No. 52
Election day is Tuesday.
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For all election coverage we've published, click here
For Riverside's judicial race, read our Riverside judicial candidate interviews
For state issues: CalMatters’ Voter Guide
For local issues:
Community Forward Redlands’ election guide
The Press-Enterprise’s voter guide
Riverside Record’s city council guide
Riverside Record’s Measure Z guide
Raincross Gazette’s Voter Guide.
Rebecca Haro pleads guilty to murder of baby
Rebecca Haro pleaded guilty to the involuntary manslaughter of her 7-month-old son, Emmanuel Haro, on May 29.
Emmanuel died after repeated physical abuse by his father, Jake Haro. Jake pleaded guilty to the murder and was sentenced to 25 years to life Nov. 3.
Jake Haro gets 25 to life for murdering son, past case explainedBoth District Attorney Michael Hestrin and Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco criticized Judge Dwight Moore’s granting of probation at an Aug. 27 news conference. In response, the American Board of Trial Advocates argued prosecutors dragged their feet in prosecuting the case.Inland Empire Law WeeklyAidan McGloin
“Rebecca Haro’s plea and sentence today reflect her sins of parental omission,” Assistant District Attorney Brandon Smith said.“Her choice not to intervene was a choice to allow, if not facilitate, Emmanuel’s death. This defendant had a legal and moral responsibility as Emmanuel’s mother. She catastrophically failed in that duty.”
Rebecca was sentenced to 12 years and 8 months in state prison. She plead guilty to. felony child abuse, involuntary manslaughter and accessory after the fact. As part of the plea, prosecutors dropped the felony murder charge and misdemeanor false police report charges. To cover their son's disapperance, Jake and Rebecca had called the police with the lie that Emmanuel was kidnapped.
Smith and Chief Deputy District Attorney William Robinson prosecuted both cases.
Immediately following Jake and Rebecca's arrest, Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco and District Attorney Michael Hestrin laid blame against Riverside Temporary Judge Dwight Moore, who had sentenced Jake in a previous child abuse case regarding his daughter.
"The judge decided, as is the judge’s right to do in that case, he decided that Mr, Haro deserved an extra break, and gave him probation, and basically 180 days of work release, which ends up being like community service. I will say that it was an outrageous, an outrageous error in justice by this judge. I don’t have any problem saying that, I’m not attacking the judge personally, that decision was absolutely outrageous. Mr. Haro should have been in prison at the time that this crime happened, and if that judge had done his job as he should have done, Emmanuel would be alive today," said Hestrin.
"When we talk about why we are here in the first place, that we believe someone murdered Baby Emmanuel, who should still be in prison, but we have this unbelievable love for criminals, believing that they are somehow victims, and now we all are traumatized by it," said Bianco.
Sheriff Bianco, DA Hestrin question judge and video creators in baby murder case
Ethical rules prohibit judges from commenting on their decisions. The American Board of Trial Advocates, an attorney association, released an open letter in response to the criticism. They claimed that the prosecutors who handled the case didn't inform Moore of the seriousness of the charges.
"The complaint was never amended to include Great Bodily Injury, despite the DA having more than 2 years to review all medical records. In addition, the DA did not fully advise the court of the seriousness of the injuries," their letter reads.
Attorneys: Prosecutor made mistakes in past Haro case
Irvine attorney arrested on allegation of bringing drugs to SB jail
Attorney Bryan Fazio of Irvine was arrested May 26 by San Bernardino County Deputy Sheriffs on allegations of bringing drugs to the Central Detention Center in San Bernardino.
Fazio has not been formally charged by the District Attorney's Office. He did not return a request to comment sent to the email listed by the State Bar.
Fazio had visited his client in the jail, and returned to his car in possession of unidentified narcotics and a digital scale, according to the release from the Sheriff's Department. His driver, David Montrenes, was also arrested for alleged violation of the same crime. Investigators first approached Montrenes, who was waiting for Fazio in a red Nissan Sentra in the jail's employee parking lot. Additional narcotics were found in each of their homes.
Midwest reporters publish edited video of Adam McKay shooting Deputy Cordero, resulting manhunt
Adam McKay, a convicted three-striker with a warrant for his arrest, fatally shot Riverside Sheriff's Deputy Isaiah Cordero during a traffic stop in south Riverside on Dec. 29, 2022.
Two days ago, a group known as Midwest Safety released a 20-minute video of the traffic stop and resulting 100-officer manhunt to stop Cordero.
The video showed that Cordero stopped McKay because he lacked tags on his truck. When Cordero asked for McKay's driver's license and registration, McKay asked if he could pull it out of his bag. McKay instead pulled out a handgun. Two hours later, officers fired 79 rounds and shells at McKay. Twelve shots landed on him.
Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco thanked Midwest Safety for the video.
"I don’t know who Midwest Safety is, but thank you for the professionalism and the respect for Isaiah’s family and RSO. This criminal should have never been loose on our streets and Californians soft on crime policies are responsible for the murder of one of my deputies. My heart still aches for his family and the deputies who persevered through this incident up to today," Bianco said.
Watch the video here
Bianco had frequently criticized San Bernardino Superior Judge Cara Hutson, who had placed McKay on standard bail after finding him guilty on felony kidnapping charges in a bench trial. McKay did not show up to the sentencing hearing on Oct. 21, 2022, and a warrant for his arrest was issued.
Judge under fire: What really happened in that bail reduction hearing
County supervisor asks to censure county's elected auditor-controller/treasurer/tax collector Ensen Mason
This article was originally published by CalMatters_._ Sign up_for their newsletters._
San Bernardino County Supervisor Dawn Rowe asked for a motion to censure or remove elected auditor-controller/treasurer/tax collector Ensen Mason last Tuesday. Mason is on the ballot, facing off against challenger Ryan Hutchison.
