Sample Murgia 2
Sample Murgia 2
Sample Murgia 2
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2 93 Devine Street
San Jose, CA 95110
3 Tel: (408) 645-7801
Fax: (408) 645-7802 2018
4 [email protected] Clerk of the Court
Superior Court of CA County of Santa Clara
5 Attorney for Defendant
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BY DEPUTY
SUSAN BASSI
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7 SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
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8 IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA
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PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ; Case No.: Cl 777801
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10 CALIFORNIA,
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i NOTICE OF HEARING ON MOTION
11 ; TO COMPEL DISCOVERY AND
Plaintiff, : MOTION TO COMPEL DISCOVERY
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i MUNICIPAL COURT
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- \'""'"--
: Date: _ i.._-_,_\t_,______, ~_ _
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16 Defendant.
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NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on the date and time specified above, or as
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soon thereafter a s the matter may be heard, in the above named department of the
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above entitled court, the defendant, by and through counsel, will move this Court to
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order the prosecution to provide the defense with discovery, as required under Murgia v.
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6 DMITRY STADLIN
7 Attorney for Defendant
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6 and discriminatory reasons, while other similarly situated persons are not being
7 prosecuted. The defense asserts that the only reason for this selective and discriminatory
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8 prosecution is Ms. Bassi's coverage of local news as a journalist, and her participation in
9 local county politics.
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STATEMENT OF THE CASE
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12 Susan Bassi is charged in docket Cl 777801 with:
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13 Count 1: A misdemeanor violation of California Penal Code§ 166(a)(4)-willful
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14 violation of a court order- disobeying the terms of a Santa Clara County Local Court
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15 Rule prohibiting the use of recording devices in a courthouse, on August 31, 2017.
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17 violation of a court order - disobeying the terms of a Santa Clara County Local Court
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18 Rule prohibiting the use of recording devices in a courthouse, on November 14, 2017.
19 Count 3: A misdemeanor violation of California Penal Code § 148(a)(l) - resisting,
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22 violation of a court order - disobeying the terms of a Santa Clara County Local Court
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23 Rule prohibiting the use of recording devices in a courthouse, on March 19, 2018.
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24 Three separate motions to compel discovery have been brought and litigated
25 during the pendency of this case.
26 In January, 2018, defense counsel for Ms. Bassi sent a discovery request to the
27 prosecutor assigned to this case, requesting Murgia discovery. (Attached as Exhibit A)
28 The prosecutor replied that the requested materials fell outside the scope of her
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6 Attorney's Office, regarding the frequency of charging a Pen. Code§
7 166(a)(4) charge for violating a Santa Clara County Local Court Rule, going
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8 back 3 years.
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10 Attorney's Office, regarding the frequency of charging a Pen. Code §
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11 166(a)(4) charge for violating a Santa Clara County Local Court Rule, since
12 August 1, 2017.
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13 3. All correspondence, including but not limited to emails, texts or other
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14 communications to/from the Santa Clara County Sheriffs Office and the
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15 Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office, regarding Ms. Susan Bassi,
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LEGAL ARGUMENT
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A. Legal Standard
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Yick Wo v. Hopkins makes clear that it is the province of the courts to prohibit the
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unequal administration of law. (Yick Wo v. Hopkins (1886) 118 U.S. 356 at 373-374.) A
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criminal defendant may obtain a dismissal of the criminal charges brought by the
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government on the ground that such prosecution is being conducted in an arbitrary or
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discriminatory manner. (Murgia v. Municipal Court (1975) 15 Cal. 3d 286.) The equal
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protection guarantee simply prohibits prosecuting officials from purposefully and
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6 defendant must usually be a member of the group which discrimination is claimed. The
7 information requested in this motion is sought to demonstrate that the government may
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8 be acting in an arbitrary or discriminatory manner in prosecuting Ms. Bassi.
9 A Murgia dismissal usually involves two motions. First, the defense makes a
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10 motion to obtain discovery that would prove the government is acting in a discriminatory
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11 matter. Second, assuming that the discovery establishes that the prosecution is
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discriminatory, the defendant moves to have the charges dismissed.
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13 A criminal defendant making a Murgia discovery motion has the burden of proof.
