A pair to draw to: Peter Martin and Jeffrey 'you go free.com' Schwartz

◼ Arcata woman sues city, police over potless pot search; suit alleges unlawful search, rough treatment hastened husband's death - Times-Standard

The search warrant served on the Sages' home stemmed from an affidavit in support of a search warrant filed by Arcata Police Officer Brian Hoffman -- who is specifically named as a defendant in the suit -- asserting that there was probable cause to believe the Sages were committing a felony.

Acting on a tip from an unnamed “state park employee” who reported that he commonly smelled growing marijuana coming from the Sages' residence, Hoffman stated that he went down to the Sages' Zehndner Avenue home and smelled a “strong odor of growing marijuana emanating from the residence” on May 1.

Hoffman states in the affidavit that he then got a search warrant for Pacific Gas and Electric Co. records, which indicated the household's electrical usage ranged from 2,796 kilowatt hours to 5,362 kilowatt hours in each of the three prior months.

The officer submitted the affidavit -- which was signed off on by Humboldt County Deputy District Attorney Max Cardoza -- and received a search warrant signed by Judge Dale Reinholtsen the same day.

When officers served the search warrant about two weeks later, they found no marijuana -- growing or processed -- and Sage claims no marijuana had been in her residence since May 5, 2011.

Sage's complaint argues that Hoffman and his fellow officers took no steps to investigate whether the Sages' grow fell within the guidelines of Arcata's medical marijuana ordinance and had no facts to suggest a felony was being committed.
__________________
I don't know about you, but I had some sympathy for these people, until I got to the part that shows who is involved here.

yougofree.com's apocalyptic screed

◼ Jeff Schwartz: Paul Gallegos Is The Only Logical Alternative For Hagen Supporters
...nuclear rods float in a vat of liquid as they wait to be buried where they stand at the intersection of three tectonic plates. ...

...Whether he (Gallegod) gets a conviction or not, the abusers know he’ll go after them, and they will pause. ...

Wait. I thought going after them was BAD, Mr.com. See that's the problem Gallegos has, in order to run he has to pretend to be something he is not. Tough on crime... calling himself a professor at HSU... taking credit for all of the programs that were created by his predecessor...

Latest Wave of Campaign Finance Numbers

◼ at the Reporta
The record holders for now:
Most $$$ Raised: Virginia Bass ($114,667)
Most $$$ Spent: Paul Gallegos ($109,685)
Most Loans Taken: Paul Gallegos ($33,000)
Highest Debt: Paul Gallegos ($54,825)
Largest Single Contribution Received: Bonnie Neely ($10,000)
(correction from The Reporta: Actually, after reviewing the info, Pat Cleary takes the prize for highest single contribution - Blue Lake Rancheria for $20,000. )

Gallegos is going big in the race, spending well beyond his current means. It’s a gamble that may pay off in the General Election, but it could also be a hefty debt if that battle heats up, which it probably will. In the current cycle, he raked in $11,127 in contributions, most notably $1,500 from Humboldt Hydroponics, $500 from {yougofree.com}Jeffrey Schwartz, and $300 from the Humboldt Patient Resource Center, and spent $11,225. He took out another $3,000 loan and spent cash mostly on salaries, polling data, and credit card bills.

Allison Jackson raised $2,703 and spent $28,166. She took out her first loan in the race to the tune of $10,500. She got a $1,000 from Paradise City Publications, in Arcata, and paid off $12,656 in expense debt.

◼ Election campaign money continues to trickle in

Added: No word on Gallegos heavily amended reports?

Plea Deal in McKinleyville murder case

◼ Suspect pleads in McKinleyville murder case
A second of the four suspects accused of murdering a McKinleyville man in February has reached a plea deal with the Humboldt County District Attorney's Office.

Ruben Anthony Peredia, 32, of Eureka, was sentenced to serve 13 years and four months in state prison Friday, after pleading guilty to charges of voluntary manslaughter and burglary, with a special enhancement for being armed during his role in the shooting death of 30-year-old Ezra Sanders....

In April, four suspects were charged with Sanders' murder: Peredia, Tracey Joleen Williams, 35, of Eureka; Lukus Larry Mace, 31, of Orleans and Jeffrey Allan Burgess, 39, of Eureka. Burgess is also charged with a special allegation of firing the bullet that killed Sanders.