“We have heard Mr. Mason make a lot of accusations directly to the media, as well as on social media, which I don’t believe at all to have merit or truth in them. Can we bring back an item for the board to consider censure or removal?” Rowe asked County Counsel Laura Feingold.
The Board of Supervisors has not voted on the issue, and the agenda for the next meeting has not been released. Mason told CalMatters last week that he believed speakers at recent Board of Supervisors meetings were put up to attack him by an unknown political group. The Sun’s Beau Yarbrough first reported the claims. Those speakers claimed that Mason’s dual roles as elected auditor-controller/treasurer/tax collector and owner of a private CPA firm were improper.
The Board of Supervisors opened an investigation into Mason that will not be concluded by the election. Reports of the investigation were used in Hutchison’s campaign mail. No formal accusations or evidence of improper behavior have surfaced, with the comments on the topic focusing on a perceived conflict of interest.
The investigation was halted by Mason’s request to delay the investigation until after the election, a request he later revoked, according to both Feingold and Mason.
Rowe’s request to agendize a censure vote came after the board voted down Mason’s request to obtain county funds for independent legal counsel to defend himself in the investigation. Feingold told the board that Mason was not entitled to independent legal counsel because he was representing himself personally, rather than the county.
Prior to the vote, Mason told the Board of Supervisors that any discussion of the case in open session would be a violation of the Brown Act because they would be discussing the possibility of a lawsuit. If they did do so, Mason said, they would need to release the full report to him. Last Monday, Feingold emailed Mason saying that the report, once finished, might not be released to him. “That report is subject to the attorney-client privilege, which may only be waived by the Board (of Supervisors),” she wrote. In a video on Mason’s new YouTube channel and a public letter posted on a new campaign website, Mason said he has been targeted because he was opposed to the structure of a county employees’ benefit trust.
California judges are testing a new AI clerk, and you won’t know if it’s looking at your case
Two of California’s largest courts are testing an AI tool that can draft orders and produce research memos.
Judges so far are using it primarily for civil cases, but documents obtained by CalMatters indicate the possibility of expanded applications in criminal cases, where people’s freedom and access to justice are on the line.
The Los Angeles County Superior Court began a pilot program in February to test a tool created by the company Learned Hand. Other courts may follow, according to Learned Hand founder and chief executive officer Shlomo Klapper.
Learned Hand uses a combination of language models from Anthropic, OpenAI and Google to act as an AI clerk for judges. The company says it tests for bias and accuracy, but it has not yet published results.
In Riverside County, which has a $10,000 agreement with the company to test the program, civil and probate attorneys are primarily using the tool to draft research memos that help judges reach their decisions. It’s typical for research attorneys to assist judges as they review cases.
One judge who spoke to CalMatters on condition of anonymity due to judicial rules of conduct was alarmed...
Riverside state senator's election integrity bill signed by Newsom
Sen. Sabrina Cervantes' election integrity bill was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday.
The new law gives the Attorney General or the Secretary of State the authority to legally object to law enforcement officers being posted or deployed to voting locations of elections offices. It also makes it a felony to take ballots from the custody of a county registrar.
Cervantes, a Riverside senator, explicitly identified the Riverside Sheriff's Office's seizure of ballots as reason for the law.
“In April, (Bianco) told the press that he would gladly, gladly seize ballots again, including the ballots from the June primary where he is on the ballot,” Cervantes said.
Local events
Become an advocate for kids in need
San Bernardino needs more volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocates. CASA volunteers are special advocates who advocate for children that have entered the juvenile dependency court system. These kids need someone to look out for them, and that someone can be you. CASA volunteers attend court and review records, but they do not have to be an attorney. The time commitment is only 10-15 hours per month.
Learn more here
Free 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.
Trump’s ‘anti-weaponization’ fund blocked for now by federal judge
VIRGINIA—A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from moving forward with a fund that opponents fear will be used to pay off the president’s political allies.
Judge Leonie Brinkema in the Eastern District of Virginia issued a brief order halting the Department of Justice, the Treasury Department and other high-ranking administration officials from taking any additional actions to create the fund or make payments from it.
The order came in a lawsuit filed by a former federal prosecutor and a California professor. The plaintiffs are represented by the legal advocacy groups Democracy Forward and Common Cause. The lawsuit is part of a flurry of legal challenges against the fund.
The Justice Department on May 18 announced a nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” that will make payments to individuals who believe they have been wronged by past administrations. The fund came as part of a settlement agreement in a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump over the leaking of his tax return information by a former IRS contractor.
Trump’s settlement agreement...
Today in history: United States passes first copyright law
The Copyright Act of 1790 was signed on this date by George Washington 236 years ago.
The reason for the act, as explained in the law itself: to encourage learning. Our first generation of legislators knew that providing people the sole right to publish their works would create a financial incentive for them to do so.
The act was a special project for Washington, who had urged Congress to pass it in his State of the Union address the prior year. His reason: "There is nothing, which can better deserve your patronage, than the promotion of Science and Literature. Knowledge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness."
The original law protected people who authored maps, charts and books. Those copyright protections would only last for 14 years. It didn't apply to newspapers or paintings. Maps, charts and books published outside of the new nation weren't protected at all.
The law was narrowly restricted to allow people to quickly benefit from their research—and then for that work to be spread and copied as much as possible. It makes sense.
We as a nation are facing a new copyright issue with artificial intelligence. Specifically: there is no copyright protection against AI models.
Bloggers, podcasters, news writers and any other person posting their content online have virtually no protection against the use of their work and research to be used by AI models to educate those AI models' users.
Legally, the New York Times is engaged in a lawsuit against OpenAI for the AI company's use of Times articles for their training.
"Defendants’ unlawful use of The Times’s work...
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