DOCSLIB.ORG

Appellant's Opening Brief

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Appellant's Opening Brief 'prYFr~ ¥FAf\~ H"T'" ~ '.. ·.W0/l:.ii(:~ t .U· i.'.~ SU.' ·.Hkd :~ a,~ "t<Vit pJ.h V py PEOPLE: OF TH.E ST:\TE OF C,\.LfFOR.Nl\.,. .'"\ ,::. Y. ) JOI{;~< JOSFPJ-f Fi\\AA,.L/\.RC\ ) .> /\FPELl.A:NT~S OPENING BRIEF ~ ::-';')~ .~< ..,. '1""r': ~ -:-"t () <: ,:.. '~/'" {";._..,~ ~. ..~.\.. t,tvrL.(>.s.:·-, .,.;"(,,,,;.,-.,__ ,::':\'t;P<;;'·<~i.." , t';'".,.C.lu "t.'i.•. ,>r··U~1i:}i:c.:.i.s.-:.--.- .. .:-, '·~).:.tL.Juf)<.:.:r..,f ",H' '.-.v.J., of the. Smtt: of C[-\b'f;:H'n.iJ D)r tht~ v {'~';'t' COF}\t.' .."...... ". "'J rlf'.-,".- ....} ..... ~..\~";'0."P'..... HI»fORABLE J(}f.T>f J. RYAN, JUDGE JOEL hJl(SHENBAt:\j Sa.r ·t-<o. 049919 L>cputySLrie Pu,bUc DcD~ndcr 2.2:~ \{{1~I1 ,Street~ ~I'<;ntl1. .Fl<)()f S,1n Fnrnc1scu, (\dlf(nnia 94105 'Tek!)ho{v:: (.:~ IS} 9(v;'··5600 /\tl:Of.ncys for .·\.Pv~IL;;m. TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF APPEALABILITY 1 STATEMENT OF THE CASE 1 STATEMENT OF FACTS 3 Guilt Phase 3 1. Prosecution Case 3 A. Denise Huber's Disappearance 3 B. The Discovery of Denise Huber"s Body 6 C. The Autopsy and Related Forensic Testing 7 D. The Searches ofAppellant's House and Warehouse 9 II. Defense Case .................................... 12 Penalty Phase 15 1. Introduction 15 II. Prosecution Case 18 III. Defense Case 26 ARGUMENT 78 TABLE OF CONTENTS I THE TRIAL COURT'S DENIAL OF APPELLANT'S INITIAL AND RENEWED MOTIONS FOR A CHANGE OF VENUE DEPRIVED HIM OF A FAIR TRIAL BY AN IMPARTIAL JURY AND A RELIABLE PENALTY DETERMINATION IN VIOLATION OF THE SIXTH, EIGHTH AND FOURTEENTH AMENDMENTS TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION, AND REQUIRES REVERSAL OF THE ENTIRE JUDGMENT 78 A. Introduction 78 B. Factual and Procedural Background 81 1. The Venue Hearing 81 2. The Questionnaires and Voir Dire of Prospective Jurors, and Post-Jury- Selection Proceedings 94 a. The Publicity Questionnaires 94 b. The Voir Dire of Prospective Jurors 95 c. Post-jury-Selection Proceedings 143 C. The Trial Court Erroneously Denied Appellant's Motions for Change ofVenue 152 1. Governing Legal Principles 152 2. The "Five Factors" Considered by California Courts in Deciding Whether the "Reasonable Likelihood" Standard Has Been Met Required a Change ofVenue 155 a. The Nature and Gravity ofthe Offense .... 155 II TABLE OF CONTENTS b. The Nature and Extent ofNews Coverage . 158 c. The Size of the Community 166 d. The Status of the Victim and the Accused ............................ 170 (i) The Victim 170 (ii) The Defendant 175 3. The Reasonable Likelihood That a Fair Trial Could Not Be Had Applied to Both the Guilt and Penalty Determinations 177 4. The Passage of Time Had No Effect on the Reasonable Likelihood That a Fair Trial Could Not Be Had 185 5. Retrospective Review on Appeal Clearly Demonstrates a Reasonable Likelihood That Appellant Did Not In Fact Receive a Fair Trial ... 