This morning’s scheduled arraignment for former Assessor Bill Postmus and former Assistant Assessor Jim Erwin was postponed until April 26, 2010, so that the defendants could finalize arrangements for legal counsel. The hearing also provided the defendants’ attorneys a forum to notify the court and the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office and the state of California Attorney General’s Office of the fact that neither defendant will waive time. This revelation sent both agencies into meltdown.
What the refusal to waive time means is that the preliminary hearing must now be held no later May 6, 2010. At the preliminary hearing, the DA/AG must provide enough evidence to the judge for the case to be bound over for trial and the trial must commence within 60 days.
As we all know, the DA/AG does not have evidence to convict either defendant as shown by their attempt to get the county of San Bernardino and Colonies Partners to waive attorney/client privilege so that they can attempt to gather evidence. Also a problem for the DA/AG is the fact that the defendants can subpoena witnesses for the preliminary hearing, i.e. Confidential Informant No. 1, yellow singing Canary extraordinaire, “persona au gratin” Adam Aleman.
While CINOYSCEPAGAA has been out trying to find someone willing to lie to corroborate his story, private investigators have been busy interviewing his friends, if he has any, and acquaintances, and have built quite the dossier on him, outlining his lies and deceit. And the DA/AG knows it. They know they have been had. We all know they have been had.
The Erwin/Postmus arrest was nothing but an attempt by two aging, power-hungry politicos to score points with the voters who are in a “throw the bums out” frame of mind. Neither thought that defendants charged with such serious felonies would say, “bring it on,” but they have. Calling the DA/AG’s bluff has surely given Mikey and Moonbeam some heartburn. Just wait until they find out everything these private investigators have been looking at. They’ll wish all they had was heartburn before this is over.
Later this evening, I will post Part Two describing some of Aleman’s many lies to his various “friends.” Watching him be impeached in a few weeks will be a joy for all of us who have seen the harm caused by his trail of deceit.
My only concern in all this, is Judge Rouse going to continue to give out the “appearance” of corrupt?
I mean when he said what he did about not seeing a problem with himself being the former law partner of Ramos’s private attorney, I said “god help us”.
Burden at prelim is way less than trial. Don’t get too excited yet. They will be held to answer is my best bet (too much embarrassment to fail at prelim).
So the million dollar question is, what road blocks does Mikey throw up before election day? I think everyone should weigh in on this question please. ACU, Sgt, DAInsider, Stout, can one or all of you forecast what Mikey will do to pull this off? I think the lead investigator gets sick, a prolonged vacation again, or his budget runs out of money and the courts grant him yet another extection. I really think we should start a SuperBowl/crime of the centry pool with dates instead of scores. I say this case doesn’t go until two weeks after the election, if ever.
Actually Unwilling, I agree with you mostly. Coming from the standpoint of having worked for Judge Dest for two years and knowing his idiosyncracies and knowing some of what is in discovery, here are my thoughts:
Why it will be bound over for trial — it will be a political nightmare not only for the DA and AG but also for Dest if these cases are dismissed.
Why it will not be bound over for trial –
1. Yes, the standard for proof is lower but there has to be some kind of proof. Aleman is totally impeachable using nothing but the DA’s own recorded interviews. Add to that all the witnesses the defense has that Adam has bragged to about lying, manipulating, etc., and he’s toast. Search warrants are expected to be quashed for a long list of reasons. There simply is no evidence of wrongdoing.
2. If Mikey’s conspiracy theory is correct, then it must also involve Judge Warner, Judge Norell and retired Supreme Court Justice Panelli and the Fourth District Court of Appeal. If you’re Judge Dest, are you going to buy that?
3. I asked a disinterested third party who has prosecuted more bribery and extortion cases than Mikey will see in his lifetime to look at the arrest warrant affidavits. His take on it was that a) all of the elements of the crimes are not there and b) there is insufficient proof of those elements that may be there. One of the biggest problems is that the “bribes” didn’t take place until months after the agreement was approved by the board.
If I were betting, I would bet the case is bound over for trial due to the politics of it all and Mikey better hope he get 50 percent plus 1 of the votes. Or that Mikey pulls something out of his hat to keep the prelim from happening until after June 8.
Defense isn’t prepared, Admin. Prosecutors have to be ready to go when they file. Things get quashed, you just refile based on the judges rulings and move forward. But, as many have said here, the theater of Mikey in building his image can not be ignored in years he is challenged. But don’t think that, despite a few bad apples in the office that don’t like Mike at all costs, the majority of the office would quit if Guzman won the election. There is so much more to his corruption than political grandstanding and miscreant mistresses.
The defense is ready. The issue was procedural and the delay was at the urging of the judge. Although we only have just begun to discuss some of what has been going on behind the scenes, it has been going on for many months. While DA investigators were being sent on wild goose chase by Adam, private investigators for the defense attorneys have been gathering witness statements and affidavits and other evidence that the DA investigators have chosen to ignore.
Although I’m chomping at the bit to tell y’all what some of it is, I’m sworn to secrecy. Mikey, however, is aware of the evidence and is desperately trying to keep it quiet until after the election as it will clearly show that he had lied. He has committed at least one strong felony and that part of the investigation continued but does not affect defense counsel’s ability to go to trial.