COURT REJECTS BIAS CLAIM; JURISTS RULE JUDGES' BACKING OF PROSECUTOR MERELY POOR DECISION.Byline: Don Holland Daily News Staff Writer The state Court of Appeal has rejected claims by the Public Defender's Office that judges who endorsed Chief Assistant District Attorney Kevin McGee were biased against deputy public defenders public defender, governmental official who represents indigent persons accused of crime. U.S. Supreme Court decisions expanding the right to counsel to pretrial proceedings and holding that a person cannot be sentenced to even one day in jail unless a lawyer was or their clients. But the Second District Court of Appeal did say a group of Ventura County judges exercised ``poor judgment'' when they backed in June's primary election a senior prosecutor running for judge. ``A group endorsement by judges which may give the impression of an endorsement by the court as an institution, reflects poor judgment,'' the court wrote in its decision. ``But here, it does not give rise to relief by way of extraordinary writ.'' Deputy Public Defender Gary Windom is running against McGee. The ruling affirms a decision last month by Santa Barbara Santa Barbara (săn'tə bär`brə, –bərə), city (1990 pop. 85,571), seat of Santa Barbara co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1850. Judge Thomas Anderle rejecting the public defenders' attempts to disqualify To deprive of eligibility or render unfit; to disable or incapacitate. To be disqualified is to be stripped of legal capacity. A wife would be disqualified as a juror in her husband's trial for murder due to the nature of their relationship. Judges Charles Campbell Charles Campbell can refer to several people:
He was educated at Cadoxton Boys' School, Barry, and Cardiff Technical College. , Barry Klopfer and Vincent O'Neill from four criminal cases. In that decision, Anderle found no evidence that the judges were biased or acted unethically. Fourteen Ventura County judges endorsed McGee during June's primary election campaign. Although legal, the endorsements were unprecedented in Ventura County and ruffled ruf·fle 1 n. 1. A strip of frilled or closely pleated fabric used for trimming or decoration. 2. A ruff on a bird. 3. a. A ruckus or fray. b. Annoyance; vexation. 4. feathers among deputy public defenders and some private attorneys. The District Attorney's Office, which opposed the disqualification dis·qual·i·fi·ca·tion n. 1. The act of disqualifying or the condition of having been disqualified. 2. Something that disqualifies: illness as a disqualification for enlistment in the army. attempts, had no comment on the appellate ruling. Some prosecutors previously have said they believe the disqualification efforts are aimed at silencing judges who endorsed McGee. Although he was disappointed in the ruling, Public Defender Kenneth Clayman said he was pleased that the Court of Appeal made a point of chastising the judges. ``I really hope it causes the judges to think about what they do and how they do it and to realize that unless it's some exceptional circumstance . . . that they would essentially stay out of it and not create these appearances of things that ultimately can be characterized as poor judgment,'' said Clayman. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion