individuals like Silva, the hogtying restraint is prohibited by many law enforcement agencies, including the Bakersfield Police Department.

According to the Kern County Sheriff's Office's manual of policies and procedures, the leg hobble — a 42-inch webbed Polypropylene belt with a brass clip at one end and a permanent loop at the other — may be used “in those cases where the use of handcuffs alone is not adequate to control the person and prevent him or her from further injuring himself/herself or others.”

The sheriff’s office does not prohibit the hogtie, but it discourages the restraint “except in the gravest of circumstances...”

* * *

Medical aid arrived soon afterward. But Silva was pronounced dead 49 minutes after the first deputy awakened him with a knuckle rub to the sternum.

Los Angeles attorney Dale Galipo, the lead trial attorney in one of the pending civil cases, said Monday he was not surprised by the results of the federal investigation.

It’s extremely rare for them to recommend criminal prosecution, which is probably part of the problem,” said Galipo, who specializes in police misconduct cases. “Most often investigations find that officials acted appropriately.”

The family, he said, must look to the civil courts for justice.

BakersfieldCaliforian, 10/27/14

Ponzi Schemer Draws 188-Month Sentence

Vincent Singh, a Ponzi schemer who preyed on the members of his own ethnic Indian Fijian community in the Sacramento region, was sentenced Thursday to 15 years and eight months in federal prison.

In sentencing Singh, U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. said his crimes were “the worst of their kind that I’ve seen in 12 years as a federal judge.”

Court papers show that over a three-year period, Singh cheated 190 people of Indian Fijian descent who are members of a small, tight-knit community in and around Sacramento, out of $22 million, then filed for bankruptcy protection.

Sacramento Bee, 10/30/14

EDCA Bankruptcy Court Approves Stockton Reorganization Plan

Government pensions in California remain untouchable, at least for now, after a bankruptcy judge approved Stockton’s plan to repay its creditors Thursday without reducing the city’s pension obligations.

In a major victory for CalPERS and public employees, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein approved Stockton’s reorganization plan over the objections of a disgruntled investment firm, Franklin Templeton, which wanted more money at the expense of the city’s pension benefits. “This plan, I’m persuaded, is about the best that can be done,” Klein told a packed courtroom in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Sacramento.

Sacramento Bee, 10/30/14

EDCA Marijuana Schedule I Evidentiary Hearing Closes

The testimony in the evidentiary hearing over the constitutionality of classifying marijuana as a schedule I controlled substance closed today at noon after government witness Dr. Madras finished her testimony.  U.S. v. Schweder, et. al., No. 2:11-CR-0449-KJM.

Judge Mueller ordered the parties to submit a list of exhibits the parties agree may be admitted and/or any objections to exhibits by November 7.  She also ordered the parties to submit a proposed schedule for final briefing and oral argument by that same date.  A status conference was set as a control date for November 19, at 9:00 a.m.

Here's a summary of yesterday's testimony from TheLeafOnline.com.

EDCA Grants Prelim Injunction To Keep Chukchansi Casino Closed

A federal judge in Fresno on Wednesday issued a preliminary injunction requested by the state Attorney General that will keep Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino closed indefinitely.

Meanwhile, audits that were required to be filed to the federal government showed that the Chukchansi operation and its parent agency, Chukchansi Economic Development Authority, had a “fund deficit of $49.6 million” at the end of 2013.

A federal gaming commission official said the deficit is not necessarily an indication of missing money.

“It could mean they are cash short,” said Daniel Catchpole, a Portland, Ore.-based audit manager with the National Indian Gaming Commission. “I don’t know exactly what it is.”

U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill presided over an hour-long hearing Wednesday about the closure, triggered Oct. 9 when an armed group representing one tribal leadership faction raided the hotel-casino in search of documents related to late audits that had not been filed with the federal government. In the hearing, O’Neill made it clear that the warring factions had made little or no progress in settling their disputes.

The preliminary injunction will remain in effect until “resolution of the case by settlement or judgment or the court’s further order.” No court date has been set for the next hearing.

Fresno Bee, 10/29/14

Schweder Marijuana Schedule I Evidentiary Hearing Continues Today 1:15 p.m.

The marijuana schedule I evidentiary hearing in the EDCA Schweder case starts up again today at 1:15 p.m. in Judge Mueller's courtroom with the finish of defense witness Christopher Conrad's testimony.  Then government witness Madras will start her testimony.  She is not expected to finish until Thursday.  

Here are highlights from yesterday's testimony from TheLeafOnline.  

U.S. v. Schweder Marijuana Schedule I Evid Hearing: Dr. Carl Hart's Testimony

According to TheLeafOnline.com (see also SFGate's Smell the Truth Blog), federal prosecutors stumbled badly during the cross-examination of Dr. Carl Hart on the medical benefits of marijuana during yesterday's evidentiary hearing before Judge Mueller:

Assistant US Attorney Gregory Broderick stumbled badly in his cross-examination of Dr. Carl Hart in federal evidentiary hearings to determine the constitutional basis of the federal Schedule I classification of cannabis, appearing at times to even tacitly endorse the idea that cannabis has medical value. In hearings conducted on October 27th by the Hon. Kimberly Mueller in the federal Eastern District of California in the matter of US v Schweder, attempts by US Attorneys to paint Hart – who teaches neuroscience at Columbia University and sits on an advisory board to the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) – as a researcher blinded by his personal biases blew up, at times embarrassingly, in their faces.

In one dramatic example, Broderick asked Hart about the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM), which is published by the American Psychiatric Association and contains a definition of “substance use disorder” (AKA addiction) which has been regarded as definitive by courts. Noting that the substance abuse standard promulgated by the 4th edition of the DSM (the DSM-IV) results in an oft-quoted 9% rate of dependence among lifetime users of cannabis, Broderick requested Hart’s comment.

But Hart appeared to stun Broderick with his response that the newest version of the DSM, the DSM-V, explains that tolerance and withdrawal from cannabis are “normal symptoms to be expected of legitimate medical cannabis use” in states where it is legal. (This point was later expanded upon by the testimony of Dr. Philip Denny, another expert witness for the defense.)

15-Day EDCA Guns Sales Trial Ends In Acquittal & Deadlock

A 15-day trial of a former sheriff’s deputy and a gun dealer in Sacramento federal court on charges of illegal weapons sales ended Monday after a jury failed to reach a verdict.

The jury returned a not-guilty verdict for a third defendant, Ulysses Simpson Grant Early IV. He had been charged with purchasing a gun from a Roseville police officer.

U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley declared a mistrial for the other two defendants, former Sacramento County Deputy Ryan McGowan and onetime licensed firearms dealer Robert Snellings Jr., after the jury declared that it was hopelessly deadlocked.

Sacramento Bee, 10/27/14

EDCA Schedule I Marijuana Evidentiary Hearing Update

While other commitments have prevented me from observing, I've heard that defense witnesses Gregory Carter (Friday) and Carl Hart (today) have finished testifying in the Schweder case Schedule I marijuana evidentiary hearing.  Starting tomorrow at 9:00 a.m., defense witness Dr. Philip Denny will complete his testimony, followed by Christopher Conrad.  On Wednesday afternoon, the government is expected to call its expert, Bertha Madras.  It's now looking like the evidentiary hearing will spill into Thursday. 

Here's some news coverage previewing the hearing:  SFGate.com, 10/27/14 and Christian Science Monitor, 10/27/14, [note: both pieces incorrectly state the evidentiary hearing started Monday; it began Friday afternoon].