191 6. Juror Assurances of Impartiality Do Not Justify the Trial Court's Refusal to Change Venue, Either Factually or Legally 196 7. The Facts That Defense Counsel Exhausted Their Allotted Peremptory Challenges, Requested Additional Peremptory Challenges, Expressed Dissatisfaction with the Composition of the Trial Jury, and Expressed Dissatisfaction with the Entire Venire Due to the Extraordinary Media Coverage ofThis Case, in and of Themselves Show That Appellant Was Not Tried by a Fair and Impartial Jury 201 III TABLE OF CONTENTS D. The Erroneous Denial of Appellant's Motions for a Change of Venue Requires Reversal of the Entire Judgment 207 II THE TRIAL COURT'S REFUSAL TO CONDUCT AN INDIVIDUALIZED, SEQUESTERED VOIR DIRE OF THE PROSPECTIVE JURORS REGARDING THEIR EXPOSURE TO PUBLICITY ABOUT THE CASE INDEPENDENTLY DENIED APPELLANT HIS RIGHTS TO TRIAL BY A FAIR AND IMPARTIAL JURY AND TO A RELIABLE PENALTY DETERMINATION, EXACERBATED THE REASONABLE LIKELIHOOD THAT A FAIR TRIAL WAS NOT HAD FROM THE REFUSAL TO CHANGE VENUE ALONE, AND CREATED ACTUAL PREJUDICE TO APPELLANT 209 III THE TRIAL COURT VIOLATED APPELLANT'S FUNDAMENTAL CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND COMMITTED PREJUDICIAL ERROR BY DELIVERING CALJIC NO. 2.06 220 A. Introduction 220 B. On the Facts of This Case, the Trial Court Prejudicially Erred by Giving CALJIC No. 2.06 220 IV A SERIES OF GUILT-PHASE INSTRUCTIONS IMPERMISSIBLY AND UNCONSTITUTIONALLY UNDERMINED AND DILUTED THE REQUIREMENT OF PROOF BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT 231 A. Introduction 231 IV TABLE OF CONTENTS B. The Instructions on Circumstantial Evidence Undennined the Requirement of Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt 232 C. Other Instructions Also Vitiated the Reasonable- Doubt Standard 235 D. This Court Should Reconsider Its Prior Rulings Upholding the Defective Instructions 240 E. Reversal Is Required 243 V THE TRIAL COURT PREJUDICIALLY ERRED, AND VIOLATED APPELLANT'S CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS, IN INSTRUCTING THE JURY ON FIRST DEGREE PREMEDITATED MURDER AND FIRST DEGREE FELONY-MURDER BECAUSE THE INDICTMENT CHARGED APPELLANT ONLY WITH SECOND DEGREE MALICE-MURDER IN VIOLATION OF PENAL CODE SECTION 187 245 VI THE TRIAL COURT COMMITTED REVERSIBLE ERROR, AND DENIED APPELLANT HIS CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS, IN FAILING TO REQUIRE THE JURY TO AGREE UNANIMOUSLY ON WHETHER APPELLANT HAD COMMITTED A PREMEDITATED MURDER OR A FELONY-MURDER BEFORE RETURNING A VERDICT FINDING HIM GUILTY OF MURDER IN THE FIRST DEGREE 253 VII THE ADMISSION OF VICTIM-IMPACT EVIDENCE VIOLATED EX POST FACTO PRINCIPLES AND APPELLANT'S RIGHTS TO DUE PROCESS AND A RELIABLE PENALTY DETERMINATION, AND REQUIRES REVERSAL OF THE DEATH JUDGMENT ..... 