West
'Woke' DA sued by his own office for allegedly protecting ethics chief charged with felonies
The union representing hundreds of Los Angeles prosecutors is once again suing their boss, District Attorney George Gascon, this time for withholding information on a close ally in alleged violation of the California Public Records Act (CPRA).
The Association of Deputy District Attorneys (ADDA) sought information about Diana Teran, a top Gascon aide who is facing felony charges, in May and received an incomplete response, according to a 200-page court filing unveiled Thursday. Prosecutors sought her emails and information about whether she remained on the county payroll after her indictment. They also wanted to know if county taxpayers were on the hook for her criminal defense.
The lawsuit seeks to force Gascon’s office to disclose the requested records, to declare the DA in violation of the CPRA and to pay the ADDA’s attorney fees for the lawsuit and the denied requests.
“These are public records, and the union and other members of the public have a right to this information,” said Neama Rahmani, a Los Angeles-based former federal prosecutor who now runs a private practice.
PROSECUTOR SUES LOS ANGELES DA FOR RETALIATION AFTER HE WAS PUNISHED FOR ‘MISGENDERING’ CHILD PREDATOR
He said the embattled DA and county lawyers may be trying to delay damaging information from reaching the public until after Election Day.
“Of course, Teran is a high-ranking deputy DA and a close ally of Gascon, who is facing a tough challenger in November, and the union has sued Gascon before during his tumultuous first term,” Rahmani said.
Read the lawsuit. Mobile users click here.
VIDEO SHOWS LA DA GEORGE GASCON’S RIGHT-HAND MAN ARRESTED IN DUI STOP: ‘YOU’VE PULLED OVER THE WRONG PERSON’
California Attorney General Robert Bonta announced a felony indictment against Teran in April for allegedly stealing computer files with information on Los Angeles sheriff’s deputies and improperly using them years after her employment with the department ended. Her defense attorney previously said he expects her to beat the charges, several of which have already been thrown out.
“The California Public Records Act clearly mandates that public agencies must promptly provide access to public records without unnecessary delays,” said Ryan Erlich, vice president of the ADDA. “Yet, George Gascon has consistently violated the law by unlawfully delaying and obstructing the process.”
WOKE CALIFORNIA PROSECUTOR ‘IRONICALLY IN CHARGE OF ETHICS’ CHARGED WITH FELONIES
Gascon’s office has previously denied similar public records requests from Fox News Digital seeking financial information about how much it’s costing Los Angeles taxpayers to defend the DA from a previous lawsuit filed against him by the ADDA.
“They have repeatedly stalled, delayed or outright ignored numerous requests,” said John Lewin, a deputy district attorney who is separately suing Gascon in a whistleblower retaliation lawsuit.
Unlike other states, California’s public records law has no built-in process to appeal a denial to a higher authority, so record seekers are forced to bring the agency to court if they are denied improperly.
“George Gascon believes that because he is the district attorney, not only does he not have to follow the law, but he is actually above it,” Lewin added. “He’s going to find out in less than two months that he’s not above the law. He’s going to lose this election, and he’ll spend the next several years as a defendant in a courtroom defending the 20-plus lawsuits that are going to cost the county in excess of a hundred million dollars.”
Gascon’s office has a policy against commenting on pending litigation, a spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
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The DA is facing more than 20 lawsuits from individual prosecutors as well as four from their union.
“It’s deeply troubling that we are once again forced to take legal action simply to obtain public documents that should be readily available,” said ADDA President Michele Hanisee.
Nathan Hochman, the attorney vying to oust Gascon in the upcoming election, jabbed his rival for the sheer number of court battles he faces from his own office.
“It appears that Mr. Gascon once again needs a civics lesson about how a democracy works,” he told Fox News Digital. “Maybe if Gascon did a better job of standing up for crime victims instead of his own self-interests and extreme political ideology, he wouldn’t have so much to hide. It’s unfortunate that, once again, Gascon’s own prosecutors have been forced to sue him in order to get him to comply with the law.”