Mace reached a plea deal earlier this month, pleading guilty to a charge of voluntary manslaughter and agreeing to testify against his co-defendants. Deputy District Attorney Ben McLaughlin said Mace faces a maximum of six years in prison if he complies with his part of the deal.

Burgess and Williams have pleaded not guilty, and have been held to stand trial on charges of murder.
Peredia's plea deal will leave him with two strikes on his record, meaning he will serve a minimum of 85 percent of his sentence, according to his attorney Jeffrey (yougofree.com) Schwartz.

”I think there was significant enough evidence that he felt it was too big of a risk for him to go to trial and look at life without parole,” Schwartz said of Peredia's decision to accept the plea deal. “He just had to balance the risk. ... Several witnesses placed him there. When you assess that evidence, it was a risk he didn't want to take.”

But unlike Mace's deal, Schwartz said, Peredia has no obligation to assist the prosecution's case against the remaining defendants.

”He's sentenced, gone and absolutely doesn't have to say one thing to anybody,” Schwartz said....

Williams and Burgess are scheduled to be re-arraigned Monday. Both face life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Oh, God, he's back.

◼ Jeffrey "yougofree.com"Schwartz's plan to save the world. It's so simple.

Ya gotta just feel sorry for the guy. He's a lawyer, if your case involves money of any kind, I'd find someone else.

OMG - read his little bio - Jeffrey Schwartz lives in works in Arcata and is a member of the Arcata Economic Development Committee.

The MIRROR says it better than I ever could ◼ This week in stupid

Pot grows are ruining neighborhoods

One response to Jeffrey "yougofree.com" Schwartz's ludicrous "My Word" from someone who is directly affected by illegal grows. The author is not alone, the people in Arcata have been speaking up, and the result has been new policies and ordinances trying to stem the tide of destruction caused by the pot industry (stop pretending it is compassionate medical use).
***
After reading My Word in the Feb. 24, 2009, edition of the Times-Standard, I felt a response from an affected and concerned citizen was necessary.

In my opinion:

I am thankful that we have elected officials who care enough about our community to take action to stop the widespread abuse and misuse of Prop 215. They have my vote and the votes of many others. They seem to care enough about the degradation of life, for some of us, to risk not being re-elected.

The 19-year-old HSU student, according to Jeffrey Schwartz, had a few pounds of pot. He should not have had that much because it is illegal. If he had not been transporting the pot, and getting caught, he would not have gotten in trouble, now would he? It was his choice. Probably for money. He chose to do the crime.

Two of the growers recently sentenced to 270 days in jail deserved it. They contributed to a problem here in Greenview, crime. In two weeks' time, Greenview had four burglaries. It is believed the burglars were looking for pot. My house was broken into four times in one year, because of the pot smell coming from next door. Nothing was taken, because I don't have pot. The pot smell was so strong the thieves couldn't tell which house it was coming from. Try sleeping after having your house broken into!

The grower next door, before the current one, was arrested for chasing two people down Lewis Avenue with a shotgun. He had so much traffic coming and going at all hours of the day, it was ridiculous. He got off with just probation. We lost a lot of sleep because of him. He was not a good neighbor.

Two doors down from this grow house lives an elderly couple. The man is 85, the woman 83. At two in the morning the woman heard a noise in her house. She got up to see what it was, and there was a man in her bathroom. The burglar, or home invader, fled through the bathroom window. The responding APD officer said the burglar was likely after pot, as the smell was so strong in our neighborhood. That's two wrong houses burgled. The results could have been a lot worse.

I wonder why the growers have chosen Arcata neighborhoods to grow weed, and not some other place? Why not in the country? Why ruin neighborhoods? We supposedly have a housing shortage, for people, but not for pot. Go grow where you came from. Go!

Here in Arcata, things had gotten so bad that something needed to be done. Yes, it was out of control. That is why, after so much debate, Arcata passed an ordinance to, somewhat, regulate the growing of pot.

Things here really haven't changed. The grows continue, and we still don't have good neighbors. They don't know or care when someone passes away. They don't offer to help the sick or elderly. They don't keep an eye out for the few remaining children.

They don't check on neighbors when an ambulance or fire truck shows up, even with lights flashing and sirens blaring. All that concerns them is pot, money and themselves, not our community.

It is true that law enforcement has limited budgets, but that doesn't mean that pot crimes should go unprosecuted. Which crimes should be prosecuted and which shouldn't? Naturally, we should prosecute child molesters, rapists and murderers, as well as illegal pot growers, traffickers and dealers.

