[GPSCC-chat] Legal Opinion About DR's Behavior: Was Registrar Of Voters Still Counting Signatures, and one agenda item
Spencer Graves
spencer.graves at structuremonitoring.com
Thu Feb 27 15:26:56 PST 2014
Hi, John:
I would oppose the Green Party of Santa Clara County taking a
position on Ritchie without first consulting several attorneys for their
views on her and on the Merc story / stories about her.
We could start by consulting Warner.
If Warner thinks she's fine or that he doesn't have enough
information to judge, we could also ask Carpenter, Mayfield and Lake
plus possibly a couple of attorneys I know from working with De-Bug. If
they felt Ritchie was possibly being maligned inappropriately AND were
willing to work on an op-ed rebuttal of the Merc's article(s) on her, I
think we should offer to help them with any research they felt would be
appropriate before they completed such an article. If the Merc refused
to publish what they write, it could be published in indybay.org and
possibly also Wikinews. I've published with both those outlets before,
and I could help there if we had a team of attorneys who agreed that
Ritchie has been inappropriately attacked.
Spencer
On 2/27/2014 12:46 PM, John Thielking wrote:
> Spencer,
>
> I don't know much about the other candidates. What I do know is this:
> The article you reference was dated 2/1/14 and makes no mention of any
> other candidates. Clearly the Mercury News at that point was
> "trolling" stirring up trouble and begging the community to come up
> with other candidates. Also, the wording of the article concerning the
> judge asking for the defendant's phone number is completely ambiguous
> "she publicly asked a former client appearing before her on petty
> theft charges for his phone number so they could meet socially." This
> public asking could have happened anywhere at any time inside or
> outside the court before or after the case was heard. It is simply
> not clear.
> Why the Mercury News repeats this stuff over and over in every article
> that Pete has read is beyond me. Is it possible they simply don't like
> this judge?
>
> John Thielking
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *From:* Spencer Graves <spencer.graves at structuremonitoring.com>
> *To:* John Thielking <pagesincolor at yahoo.com>; "perrysandy at aol.com"
> <perrysandy at aol.com>; "sosfbay-discuss at cagreens.org"
> <sosfbay-discuss at cagreens.org>
> *Sent:* Thursday, February 27, 2014 11:25 AM
> *Subject:* Re: [GPSCC-chat]Legal Opinion About DR's Behavior: Was
> Registrar Of Voters Still Counting Signatures, and one agenda item
>
> Hi, John, et al.:
>
>
> What do you know about others who have filed to run against
> Judge Ritchie this year? If anyone else has filed, I think we should
> look hard at their records and what they say they would do on the
> bench before endorsing Ritchie.
>
>
> Also, have you considered posting a link to the Mercury story
> about Ritchie to "Just Answer/legal" and asking for comments?
>
>
> Dimitry K., Esq., wrote, "A judge cannot show favoritism and if
> he 'liked' this person, the decision for that whole case may be
> questionable." Dimitry also wrote, "Provided the case was wholly over,
> which means no further motions could be filed (such a a motion for
> reconsideration and so forth), the case is over, and both parties are
> effectively civilians. ... While ethically it is not a violation, it
> does appear to be unethical--there is a tinge of impropriety where
> there really was none." However, the Merc was clear that the case was
> NOT over.
>
>
> Unless the Merc's story can be discredited, I would strongly
> oppose endorsing Ritchie at this time unless her opposition was
> clearly worse.
>
>
> Spencer
>
>
> On 2/27/2014 10:24 AM, John Thielking wrote:
>> I sent an e-mail to Ed Frey (an attorney in Santa Cruz) asking him
>> about Diane Ritchie, no response yet. I called my Legal Shield
>> attorneys and I don't have standing to ask my questions of them. So I
>> looked up Just Answer/legal on the Internet and this is what they had
>> to say:
>>
>> My Questions:
>> There is a Judge up for re-election in Santa Clara County, CA. It was
>> alleged by a local newspaper that she did two things that may be
>> inappropriate: 1) She allowed a landlord to act as an ESL translator
>> for a tenant in a landlord-tenant dispute and 2) She asked a
>> defendant out on a date (most likely after court proceedings were
>> finished). Are either one of these items grounds to be concerned
>> either legally or ethically about her objectivity and other
>> performances as a Judge?
