Two members of the jury that convicted three Los Angeles police officers of framing gang members in the Rampart corruption scandal were sharply critical Sunday of the decision by Superior Court Judge Jacqueline Connor to overturn the convictions. "Why call the jury in there in the first place? Why even have us there?" said one, Albert M. Mesa. But two other jurors said they were confused on precisely the point Connor cited Friday when she threw out the first convictions in the worst scandal in LAPD history. "We were a bit confused," said juror Lucy M. Leon. "I know I was." [continues 1113 words]
A Superior Court judge Thursday suggested that the entire Los Angeles bench might have to be barred from presiding over the resolution of criminal charges against four police officers in the Rampart scandal. Judge Larry Fidler said he was prepared to disqualify all Los Angeles County judges from hearing the case. He noted that a former deputy district attorney, who is now a judge, is listed by the prosecution as a possible witness to acts allegedly committed by two of the four officers. The four officers have been charged with conspiring to obstruct justice by framing people they arrested. [continues 1237 words]
Court: L.A. County, U.S. Would Pay The Money To Survivors Of A Ventura County Man Killed At His Ranch In 1992. Los Angeles County and the United States government have tentatively agreed to pay $5 million to the survivors of Donald P. Scott, reclusive heir to a European chemical fortune, who was shot to death when he was surprised by police during a controversial 1992 drug raid that turned up no drugs on his isolated ranch. Scott's survivors have long maintained that law enforcement agents conducted the raid primarily because they were hoping to seize the 200-acre ranch, just across the Ventura County line from Malibu. They allege that agents falsified information to obtain a search warrant, hoping to find enough drugs to justify selling the ranch under federal drug asset forfeiture laws that would allow their agencies to keep the profits from such confiscations. [continues 457 words]
The Rampart police probe casts light on cases in which suspects admit to crimes they didn't commit rather than risk much longer prison terms if convicted at trial. Joseph Jones had quite a choice. He could plead guilty to selling drugs he had not sold and serve eight years in prison. Or he could risk being convicted at trial and, as a three-time loser, be sentenced to life. Ex-felon Miguel Hernandez was offered a similarly absurd "break." He could give up 16 months of his life by pleading guilty to possessing a weapon he had never had. [continues 5503 words]