Read the full article from Here
San Francisco, CA
2 injured in San Francisco crash, driver arrested for aggravated assault
Police say two people were injured in a San Francisco crash in the Sunnyvale neighborhood on Thursday. Police say victims were trying to break up a fight when a vehicle struck them. The driver then took off, but was later found and arrested.
Denver, CO
Denver voters will be asked whether to ban slaughterhouses in the city
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Seattle, WA
Seattle Mariners Squander Lead, Drop Game 1 of Series Against Texas Rangers
SEATTLE — One-run games have been the Seattle Mariners kryptonite over the last month.
The Mariners dropped four one-run contests on a 10-game road trip before returning to home to T-Mobile Park on Tuesday. Unfortunately for them, that trend received a new entry in a 5-4 loss against the Texas Rangers on Thursday.
Seattle led 4-1 through six innings. Texas scored four unanswered runs in the final three innings to drop the Mariners to 74-73 on the season. The loss also bumped them 4.5 games behind the Houston Astros for first place in the American League West.
“Tough loss tonight,” Seattle manager Dan Wilson said in a postgame interview Thursday. “(Bryce Miller) gave us six pretty good innings. Six strong innings. And then turned it over the bullpen, tough eighth inning. Couple of ground balls, just a well-placed chopper and a ball off the glove and that’s a tough way to take it. It was a tough one to swallow tonight.”
The Rangers struck first after Josh Jung hit a solo home run to right field in the top of the second.
Before Jung’s homer, the Mariners left two runners stranded in scoring position in bottom of the first — something that came back to haunt Seattle later.
The Mariners tied the game after Justin Turner sent his 10th home run of the year to dead-center field in the bottom of the fourth.
Seattle took the lead after Randy Arozarena hit a two-RBI single and Cal Raleigh scored on a wild pitch. Those trio of scores put the Mariners up 4-1 through five.
Then the comeback began.
Troy Taylor relieved Mariners starter Miller in the top of the seventh after a six-inning, seven-strikeout quality start from the second-year hurler.
Nathaniel Lowe led off the inning with a solo homer to left field.
Then Collin Snider took the mound for Seattle in the eighth. Marcus Semien hit a solo shot to left field off him. In the same frame, Adolis Garcia grounded into a force out that scored Josh Smith.
Lowe capped the inning with an RBI single to give Texas the eventual final of 5-4. And what was a 4-1 Mariners lead disappeared just two innings later.
The damage could have been limited to just Semien’s home run, but Smith got on base after Seattle first baseman Luke Raley was dinged with a fielding error.
The Mariners had one more opportunity to take the lead or win in the bottom of the ninth after Victor Robles connected for a two-out single that gave the former World Series champion a 3-for-3 day.
Julio Rodriguez ended up striking out. His whiff left Robles stranded — the seventh runner left on base for the Mariners on the day. Seattle struck out 16 times in total.
The Mariners went 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
Seattle struck out in 50% of its at-bats. None of the four relievers fanned a batter. The Rangers rookie starter Kumar Rocker, who was making his major league debut Thursday, struck out seven Mariners. There were 11 chances to bring in the runner (or runners) that would have either tied or won the game for Seattle.
That’s bad. And with 15 games left in the season, there’s no more leash left for games like Thursday.
Jacob deGrom will make his season debut for Texas at 7:10 p.m. PT on Friday. Emerson Hancock is rumored to get the start for the the Mariners.
MARINERS STARTERS FOR DO-OR-DIE SERIES AGAINST RANGERS: The Seattle Mariners will hope their starting rotation can lead them to a series win in an upcoming four-game stretch against the Texas Rangers. CLICK HERE
MARINERS RIDE WOO’S PERFECT GAME BID TO VICTORY: Seattle Mariners starter Bryan Woo carried a perfect game bid into the seventh inning and was supported by a balanced offense in a 5-2 win over the San Diego Padres on Wednesday. CLICK HERE
BRASH TALKS ABOUT RECOVERY FROM TOMMY JOHN SURGERY: Seattle Mariners reliever Matt Brash took some time before Wednesday’s game against the San Diego Padres to comment on his recovery from Tommy John surgery, rejoining the team in a non-playing capacity and more. CLICK HERE
Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on “X” @Teren_Kowatsch and @wdevradiobrady
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