>> Optional Information:
>> Country relating to Question: United States
>> State (if USA): California
>> What have you tried so far?: I don't have standing to ask these
>> questions of my attorneys in my Legal Shield plan. An Internet search
>> returns nothing.
>>
>>
>> You have received an Answer!
>>
>> From Dimitry K., Esq. <http://www.justanswer.com/law/expert-dimitry-esq/>
>> Thursday, February 27, 2014 12:38 PM EST
>> Thank you for your question. Please permit me to assist you with your
>> concerns.
>>
>>
>> To answer directly, the first issue is potentially a non-issue if
>> there were other native speakers in the courtroom and they did not
>> object to the translation. While each party should have their own
>> translator, the obligation to get one is on that party and not the
>> judge. Hence, asking someone within the courts to translate, while
>> irregular, is not a violation.
>>
>>
>> The second claim is a bit more serious. Provided the case was wholly
>> over, which means no further motions could be filed (such a a motion
>> for reconsideration and so forth), the case is over, and both parties
>> are effectively civilians. A judge cannot show favoritism and if he
>> 'liked' this person, the decision for that whole case may be
>> questionable. While ethically it is not a violation, it does appear
>> to be unethical--there is a tinge of impropriety where there really
>> was none. So that, from a political perspective, may be trouble.
>>
>>
>> Hope that helps.
>>
>>
>> Edited by Dimitry K., Esq. on 2/27/2014 at 12:38 PM EST
>>
>> Sincerely,
>>
>> Dimitry, Esq.
>>
>>
>> So the question for us as the Green Party Of Santa Clara County is
>> are we going to act like every other Democratic and Republican org
>> out there and worry that a female judge asking a male defendant out
>> for coffee (a gay defendant by the way) after the case is over is
>> going to blow up into a big sex scandal like Anthony Weiner, or are
>> we going to be a bit more circumspect and objective and endorse a
>> judge for re-election even though she appears to be human?
>>
>> John Thielking
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> *From:* John Thielking <pagesincolor at yahoo.com>
>> <mailto:pagesincolor at yahoo.com>
>> *To:* Spencer Graves <spencer.graves at structuremonitoring.com>
>> <mailto:spencer.graves at structuremonitoring.com>; "perrysandy at aol.com"
>> <mailto:perrysandy at aol.com> <perrysandy at aol.com>
>> <mailto:perrysandy at aol.com>; "sosfbay-discuss at cagreens.org"
>> <mailto:sosfbay-discuss at cagreens.org> <sosfbay-discuss at cagreens.org>
>> <mailto:sosfbay-discuss at cagreens.org>
>> *Sent:* Wednesday, February 26, 2014 10:14 PM
>> *Subject:* Re: [GPSCC-chat] Registrar Of Voters Still Counting
>> Signatures, and one agenda item
>>
>> Spencer,
>>
>> Both Pete and I have read that Mercury News article. However, you
>> shouldn't be so ready to believe everything you read in the Mercury
>> News. As you are so fond of pointing out, we need citizen journalists
>> in place of what passes for the mainstream media. Also, what do you
>> know about courtroom procedures? Thanks.
>>
>> John Thielking
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> *From:* Spencer Graves <spencer.graves at structuremonitoring.com>
>> <mailto:spencer.graves at structuremonitoring.com>
>> *To:* John Thielking <pagesincolor at yahoo.com>
>> <mailto:pagesincolor at yahoo.com>; "perrysandy at aol.com"
>> <mailto:perrysandy at aol.com> <perrysandy at aol.com>
>> <mailto:perrysandy at aol.com>; "sosfbay-discuss at cagreens.org"
>> <mailto:sosfbay-discuss at cagreens.org> <sosfbay-discuss at cagreens.org>
>> <mailto:sosfbay-discuss at cagreens.org>
>> *Sent:* Wednesday, February 26, 2014 9:05 PM
>> *Subject:* Re: [GPSCC-chat] Registrar Of Voters Still Counting
>> Signatures, and one agenda item
>>
>>
>>
>> Have you seen what the Mercury wrote about Diane Ritchie from
>> Feb. 1, 2014
>> (www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_25044258/rookie-san-jose-judge-still-struggles-job-sources
>> <http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_25044258/rookie-san-jose-judge-still-struggles-job-sources>)?