262 v TABLE OF CONTENTS A. Introduction 262 B. The Admission of the Victim-Impact Evidence Was Erroneous, Unconstitutional and Prejudicial, Especially Given the Massive Publicity Regarding the Victim's Parents Extending over Many Years Which Even Touched the Actual Trial Jurors 263 VIII THE TRIAL COURT ERRONEOUSLY, UNCONSTITUTIONALLY AND PREJUDICIALLY FAILED TO INSTRUCT THE JURY ON THE APPROPRIATE USE OF VICTIM-IMPACT EVIDENCE 281 IX THE TRIAL COURT COMMITTED REVERSIBLE ERROR, AND VIOLATED APPELLANT'S SIXTH, EIGHTH AND FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT RIGHTS TO DUE PROCESS AND A RELIABLE PENALTY DETERMINATION, BY ERRONEOUSLY SUSTAINING THE PROSECUTION OBJECTION TO MITIGATING EVIDENCE RELATING TO THE CHILDHOOD MOLESTATION OF APPELLANT BY HIS OLDER BROTHER 287 A. Introduction 287 B. The Proffered Testimony of Appellant's Sister Was Admissible for Relevant Non-Hearsay Purposes As Critical Mitigating Evidence, Both As an Affirmative Part ofAppellant's Penalty Case and to Rebut or Forestall the Prosecution's Case in Aggravation 289 c. Appellant Had a Federal Constitutional Right to Present the Proffered Evidence in Mitigation 296 Vl TABLE OF CONTENTS D. The Exclusion ofthe Proffered Evidence Requires Reversal ofthe Death Judgment 300 X THE DELIVERY OF CALJIC NO. 2.27 AT THE PENALTY PHASE IMPERMISSIBLY AND UNCONSTITUTIONALLY UNDERMINED AND DILUTED THE REQUIREMENT OF PROOF BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT AS TO THE ALLEGED FACTOR (B) CRIMINALITY 306 XI THE ADMISSION AND USE OF EVIDENCE OF UNADJUDICATED CRIMINAL ACTIVITY VIOLATED APPELLANT'S RIGHTS UNDER THE SIXTH, EIGHTH AND FOURTEENTH AMENDMENTS OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION, REQUIRING REVERSAL OF THE DEATH JUDGMENT 309 A. Introduction 309 B. The Use of Factor (b) Violated Appellant's Constitutional Rights, Including His Sixth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment Rights to Due Process and a Reliable Penalty Determination 310 C. The Alleged Criminal Activity Was Improperly Considered in Aggravation Because It Was Not Required To Be Found True Beyond a Reasonable Doubt by a Unanimous Jury 315 D. The Unadjudicated Prior Criminal Activity Alleged Against Appellant Was Outside Applicable Statutes of Limitations and Therefore Was Improperly Introduced As Evidence in Aggravation 316 Vll TABLE OF CONTENTS E. Conclusion 319 XII THE INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT THE MITIGATING AND AGGRAVATING FACTORS IN PENAL CODE SECTION 190.3, AND THE APPLICATION OF THESE SENTENCING FACTORS, RENDER APPELLANT'S DEATH SENTENCE UNCONSTITUTIONAL 320 A. The Instruction on Penal Code Section 190.3, Factor (a), and Application of That Sentencing Factor, Resulted in the Arbitrary and Capricious Imposition ofthe Death Penalty 321 B. The Failure to Instruct That Statutory Mitigating Factors Are Relevant Solely As Mitigators Precluded the Fair, Reliable and Evenhanded Application ofthe Death Penalty 322 C. The Failure to Require the Jury to Base a Death Sentence on Written Findings Regarding the Aggravating Factors Violated Appellant's Constitutional Rights to Meaningful Appellate Review and Equal Protection of the Law 323 D. Even If the Absence of the Previously­ Addressed Procedural Safeguards Does Not Render California's Death-Penalty Scheme Constitutionally Inadequate to Ensure Reliable Capital Sentencing, Denying Them to Capital Defendants Like Appellant Violates Equal Protection 326 Vlll TABLE OF CONTENTS XIII THE INSTRUCTION DEFINING THE SCOPE OF THE JURY'S SENTENCING DISCRETION, AND THE NATURE OF ITS DELIBERATIVE PROCESS, VIOLATED APPELLANT'S CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS, AND REQUIRES REVERSAL OF THE DEATH mDGMENT 332 A. Introduction 332 B. The Instruction Caused the Jury's Penalty Choice to Turn on an Impermissibly Vague and Ambiguous Standard That Failed to Provide Adequate Guidance and Direction 333 C. The Instruction Did Not Convey That the Central Determination Is Whether the Death Penalty Is Appropriate, Not Merely Authorized under the Law .... 337 D. The Instruction Did Not Tell the Jury That a Life Sentence Is Mandatory If the Aggravating Factors Do Not Outweigh the Mitigating Ones 340 E. The Instruction Did Not Tell the Jury That If They Determined That Mitigation Outweighed Aggravation, They Were Required to Return a Sentence ofLife without the Possibility of Parole 342 F. The Instruction Did Not Tell the Jury It Could Impose a Life Sentence Even IfAggravation Outweighed Mitigation 344 G. The Instruction Did Not Tell the Jury That Appellant Did Not Have to Persuade Them That the Death Penalty Was Inappropriate 345 lX TABLE OF CONTENTS H. Conclusion 346 XIV THE CALIFORNIA DEATH-PENALTY STATUTE AND INSTRUCTIONS ARE UNCONSTITUTIONAL BECAUSE THEY FAIL TO SET OUT THE APPROPRIATE BURDEN OF PROOF 347 A.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • A New Fullerton the Orange County District by Stephan Baxter and They Did So Without Making Any Threats
    Courtesy of the Local History Room, Fullerton Public Library COMMUNITY CALENDAR Page 13-15 % Fullerton Ob server FULLERTON’S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS • Est.1978 (printed on 20% recycledecycled paper)pa • Year 34 #13 • AUGUST 2012 Candidates Pull Papers for November City Council Election There will be three open city council seats in the Nov. 6, 2012 election. Current Mayor Pro tern Bruce Whitaker and new Councilmember Travis Kiger will be running for re-election. Mayor Sharon Quirk-Silva is stepping down to run for the 65th State Assembly seat against incumbent Chris Norby. The last day to file for a council run is August 10th (or five more days if the Mayor decides not to run.) So far challengers include: Vivian “Kitty” Jaramillo, Jane Rands, Barry Levinson, Matthew Hakim, Jennifer Fitzgerald, Rick Alvarez, Jan Flory and recently recalled Don Bankhead. For updated info see “Nov. Election” under Elections on the City Clerk’s page at www.cityofifullerton.com. 911 Audio & Transcript Released Over objections by the OCDA, Fullerton City Council unanimously voted to release the audio and transcript of the July 5, 2010, 911 call which brought police to the transportation center in search of Kelly Thomas. The Officer Tim Gibert and Corporal Eric Bridges acted professionally in preventing a homeless man from call from a Slidebar employee says that endangering him self and others by repeatedly walking into traffic. Meanwhile the Kelly Thomas Memorial OCDA Seeks Cell Kelly was pulling on car handles in the Concert was starting up at the Plaza. Photo by Josufi R. Fotography [email protected] Phone Recordings of parking lot.
    [Show full text]
  • A New Balance: Weighing Harms of Hiding Police Misconduct Information from the Public
    City University of New York Law Review Volume 22 Issue 1 Winter 2019 A New Balance: Weighing Harms of Hiding Police Misconduct Information from the Public Cynthia Conti-Cook [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/clr Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Cynthia Conti-Cook, A New Balance: Weighing Harms of Hiding Police Misconduct Information from the Public, 22 CUNY L. Rev. 148 (2019). Available at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/clr/vol22/iss1/15 The CUNY Law Review is published by the Office of Library Services at the City University of New York. For more information please contact [email protected]. A New Balance: Weighing Harms of Hiding Police Misconduct Information from the Public Acknowledgements For planting the seed of this article and sending some initial legal research to get her started, she is grateful to Amanda Woog; for meandering brainstorming sessions on evolving definitions of privacy, she thanks Rebecca Wexler; for calling her out when she mindlessly repeated harmful headlines, she thanks Steve Zeidman; for multiple rounds of endless legal research, she is indebted to Benjamin Rutkin-Becker; for tenderly excavating this article’s soul and surgically deconstructing hardened jargon, unexplained assumptions and unreasoned blind spots, Cynthia is grateful to Gail Gray; for pushing her to articulate the best arguments against her positions, she thanks Barry Scheck; thank you to Craig Futterman and Jamie Kalven for many related inspiring conversations about transparency, accountability and privacy that have contributed to this article, along with everyone from the Chicago convening that volleyed early ideas for this article with her; as well as members of Communities United for Police Reform who fight for a transparent system of police accountability; Cynthia thanks Victor Dempsey for his reading and thoughtful reflections on secrecy, asymmetry of information on police killings, trauma and the meaning of community safety; thank you to Julie Ciccolini for her thoughtful feedback.
    [Show full text]
  • FULLERTON OBSERVER LOCAL NEWS EARLY FEBRUARY 2014 Fullerton Observer
    COMMUNITY ullerton n bsCAeLENrDAvR Paege 12r-15 FUFLLERTON’S INDEPENDENT NEWS • Est.1978 (printed onO 20% recycled paper) • YEAR 36 #2 • EARLY FEBRUARY 2014 A Riot Gear Response to Protest Questioned Four hundred people attended the Jan. 21st council meeting and 46 spoke. Most were there to protest the recent not-guilty verdict of two officers charged in the death of Kelly Thomas. There were also questions about why Police Chief Hughes felt it necessary to bring out the riot police and SWAT armored vehicle to shut down the Jan. 18th demonstration downtown which also drew about 400 people, and to demand that the fired officers not be rehired by the city. Chief Hughes assured the crowd that he would be vigorously defending his prior decisions in terminating the employment of officers Ramos, Cicinelli, and Wolfe. He also said that he is cooperating in the FBI investiga- tion of the three officers. He said riot gear became necessary due to the numerous online threats to bring explosives and guns to the protest, burn the police department to the ground, and kill police officers and their families. Police shut down the rally after a group of protesters assault- ed a news crew. More on page 8 An estimated 400 citizens came out on the streets of Fullerton to protest the not-guilty verdict and to send the strong message that such actions by police as took place in the July 2011 beating death of Kelly Thomas will not be tolerated. PHOTO BY WARREN MECCA 1/18/2014 400 Take to the Streets in Protest of Chevron & Aera 7 .
    [Show full text]
  • Communique from an Ex-Cop
    communiqué from an ex-cop by christopher jordan dorner annotated by research and destroy new york city new york / los angeles 2013 From: Christopher Jordan Dorner /76486 To: America Subj: Last resort7 Regarding CF# 07-0042818 I know most of you who personally know me are in disbelief to hear from media reports that I am suspected of committing such horrendous murders and have taken drastic and shocking actions in the last couple of ________ 1 Posted on Facebook on February 4th, 2013 at 1:48 AM, according to a February 6th search warrant (see Appendix A; Search Warrant. Superior Court of California, County of Orange. 6 Feb. 2013. 17). 2 From the beginning, all news outlets have referred to Dorner’s text as a “manifesto,” often preceded by the word “rambling,” (a Google News phrase search for “rambling manifesto” yielded 1,860 articles at the height of the manhunt) though more often “angry” (3,930 articles). Labeling a document a “manifesto” is one way the media marks its author as mentally unstable, or, even worse, a lone voice yelling into the wilderness. Revelations of isolated lives spent in cabins, whether in the remote Mon- tana wilderness or the snow-capped mountains of Big Bear, CA, paint an image of an unhinged, anti-social individual wholly out of touch with reality, if not totally against it (the climactic self-inflicted gunshot wound provides ultimate confirmation of this). The Riverside Chief of Police articulated early on the portrait of a suspect both soli- tary and certifiable: “My opinion of the suspect is unprintable.
    [Show full text]
  • The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, by Daniel Defoe Title
    The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, by Daniel Defoe Title: The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe Author: Daniel Defoe CHAPTER I—START IN LIFE I was born in the year 1632, in the city of York, of a good family, though not of that country, my father being a foreigner of Bremen, who settled first at Hull. He got a good estate by merchandise, and leaving off his trade, lived afterwards at York, from whence he had married my mother, whose relations were named Robinson, a very good family in that country, and from whom I was called Robinson Kreutznaer; but, by the usual corruption of words in England, we are now called—nay we call ourselves and write our name—Crusoe; and so my companions always called me. I had two elder brothers, one of whom was lieutenant-colonel to an English regiment of foot in Flanders, formerly commanded by the famous Colonel Lockhart, and was killed at the battle near Dunkirk against the Spaniards. What became of my second brother I never knew, any more than my father or mother knew what became of me. Being the third son of the family and not bred to any trade, my head began to be filled very early with rambling thoughts. My father, who was very ancient, had given me a competent share of learning, as far as house-education and a country free school generally go, and designed me for the law; but I would be satisfied with nothing but going to sea; and my inclination to this led me so strongly against the will, nay, the commands of my father, and against all the entreaties and persuasions of my mother and other friends, that there seemed to be something fatal in that propensity of nature, tending directly to the life of misery which was to befall me.
    [Show full text]
  • The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz Had Been a Popular Movie, with Richard Dreyfuss Playing a Jewish Nerd
    Begin Reading Table of Contents About the Author Photos Copyright Page Thank you for buying this Henry Holt and Company ebook. To receive special offers, bonus content, and info on new releases and other great reads, sign up for our newsletters. Or visit us online at us.macmillan.com/newslettersignup For email updates on Lenny Kravitz, click here. The author and publisher have provided this e-book to you for your personal use only. You may not make this e-book publicly available in any way. Copyright infringement is against the law. If you believe the copy of this e-book you are reading infringes on the author’s copyright, please notify the publisher at: us.macmillanusa.com/piracy. For my mother I can’t breathe. Beneath the ground, the wooden casket I am trapped in is being lowered deeper and deeper into the cold, dark earth. Fear overtakes me as I fall into a paralytic state. I can hear the dirt being shoveled over me. My heart pounds through my chest. I can’t scream, and if I could, who would hear me? Just as the final shovel of soil is being packed tightly over me, I convulse out of my nightmare into the sweat- and urine-soaked bed in the small apartment on the island of Manhattan that my family calls home. Shaken and disoriented, I make my way out of the tiny back bedroom into the pitch-dark living room, where my mother and father sleep on a convertible couch. I stand at the foot of their bed just staring … waiting.
    [Show full text]
  • Fullerton Observer Local News January 2014
    COMMUNITY ullerton n bsCAeLENrDAvR Paege 12r-15 FFULLERTON’S INDEPENDENT NEWS • Est.1978 (priOnted on 20% recycled paper) • YEAR 36 #1 • JANUARY 2014 LITTLE BAKERS Oil Spill at Fullerton Creek INFRASTRUCTURE Above: Young students sing and dance to ARE THERE MORE IN OUR FUTURE? THE GOOD & BAD “Bake the Cake” during Authorities have been close-lipped ization Next Generation, acidizing uses the An overview of city infrastructure accom- a holiday dance recital about the causes of the recent oil spill into powerful solvent hydrofluoric acid (HF). plishments, deficits and longterm funding at the Plummer Auditorium. Fullerton Creek. There is also no informa- The substance is mixed with water and needs was presented by Public Works PHOTO PATTY SEGOVIA-KRAUSE tion available to the public about the vol- other chemicals and pressure-injected into Director Don Hoppe at the last council ume spilled and recovered, or test results wells. If used at too high a concentrate it meeting of the year. of the spill substances. can breach the steel walls of well casings The end of city Redevelopment Agencies The spill was called into the city early and enter the surrounding water table. HF which provided funding for many projects, a 7 . A Thursday morning, Jan. 2nd, by a citizen is on the Superfund list of Extremely 7 reduction in Gas Tax funds, and the effects of S D . 5 C I D 1 U who noticed oil flowing from the corner Hazardous Substances; rated by the US the recession have created significant funding A E . N P T D O of Bastanchury and State College into the Centers for Disease Control as one of the challenges, said Dir.
    [Show full text]
  • 2020 Early-July
    ullerton bserver FULLERTON’SF ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS • Est.1978 (printedO on 20% recycled paper) • YEAR 42 #12 • JULY 2020 Submissions: [email protected] • Contact: (714) 525-6402 • Read Online at: www.fullertonobserver.com School Board Votes to Remove Plummer Name from Auditorium by Jesse La Tour The Fullerton Joint Union High School District Board of Trustees voted unanimously on June 16 to remove Louis E. Plummer’s name from the Plummer Auditorium because of evi- dence that Plummer was a member of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s. The community and school board were made aware of his past in an online petition started by Fullerton resident Jacqueline Logwood that gathered over 27,000 sig- natures. The Board agenda item read as fol- lows: “The historical record indicates that Louis Plummer was associated with the Ku Klux Klan. The KKK is known to have engaged in acts of violence and terrorism against minority populations. Louis Plummer’s association was noted in a 1979 doctoral dissertation by Christopher Cocoltchos (UCLA) enti- tled The Invisible Government and the Reckoning with History: The High School Board voted to remove Louis E. Plummer’s name from the Viable Community: The Ku Klux Klan in Auditorium at Fullerton Union High School due to Plummer’s ties to the KKK. Photo by Mike Ritto. Orange County, California During the 1920s. Continued on page 2 BLM Protests Lead to Virtual ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: Town Halls with Police Chief •COVID-19 INFECTIONS RISE By Matthew Leslie Chief in June, 2019, Dunn had served as (p. 3) Acting Chief since August, 2018 after The Fullerton Police Department and having been brought on as a captain in members of the City Council are January that same year.
    [Show full text]
  • City to Settle in Police Misconduct Lawsuit
    Courtesy of the Local History Room, Fullerton Public Library ullerton Observer F u lle r to n ’s O n ly In depen den t News •est.1978 (printed on 20% recycled paper) Volume 33 #17 • Mid October 2011 Save Coyote Hills More Revelations Petition Comes Expected in Before the Council Inquiry o f The O C Registrar o f Voters has veri­ fied the signatures on both Save Coyote Fullerton Police Hills petitions 3 (Zone Change) & 4 (Development Agreement) with signa­ by Tracy Wood voiceofoc.org tures to spare. The two measures are an effort by the public, led by the non­ Fullerton can expect more bad news profit Friends of Coyote Hills, to over­ about its police department by the time turn approval o f the Chevron/PCH an independent investigation is finished, 760-home development approved by said Mike Gennaco, the man tasked with the City Council majority in July. conducting an examination of the depart­ The Council will decide whether to ment's policies and procedures. call an election or to rescind the July Without going into details, Gennaco approval of the proposal at the 6:30pm, said in a telephone interview Monday that Tues., Oct. 18th council meeting at whenever investigators look deeply at City Hall on Commonwealth & troubled sections o f a police department Highland. If the council decides to put they include other issues to see how they the measures on the ballot they can were handled. Continued page 11 choose to consolidate with the County of Orange (thereby saving the city great expense) or call a special election.
