No. 45
Judicial candidates are interviewed; Bianco's election investigation halted; people attending court have been arrested by ICE, and more.
Inland Empire Law Weekly is planning on printing a weekly newspaper. The edition will be sent to all paying subscribers that provide their mailing address. If you would like to get a copy, please provide your preferred mailing address at this link.
Subscribe to our audio edition on either Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Riverside election recount
Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco's investigation into last November's election has been halted by the California Supreme Court at the request of California Attorney General Rob Bonta, and the search warrants authorizing his manual recount of the ballots have been released in their entirety. Riverside Superior Judge O.G. Magno, who was going to hear Bonta's Superior Court petition to halt the investigation on Monday, decided not to address the merits of the case because of the Supreme Court's order.
Magno will, however, go over whether any documents should be under seal, any other cases that might affect the suit, and whether any hearing should be delayed until the California Supreme Court takes any more action. He also wrote in his tentative ruling that the parties will discuss whether Bonta's April 9 reply brief, which did not mention a court order that the seized ballots must be preserved, was proper under the California Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 3.3 and Riverside Superior Court Rule 3320. Magno questioned whether the omission of the order to preserve resulted in proper advisement of the facts.
Read the reporting from last week:
Riv. Sheriff's election investigation paused, warrants unsealed
Read the search warrants for Riversiders' ballots
"My judicial philosophy is 'be fair,'" said judge who later signed warrants in sheriff’s election probe
Inland Empire Law Weekly joined a petition before the Supreme Court of California to court to unseal the search warrants.
If the fight for open courts is important to you, consider subscribing
Election news
We are exactly one month—and three editions of Inland Empire Law Weekly—from the start of mail-in ballots being sent across the Inland Empire for the June 2 primary election. To best inform IE voters, Inland Empire Law Weekly is prioritizing election coverage for the next couple of months, increasing election-related cooperation with local press and lifting the paywall for election stories.
RSVP to judicial candidate interviews
Inland Empire Law Weekly interviewed two of the three candidates for the open seat in Riverside Superior Court on Thursday and Friday.
Watch the interview with Jennifer Loflin here.
Watch the interview with Michelle Paradise here.
There is still space to attend Inland Empire Law Weekly's interview of candidate Andrea Garcia in downtown Riverside on Monday. Free tickets are available here. If you can't make it in person, you can watch the livestream with Andrea Garcia here, at 5:30 p.m.
Putting together the venue, promotion and video equipment for this has taken a lot of time and money.
If you support an informed electorate, considering supporting this publication
Raincross Gazette hosts city council candidate forums
The Raincross Gazette is also hosting candidate forums, for Riverside City Council candidates. Dan Bernstein, former Press-Enterprise columnist, will moderate. The forums will be held April 23 for Ward 2, April 29 for Ward 4 and April 30 for Ward 6. More information, including the registration link, can be found at the Raincross Gazette's website.
Supporters flee Swalwell’s governor campaign amid allegations of sexual assault
Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, one of the leading candidates for California governor, came under increasing pressure Friday to drop out of the race following a report by the San Francisco Chronicle that he sexually assaulted a former female staffer. Swalwell denied the allegations.
Swalwell had racked up endorsements across the Democratic establishment, but a handful of the state’s most powerful labor unions and public officials who backed him had dropped their support by Friday afternoon. Some, including U.S. Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, also called for him to exit the race.
Nearly all the other Democratic candidates called for him to immediately drop out, including billionaire and climate advocate Tom Steyer, former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former Controller Betty Yee, who called the allegations “sickening.”
The Chronicle reported that a woman who worked in Swalwell’s Castro Valley office claimed to have had sexual encounters with him while she worked for him and alleged he sexually assaulted her when she was intoxicated. The report comes after weeks of rumors that Swalwell had inappropriate interactions with staff for years. On one instance in 2019, the woman said she became intoxicated after Swalwell asked her for drinks and woke up in his bed in a hotel room, feeling the effects of intercourse.
"These allegations are false and come on the eve of an election against the frontrunner for governor. For nearly 20 years, I have served the public — as a prosecutor and a congressman and have always protected women. I will defend myself with the facts and where necessary bring legal action,” Swalwell said in a statement Friday.
CNN published a separate report...