Please, officials of the criminal justice system, continue prosecuting these criminals. Something has to be done to stop the deterioration of life here in Humboldt County. There are still some of us who appreciate what you do, and we want the laws to be enforced.
And, thank you for doing a good job. You have my vote.

Paul Hooker
***
☛ TS Op-Ed Pot grows are ruining neighborhoods
☛ TS Comments thread

jason says "90% of this letter was SPOT ON! This coming from a pro-legalizer.
ED Denson very 'helpfully' suggests Paul Hooker paints a sad picture of life in Greenview. It is difficult to tell exactly what is happening because much of what he relates is either someone else's story which he is retelling, or simply his opinions stated as facts. Did the Arcata police officer tell the elderly couple that their burglar was probably looking for pot? Or did they ask him if that were likely and he agreed, or did the neighbor embellish the story when telling it to Mr. Hooker, or to the person from whom Mr. Hooker heard it? We have no way of knowing. But if things are as Mr. Hooker says, and there is a rash of burglaries in the neighborhood what we have here is a failure of law enforcement to catch burglars. not a problem with marijuana growing. Suppose the neighbors got rich and had expensive cars outside their homes and high-ticket items visible through their living room windows, and attracted burglars. Would Mr. Hooker speak out against conspicuous consumption and hope the city regulated it?

Mr. Hooker believes the marijuana gardens of which he is aware are illegal, but he has no way of knowing that. And he believes he knows which of his neighbors are growing marijuana, but he has no way to be sure of that either. What if people he thinks are fine neighbors, helping the sick, consoling survivors of family deaths, checking on neighbors when ambulances show up - what if these people are also growing marijuana?

If Greenview suffers as Mr.Hooker says, then the answer is effective law enforcement response to burglars, not persecution of or hatred directed towards medical marijuana growers. Over 100,000 Californians are finding relief from medical conditions, some life-threatening, by using medical marijuana. Someone has to grow the marijuana these people use, and it has to be done somewhere. If some of it is being grown in Greenview, and there are social problems created by that, those need to be addressed. If the growers are breaking the law, then the law should deal with them. But attacking neighbors who are not breaking the law just amplifies the social problems, while doing nothing to address them.

I suggest 3 appraoches (sp) to the problems Mr. Hooker mentions. 1) legalizing marijuana so that the price will collapse, and thus marijuana gardens will not attract burglars and more than tomato gardens do. This is a long term approach; 2) working with the Arcata police to prevent burglaries, and to catch and prosecute those who commit them, this is a medium term approach 3) talking with neighbors to see if a neighborhood watch group could reduce burglaries. This could be done today.

The one thing that will not be productive is trying to harass legal medical marijuana growers. This helps neither the neighborhood, the patients who depend upon the medicine, nor society.

NOTE THAT Ed Denson is a pot attorney and he is apparently oblivious to the enormous efforts that citizens have gone to to even get someone to listen - the enormous citizen effort it took to finally get the City Council to take up the topic, the backlash against the citizens who speak up (oh, the tolerant left), and the backlash against the Arcata Eye and it's editor Kevin Hoover for taking up the issue. The ignorance behind his comments is staggering.

Oh, God, "YouGoFree.com" Schwartz is back

and he musta lost a pot case or something... bitchin' about judges, and as nutty/entertaining as always...
Misplaced marijuana backlash

Misplaced marijuana backlash

Jeffrey Schwartz/For the Times-Standard
Posted: 02/24/2009 01:27:30 AM PST

Some elected officials in the criminal justice systems in Humboldt and Mendocino counties now act as if voters and legislators gave them a mandate to adopt a harsh penal policy toward marijuana growers. This is a recent and ominous change.

Measure B last June in Mendocino rescinded a previous measure that allowed for the personal possession of and expanded cultivation of medical marijuana. Arcata adopted an ordinance late last year that regulates grow houses. Together, these two measures and other similar ones emboldened the prosecutor in Mendocino County and a judge or two in Humboldt County to take a hard line on marijuana growers. These elected officials should be cautious. While they lead a backlash against the spread of marijuana cultivation, with harsher punishment for growers, they risk a stronger backlash at the polls.

It is disconcerting to hear around the courthouses of Mendocino County deputy district attorneys with marching orders arguing “zero tolerance” on marijuana cases and at least one judge in Humboldt County meting out sentences on first-time marijuana growers until now reserved for cocaine and meth dealers. One deputy district attorney in Mendocino stated, “the people have spoken,” referring to Measure B, when demanding a 365-day sentence for a 19-year old HSU student caught driving a few pounds of marijuana through Willits. This is a kid with a perfectly clean record. The type of felony insisted on by the A will never come off his rap sheet and will destroy his chance of getting a decent job in the future.