    [Show full text]
  • Gastronome Gets an “A” Grade
    TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2014 Volume 95, Issue 1 Gastronome gets an “A” grade Grade up from “D”, CORRECTIONS Shop24 gets first inspection ever Corrections for the most recent inspection ANDY LUNDIN ERIC GANDARILLA Handwashing sinks were Daily Titan observed at proper temperatures. In December, the Daily Proper hot holding Titan reported on the grades methods were observed. of food outlets on campus. Since then, many food out- Documented Time as a lets on campus have been Public Health Control reinspected––or inspected procedures were ob- for the first time ever. served at the waffle bar The Gastronome, as well and omelet bar locations. as every other location that received health inspections Proper cooling methods WILLIAM CAMARGO / For the Daily Titan during the months of were observed. Ron Thomas, father of Kelly Thomas, at his son’s memorial site in Fullerton. Family, friends and supporters of Kelly Thomas visited the December and January, all vigil in downtown Fullerton. On Jan. 13, two former Fullerton police officers were found not guilty in the death of Kelly Thomas. earned an “A” grade. Sanitizing solution was The Gastronome observed at proper con- centrations. The buffet-style restau- Warewashing machine rant showed significant was observed to be oper- improvement since its last Not guilty verdict stirs city ating properly. inspection in July. After their Dec. 20 inspection, Signage observed their grade changed from Two former Fullerton instructing customers to a nearly failing “D,” to officers acquitted in death take a new plate observed an “A,” according to the at salad bar. of Kelly Thomas Environmental Health and Safety inspection reports.
    [Show full text]
  • Fullerton PD Investigated Also Mean More Approvals for Those Uncertainty of Finding Parking Who Applied for Credit Cards in the Elsewhere
    Vol. 91 Issue 12 February 22, 2012 Fans say ‘farewell’ at Whitney Houston’s Memorial Watch the Daily Titan News in 3 Get up- Scan to view Scan to view ONLINE dailytitan. EXCLUSIVES to-date com/?p=51118 coverage on dailytitan.com/?p=51138 top campus Whitney Houston fans went to the Beverly Hilton Hotel to news stories. pay homage to the late legendary singer. dailytitan.com The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton Campus KELLY THOMAS INCIDENT: FIRST OF THREE REPORTS STATE | S&P upgrades parking a Calif. credit bargain late rating on in semester the mend Permit prices drop State’s rating still 25 percent every 30 lowest of any state, days and cost $55 by but “positive” rating end of the school year seen as improvement HAILEY MORAN MICHAEL MUNOZ Daily Titan Daily Titan California’s credit rating The popular idiom, “Better outlook was raised from “stable” late than never,” definitely has its to “positive” last week by Standard benefits, especially when it comes to & Poor’s. The U.S.-based financial Cal State Fullerton parking permits. services company acknowledged Parking permit prices dropped that despite having a negative from $220 to $165 Monday, and outlook just eight months ago, will continue to drop at a prorated California could be poised for interval each month until the end of an even higher rating in the near the term. The prorated intervals are future. between 30 days, and during each The revision comes after Gov. pricing interval the price will drop Jerry Brown’s promotion of a ballot 25 percent.
    [Show full text]
  • The Brutal Truth About Police Brutality
    Eastern Kentucky University Encompass Honors Theses Student Scholarship Fall 12-2015 The rB utal Truth about Police Brutality Markhel D. Hargrove Eastern Kentucky University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://encompass.eku.edu/honors_theses Recommended Citation Hargrove, Markhel D., "The rB utal Truth about Police Brutality" (2015). Honors Theses. 283. https://encompass.eku.edu/honors_theses/283 This Open Access Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at Encompass. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of Encompass. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Brutal Truth about Police Brutality “Crime is a problem that preoccupies the news and the public. As the nation has engaged in ‘wars’ on crime and drugs over the past several decades, crime has become an ever-more prevalent staple of news reporting… Police use of physical force is a particularly controversial issue in American crime fighting,” (Lawrence, 2000). It should be no news to anyone that police brutality is a very serious issue that continues to burden our country. In order to better understand the issue at hand, I have looked at almost 100 of alleged police brutality cases that have taken place within the past 10 years. The fact that there were that many to review is distressing and furthermore, there are countless other cases that, unfortunately, have not been heavily reported. After the Michael Brown case caught the media’s attention and went viral, a new case “comes up, it seems like, once a week now, or at least every couple of weeks” as the President of the United States Barack Obama stated in a press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
    [Show full text]