>> "In one case, Ritchie asked a landlord to serve as a translator for a
>> tenant who was complaining about substandard conditions; in another,
>> she publicly asked a former client appearing before her on petty
>> theft charges for his phone number so they could meet socially. ...
>> She ... invited the defendant into her chambers and [then] took him
>> out to lunch".
>>
>>
>> She may "stick up for the little people", but she needs to
>> watch courtroom protocol: With the landlord-tenant dispute, if a
>> translator was needed and was not available, I think she should have
>> ordered a continuance so one could be located. Her failure to do so
>> suggests bias in favor of the landlord. With the former client
>> accused of petty theft, she should have recused herself.
>>
>>
>> If this report is accurate, Ritchie's behavior raises serious
>> questions about her impartiality and ability to rule based on the law
>> -- and her ability to serve responsibly as a judge.
>>
>>
>> Spencer
>>
>>
>> On 2/26/2014 8:34 PM, John Thielking wrote:
>>> As of yesterday the Registrar Of Voters is still counting the Green
>>> Party signatures that were turned in, according to my room mate
>>> Pete. Does anyone else have a more recent update?
>>>
>>> Also, Pete wants to talk about possibly endorsing Diane Ritchie for
>>> Judge for Santa Clara Valley. He had a good experience with her and
>>> believes that she sticks up for the little people.
>>>
>>> John Thielking
>>>
>>>
>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>> *From:* "perrysandy at aol.com" <mailto:perrysandy at aol.com>
>>> <perrysandy at aol.com> <mailto:perrysandy at aol.com>
>>> *To:* sosfbay-discuss at cagreens.org
>>> <mailto:sosfbay-discuss at cagreens.org>
>>> *Sent:* Monday, February 24, 2014 10:23 AM
>>> *Subject:* [GPSCC-chat] PROPOSED AGENDA GPSCC 2-27-14
>>>
>>> Please send suggested amendments or additions. Thanks!
>>> Sandy
>>> *Green Party Meeting Thursday, Feb 27, 2014*
>>> 7:00-7:30 Nancy Neff from California Clean Money Campaign will
>>> speak on SB 27 and SB 52.
>>> 7:30 Meeting starts. Identify Facilitator, Note Taker, Vibes
>>> Watcher, Time Keeper, and Agenda Preparer for February.
>>> 7:40 Introductions, announcements, additions or corrections to agenda
>>> 7:55 Treasurer's report and hat passing
>>> PO Box report: Andrea
>>> 8:05 Discuss the following proposal sent to the Discuss list:
>>> I also believe we should consider a suggestion made by Drew a while
>>> ago: to grow the Green Party in small local committees as we are
>>> attempting to do with some small success at De Anza. To have the
>>> main (tedious) business of the Party handled by the County Council
>>> in a separate meeting (open to any member). To have our monthly
>>> membership meeting be an educational or organizing event geared
>>> toward new members and prospective members, with films, lectures, or
>>> actions, and broadly publicized.
>>> 8:40 Evaluate our candidate signature campaign and lessons learned.
>>> 8:55 Report on single payer health care work. Sandy
>>> 9:05Report on climate change work.
>>> 9:15 Whether or not to host a GPCA Plenary – Warner.
>>> 9:25 Adjourn
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> sosfbay-discuss mailing list
>>> sosfbay-discuss at cagreens.org <mailto:sosfbay-discuss at cagreens.org>
>>> http://lists.cagreens.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/sosfbay-discuss
>
--
Spencer Graves, PE, PhD
President and Chief Technology Officer
Structure Inspection and Monitoring, Inc.
751 Emerson Ct.
San José, CA 95126
ph: 408-655-4567
web: www.structuremonitoring.com
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