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14 (Id at 298.) The applicable standard for discovery related to the defense of discriminatory
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15 prosecution is "some evidence tending to show the existence of the essential elements of
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16 the defense, discriminatory effect and discriminatory intent." (People v. Superior Court
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17 (Baez) (2000) 79 Cal.4th 177, 1189.) In other words, a defendant must make a "credible
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21 to the discovery provisions of the Penal Code. (Murgia v. Municipal Court, supra, 15 Cal.
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22 3d 286, 294.; Pen Code Section 1054(e).) Therefore, the defendant need not have
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23 requested the same documents in a prior informal discovery request pursuant to Penal
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24 Code section 1054.5(b). Although in this case, there was a prior informal discovery
25 request as outlined in Exhibit A to this motion.
26 The information defendant seeks is supported by Bartin v. Superior Court, (1976)
27 64 Cal. App 3d 873, 876, where defendants were provided with discovery of records
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6 not. The attached declarations of counsel point out that other people who have taken and
7 continue to take photographs, or record video, in the courthouse are not prosecuted. Ms.
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8 Bassi, who was injured during an altercation with Sheriffs Deputies, and who is a
9 journalist and community activist, is being prosecuted. Not only is she being prosecuted,
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10 but the prosecution has added new charges since the beginning of this case. Initially this
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11 case was filed with only Count 1. After Ms. Bassi insisted on a speedy trial, the
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prosecution added two counts. As the case was being litigated, the prosecution added
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13 Count 4. No other people are being charged with violations of Pen. Code§ 166 for
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16 since evidence of it "lies buried in the consciences and files of the law enforcement
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17 agencies involved." (People v. Gray (1967) 254 Cal. App. 2d 256, 266.) Here, however, the
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18 instant facts present the court an unusual scenario where the court can and should
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19 reasonably infer unlawful motive based on all the direct and circumstantial evidence
20 cited above. The defendant is now entitled to, and respectfully asks the Court to compel
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21 discovery of the information and items necessary to fully investigate the claim.
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CONCLUSION
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24 The defense has made a prima facie showing that the Santa Clara County District
25 Attorney's Office, or the Sheriffs Office, has singled out Ms. Bassi for selective
26 prosecution by providing "some evidence tending to show the existence of the essential
27 elements of the defense, discriminatory effect and discriminatory intent." For these
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6 Respectfully Submitted,
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DMITRY STADLIN
10 Attorney for Defendant
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EXHIBIT A e
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Mr. Stadlin,
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I apologize for not responding sooner. I was in court this morning and afternoon with calendars. My position is the
same- your request exceeds the scope of my discovery obligations under Penal Code section 1054.
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Thank you,
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Daniella Rich
Deputy District Attorney
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Santa Clara County Office of the District Attorney
70 W. Hedding Street -West Wing
San Jose, CA 95110
Office: (408) 792-2930
Fax: (408) 294-6746
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From: Dmitry Stadlin [mailto:[email protected]]
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Thank you for your prompt response. Could you please review the attached case (Murgia) regarding my supplemental
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discovery request and let me know if, after reviewing it, you still will not discover the requested information?
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Thank you,
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Dmitry Stadlin
Attorney at Law
93 Devine Street
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Stadlinlaw.com
Mr. Stadlin,
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Thank you for your email. I have asked for the photos and Family Justice Center surveillance video to be discovered to
you. Your new discovery request for data on the frequency in which PC 166(a)(4) is charged for violating a court order
exceeds the scope of my discovery obligations under PC 1054.
Thank you,
Daniella Rich
Deputy District Attorney
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Santa Clara County Office of the District Attorney
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70 W. Hedding Street -West Wing
San Jose, CA 95110
Office: (408) 792-2930
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Fax: (408) 294-6746
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Sent: Wednesday, January 03, 2018 8:44 PM
To: Rich, Daniella <[email protected]>
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Subject: RE: Phan, Janine shared "171134163 Bassi Susan Hazlett" with you.
Any data kept by law enforcement (of course, including the DA's office) regarding frequency in
which Penal Code section 166(a)(4) is charged for violating any Santa Clara County Local Court
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Thank you!
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Dmitry Stadlin
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Attorney at Law
93 Devine Street
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Cc: Dan iella Rich <[email protected]>
Subject: RE : Phan, Jan ine shared "171134163 Bassi Susan Hazlett" w ith you .