Trump’s divisive role in California politics is on display as GOP prepares election endorsements
This weekend’s California Republican Party convention was poised to be a drama-filled event. The party held out a slim hope that its two gubernatorial candidates, if they played nicely enough, could lock Democrats out of the November election and reclaim statewide office for the first time in 20 years.
But then President Donald Trump weighed in, backing former Fox News host Steve Hilton over Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.
Now, the state party’s endorsement is far less consequential.
Local news
Two ICE arrests filmed at Rancho Cucamonga courthouse
The Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice posted two videos of what appears to be ICE agents arresting people outside the Rancho Cucamonga Courthouse.
One is dated April 9, at 7:45 a.m. The other is dated April 10, at 9:46 a.m. Both appear to be, and are labeled as, being outside the Rancho Cucamonga Superior Courthouse.
LA Taco reported that three people were arrested at the courthouse.
Highland man charged in federal, county courts, for arson of warehouse
Chamel Abdulkarim of Highland was charged in two courts for arson of the 1.2 million-square-foot Kimberly‑Clark Distribution Center in Ontario. Federal prosecutors say he caused $500 million in damage.
A video posted to Instagram shows the arsonist lighting piles of paper supplies on fire, while saying "“If you’re not going to pay us enough to f—ing live or afford to live, at least pay us enough not to do this s—," and "All you had to do was pay us enough to live. Pay us more of the value we bring. Not corporate. Didn’t see the shareholders picking up a shift."
The San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office brought one count of aggravated arson and six counts of arson of a structure. Arraignment is scheduled for April 13.
The federal complaint was not publicly accessible as of Saturday night.
Local sources
Fontana man's planned testimony against cartel canceled due to deportation // Los Angeles Times
Colton Joint Unified settles sex abuse lawsuits with former star football players for $19.5 million // San Bernardino Sun
Ontario Mills mall closed after fires set in stores; man arrested // The Press-Enterprise
California deputy caught scrolling apparent dating app during SWAT operation in Riverside County // CBS News
California Central District Judge Michael Fitzgerald orders Trump administration to stop coercing immigrant children to self-deport // LAist
Palm Desert Council backs stricter homelessness enforcement, dissolves task force // The Palm Desert Post
Local events
San Bernardino grand jury applications open
Citizens interested in serving on the San Bernardino County Civil Grand Jury can apply until July 31. The Grand Jury has investigatory power into the county's and city's operations.
Joshua Tree CARE Court event
San Bernardino Superior Court is sending its mobile courtroom to the Joshua Tree Courthouse on May 8, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Attendees will have access to self-help services for document preparation and filing, an on-site judicial officer to determine eligibility for CARE Court, and Department of Behavioral Health representatives to answer questions. CARE Court provides treatment for people with schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders. No appointment is needed to attend.
Mock trial team start-up information to be shared at SB County session
Attorneys and teachers who are interested in starting a high school mock trial team in San Bernardino County can attend a 30-minute informational session that starts at 4 p.m., April 23.
Attorneys and teachers interested can sign up for the informational session through the Google form here.
Appellate mediation program
The Riverside Court of Appeal is asking for attorneys to participate in its mediation program. The volunteers can be experienced in all areas of law, and can be retired, but must have ten years of legal experience. One hundred and sixty-five attorneys over the years have participated in the 34-year-old program.
Mediations are scheduled at the convenience of the attorney, and can be remote. The program saves time for litigants as well as the Court of Appeals.
Interested attorneys can call the Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division Two, and ask for Jackie Hoar.
Legal aid clinics
Inland Empire Latino Lawyers Associations hosts free legal aid clinics at the 838 Alta St, Redlands, on the last Wednesday of every month. They also host clinics the first, second and fourth Monday of every month at Bordwell Park, 2008 Martin Luther King Blvd., Riverside. All clinics are held from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
State news
‘A false front’: The California agency failing to stop conservatorship abuses
When Bruce Knopf needed someone to oversee his brother Vinyasi’s special needs trust in 2012, he said, he turned to Donna Bogdanovich because she was licensed by California.
As a professional fiduciary, Bogdanovich was paid to manage Vinyasi’s money.
But over time, she stopped paying the bills, and the consequences piled up. His car broke down. He faced eviction. “There were times I went without food,” said Vinyasi, who legally goes by one name.
So he turned to the Professional Fiduciaries Bureau, the place Californians are supposed to rely on in situations like these. Vinyasi filed a complaint in June 2019, alleging that Bogdanovich had not paid his rent and was “habitually” late paying his other bills.
The bureau didn’t take action against her at the time, and Vinyasi said he eventually became homeless.
It turns out that Vinyasi wasn’t alone. The bureau started getting complaints about Bogdanovich just months after the agency awarded her a license, giving her the authority to control the finances and lives of vulnerable people deemed unable to take care of themselves.
Over the years, the bureau fined her multiple times...
Why prosecutors dropped charges against Fresno man who escorted students to ICE protest
A central California police department this week filed criminal charges against a man who helped escort student protesters during a protest against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, but the case quickly dissipated when local prosecutors said they would not pursue it.
The Clovis Police Department on Tuesday referred Alfred Aldrete, 41, for one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor for his role in a February high school student walkout.
“During the investigation, Aldrete was identified as being present during the walkout and allegedly involved in directing student activity and entering the roadway, which impacted traffic flow,” Clovis police said in a press release.
He and a small group of volunteers escorted about 50 high school students
Attorney for man shot by ICE in California says his client did not try to run officers over // AP
Colossal hospice fraud scheme cost California millions, officials say amid intensifying Trump feud // Los Angeles Times
'Ketamine queen' gets lengthy prison sentence for selling drug that killed Matthew Perry // Los Angeles Times
Resistance state: Tracking California’s lawsuits against the new Trump administration
Resistance state: Tracking California’s lawsuits against the new Trump administrationThis story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Round 2 of California vs. Trump is well underway. President Donald Trump signed a flurry of executive orders moments after being inaugurated president, and many of them could directly affect California. These orders include revoking licenses for offshoreInland Empire Law WeeklyCalMatters Staff
National news
Birthright case forces US Supreme Court to confront prospect of Americans losing citizenship
WASHINGTON, D.C.—As the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments last week about the constitutionality of President Donald Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship, Justice Sonia Sotomayor seemed skeptical.
The order as written applies only to babies born in the future, and the Trump administration has asked the court to exclude current citizens from any decision. Still, the court’s senior liberal justice wasn’t so sure it would work out like that.
“But the logic of your position, if accepted, is that this president or the next president or Congress or someone else could decide that it shouldn’t be prospective,” Sotomayor told U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer, the government’s top advocate at the court.
“There would be nothing limiting that, according to your theory.”
Feds subpoena Texas counties for voters’ records
TEXAS—At least three Texas counties this week either received or were told they would soon receive administrative subpoenas from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The department is seeking detailed records about some individual voters, including their registration applications and voter history, though counties don’t yet know which ones.
The subpoenas appear to be linked to a series of efforts by the Trump administration to verify the citizenship of registered voters. In December, Texas turned over the state’s voter roll to the Justice Department. The transfer included voters’ identifiable information such as dates of birth, driver’s license numbers, and partial Social Security numbers. It did not include, however, voters’ registration applications or signatures — the state does not have access to that information, which is kept by county voter registrars.
Lubbock County’s elections administrator, Roxzine Stinson, said she met with...
Tennessee Senate advances bill penalizing judges who obstruct ICE
NASHVILLE—Lawmakers in the Tennessee Senate voted to advance a bill that could subject judges who obstruct federal immigration enforcement to discipline, including removal from office.
The legislation (HB1707/SB1952) by Rep. Rick Scarbrough of Oak Ridge and Sen. Paul Rose of Shelby County, both Republicans, does not define what obstruction by a judge could entail.
The proposed legislation was introduced during...
ICE labeled 1,300 arrests during Operation Metro Surge as ‘collateral’
MINNESOTA—On the morning of Feb. 13, a 52-year-old man from Ecuador was in a car with four people when the driver noticed they were being followed by a white van and pulled over into an elementary school parking lot, according to a petition filed to challenge the 52-year-old’s immigration detention.
A plainclothes Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent then approached the car and said that agents were looking for someone named Helen. After he reviewed their identification, multiple ICE agents detained three of the passengers, including the 52-year-old man. None of them were named Helen.
The man’s arrest appears to be one of 1,300 arrests during Operation Metro Surge labeled as “collateral” by ICE in a new release of ICE data obtained by the Deportation Data Project. The labeling of arrests as either “targeted” or “collateral,” which was not included in previous data releases, offers new insight into how many people were not the intended target of immigration enforcement during the surge of 3,000 federal agents but were nonetheless caught in the Trump administration’s mass deportation dragnet.