I have CC'd Ms. Daniella Rich, the assigned Deputy Di strict Attorney.
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• Copy of Video Surveillance by Tech Miramontes - Pg. 3 of 7 of Dep. Carrasco's report
• Photographs taken by Dep. Carrasco of sign - Pg. 5 of 7 of his report
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• Copy of CD submitted by Dep. Carrasco into evidence locker, Evidence Item# 1
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• Body Worn Camera Footage from Dep. Carrasco from 09/01 / 17 during his interview of
Fanesa Fimbrez
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• Body Worn Camera Footage from Dept. Swenson during his interactions with James
Stephen and Susan Bassi on 12/09/16
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Th ank you,
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Dmitry Stadlin
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Attorn ey at Law
93 Devin e Street
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Sanjose, CA 95110
Tel: (408) 645-7801
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Stadli nlaw.com
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Subject: Phan, Janine shared " 171134163 Bassi Susan Hazlett" with you.
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Thi s link only works for the direct recipients of this message.
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Microsoft Corporation, One M icrosoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052
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EXHIBIT B e
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6 3. My practice is almost exclusively criminal defense.
7 4. I have personally witnessed people taking photographs or video inside Courtrooms
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8 and Courthouses in this county.
9 5. I have seen this happen even after October 10, 2017.
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10 6. It is hard to say how many times I have witnessed this. However, it is common for
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11 people in the clerk's office to photograph files (despite the notice telling them not
12 to) and it is common for lawyers to photograph copies of "snap outs" so that the
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13 client can keep a copy and the lawyer can have an electronic copy.
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14 7. In addition, I believe that the definition of "Courthouse" includes the area outside
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15 the doors of the courthouse and immediately adjacent to the courthouse. In this
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16 area I have seen numerous individuals and news organizations take photographs.
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17 8. To the best of my knowledge, none of those people were prosecuted by the District
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20 I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct to the best of my
21 knowledge.
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5 3. I have personally witnessed people taking photographs or video inside Courtrooms
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6 and Courthouses in this county.
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7 4. I have seen this happen even after October 10, 2017.
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8 5. Specifically, I have witnessed the following:
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9 a. During a matter set in a felony case management courtroom, my client took
10 photographs on a date her matter was set for entry of plea. The assigned
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11 courtroom Sheriffs deputy asked her to stop. Unfortunately, I had not
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witnessed the initial exchange. My client did not stop. She was
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13 apprehended by several deputies and remanded. While her request to be
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14 released in light of a recent change of plea was denied, the judge made it
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15 clear that she would not be prosecuted for any violation of an order.
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18 Court.
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20 I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.
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ATTORNEY AT LAW
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1 DECLARATION OF COUNSEL IN SUPPORT OF MOTION
2 I, Dmitry Stadlin, declare as follows:
3 1. I am an attorney licensed to practice law in California.
4 2. I am the attorney for the defendant, Susan Bassi, in this case.
5 3. I have been practicing in Santa Clara County for three years.
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6 4. I have personally witnessed people taking photographs or video inside Courtrooms
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8 a. I have seen people taking photographs in the clerk's office at both the Hall
9 of Justice and the Family Justice Center.
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10 b. I have seen photographs taken at the Family Justice Center during their
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11 adoption day festivities.
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c. I know that Judge Manley routinely takes photographs with people that
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13 graduate from his program, at the Family Justice Center.
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19 Court.
20 8. I have spoken with numerous other attorneys that practice in Santa Clara
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21 County, and have tried to find another case where a person was being criminally
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22 prosecuted for taking photographs inside a courthouse. I have not found any other
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6 I do not claim to be able to definitively determine the intent of any one person.
7 However, I believe that this motion and the declarations attached do show "some
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8 evidence" to suggest that there is a discriminatory intent.
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10 I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.
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11 Executed on July 5, 2018, in San Jose, California.
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DMITRY STADLIN
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Attorney for Defendant
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I, the undersigned, declare:
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I am over eighteen years of age and not a party to the above action. My business address
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is 93 Devine Street, San Jose, California 95110.
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On the date below, I personally served copies of the attached by giving a copy to the
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Deputy District Attorney in Department 48.
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16 I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.
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DMITRY STADLIN
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