The data doesn’t name the individuals arrested...
Newly released surveillance footage of Jan. 14 ICE shooting contradicts agent’s account
MINNESOTA—The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who shot Venezuelan immigrant Julio Sosa-Celis in north Minneapolis in January told the FBI that by the time he opened fire, he had been “fighting and tussling” with Alfredo Aljorna, another Venezuelan immigrant, “for about three minutes, was exhausted, alone, on the ground, and in fear of his safety.” In the ICE agent’s account, Sosa-Celis, Aljorna and a third man had been repeatedly hitting him with a broom stick and a shovel.
Grainy footage from a city surveillance camera — released by the city of Minneapolis on Monday more than two months after the shooting — show a scuffle between the ICE agent, Sosa-Celis and Aljorna lasting less than 12 seconds.
The ICE agent’s original account...
National news from around the web
Journalists at Voice of America have been to court in the hope of getting back to their jobs. Now they are suing to protect against censorship // Columbia Journalism Review
White House ballroom construction can continue, federal appeals court says // The Hill
Trump threatens to jail reporters if they don’t turn over Iran source // The Washington Post
History
The Supreme Court case that affirmed undocumented immigrants’ right to a free public education
In 1982, the Supreme Court ruled that states cannot deny children a free public education because of their immigration status.
Recently, some conservatives and members of the Trump administration have questioned that right to a free public education and signaled interest in overturning the case.
This quick guide aims to help you understand the case that first brought the issue to the Supreme Court.
Why was Plyler v. Doe filed?
The Declaration of Independence
In celebration of the 250th anniversary of the nation's founding, Inland Empire Law Weekly is examining each of the 27 reasons for independence as argued in the Declaration of Independence. Grievance number 17: "For imposing taxes on us without our consent."
No taxation without representation is the slogan everyone remembers from school, but people often forget the "without representation" clause and just remember "no taxation." The patriots didn't have an issue with taxes; they had an issue with being cut out of the decision making process.
Their opposition came from old English custom—but even before the Revolution ended, patriots such as Thomas Paine argued that is honorable to pay higher taxes to contribute to national defense.
"It is pity but some other word beside taxation had been devised for so noble an extraordinary occasion," Paine wrote.
Book recommendation
Every week, Inland Empire Law Weekly recommends a book. Today's book is the recently published Revenge for the Sixties: Sam Alito and the Triumph of the Conservative Legal Movement, by Peter Canellos.
Canellos is managing editor for enterprise at Politico, and a graduate of Columbia Law School. His biography of Alito is the first for the Supreme Justice.
"Steely in his demeanor, with an impassive appearance that defies changing fashions, Alito could be the family lawyer in a 1960s television drama. But when he talks there is an emotional undercurrent, a fast-flowing stream beneath a placid surface. This is a man driven to push boundaries and mold ideas. His aim is to right the wrongs of the past six decades, as he saw them. He was the prized son of an Italian-born father and a mother whose parents emigrated from Italy shortly before her birth, worked their way into the middle class despite anti-Catholic prejudice and humiliating setbacks like evictions, and exacting big achievement demands of their children. But his family’s values came under attack during the sixties and later when Alito was at Princeton as the Vietnam war raged, women demanded equality, and their brand of patriotism was devalued."
$29 from bookshop.org
Today in history: President Clinton found in contempt of court
On April 12, 1999, Eastern District of Arkansas Judge Susan Wright cited then-President Bill Clinton for contempt of court due to "intentionally false" testimony. The testimony was about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky, specifically whether he was ever alone with her, or if he had sexual relations with her. Clinton was giving the testimony during the discovery phase of a sexual harassment suit brought by civil servant Paula Jones. Clinton settled the suit for $850,000.
Wright's finding was the first time a president had ever been cited for contempt of court. He was fined $90,000.
"Sanctions must be imposed, not only to redress the president's misconduct, but to deter others who might themselves consider emulating the president of the United States by engaging in misconduct that undermines the integrity of the judicial system," she wrote.
Two years later, on Jan. 19, 2001, Wright's finding was cited as the reason for a five-year suspension of Clinton from the Arkansas Bar.
"By knowingly giving evasive and misleading answers, in violation of Judge Wright's discovery orders, he engaged in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice," the Bar wrote in its notice of suspension.
Discussion in the ATmosphere