We need to gain perspective. We should remember that the personal possession of marijuana is all but legal in California -- if one is caught with an ounce or less of marijuana the penalty is a $100 fine, it is basically a traffic ticket. Should we treat the people who provide them with an ounce of what is all but legal the same way we treat heroin, cocaine or meth dealers?

Consider the recent case of a Humboldt County judge who grabbed the “mandate” and recently sentenced three marijuana growers to nine months in county jail, three months longer than the most hard-line deputy district attorney in Humboldt County had even requested.

Zero tolerance on marijuana growers may become contagious in our courthouses among the judges. If that happens, the would-be hard-line judges and the Mendocino district attorney will have sorely misconstrued what our collective community intended when they passed or agreed with these ordinances. The residents who voted for Measure B and support regulations on grow houses in Arcata were fed up with the abuses of marijuana growing and the noise and smell and pollution that go with it; in the same way they don't want a roofer setting up a tar boiling operation next door.

Harsher punishment of marijuana growers is a big mistake for an elected official. Marijuana decriminalization in our counties is a hot issue like abortion and gay marriage. There are a whole lot of people supporting both sides of the issue -- and then there are the blogging Rush Limbaugh types. With marijuana, as is the case with pro-choice and the right to marry, the majority in our counties want it decriminalized.

In coastal Northern California we suffer from limited budgets and small police departments but we spend an exorbitant amount of public funds in the form of police and top-of-the-line prosecutors' time and county jail space to put marijuana growers behind bars. In Humboldt, one of the two best prosecutors in the office is spending her time prosecuting marijuana growers instead of child molesters, rapists or murderers.

These officials of the criminal justice system need to wake up or when their elected terms end, they will find themselves back in private practice. The people of Mendocino and Humboldt counties are looking for regulation not criminalization.

Jeffrey Schwartz is an Arcata attorney practicing criminal defense law in Humboldt and Mendocino counties. He resides in Willits and Arcata. He can be reached at jdsarcata@yahoo.com.

NOTE: Jeffrey "yougofree.com" Schwartz was a defense attorney who came to work in the Humboldt County DA's Office. The best comment about him is that he managed to set more people free as a DDA than he did as a defense attorney. He ran a failed campaign for Arcata City Council, complete with a bizarre blog. The guy is a nut. And I don't mean that in a good way.

Response: ☛ Paul Hooker's TS Op-Ed Pot grows are ruining neighborhoods
☛ TS Comments thread

My WORD!

source

Bread and Circuses (Town Dandy, Feb 7, 2008)

Staring down at the Times Standard Op-Ed pages over the last five years, it has often occurred to us that those columns could be vastly improved with the addition of a single exclamation point. Too often the guest opinions do not live up to the section header under which they run. The usual header - "My Word" - conjures up manly visions of fists pounding tables, straight talking guys and gals calling it like it is. Sounds good, but when your eye scans downward what you generally get are the frightened scribblings of flaks and fussbudgets.

A suggestion? Add the exclamation point. "My Word!" The mental image of a sweating, bonneted Aunt Bea fanning herself to ward off heresy is almost always more apropos. And such was the case on Tuesday, Feb. 5, when former Deputy District Attorney Jeff Schwartz took up pen to scribe an early Valentine's letter to his ex-boss, DA Paul Gallegos. The Schwartz "My Word!" piece was called "Paul Gallegos: The beginning of an era," and it takes to task both the T-S editorial board and your humble servant for daring to suggest that the final failure, last month, of Gallegos' massive, five-year lawsuit against Pacific Lumber Co. reflects poorly on the DA.

Before we continue, let's get to the disclosure. Schwartz is the husband of the Journal's "Media Maven" columnist, Marcy Burstiner. I've never met the man, but I'm looking forward to someday doing so. He was supposed to show up at the Journal's Christmas party but the whole family came down with the norovirus that day. Just about the only thing I know about him is that before moving to Humboldt County and becoming a senior prosecutor under Gallegos, he was a San Francisco defense attorney with a website called "YouGoFree.Com." That's all in the past, although since stepping down from the District Attorney's office he has hied to his old occupation.

The nut of Schwartz's argument is based on the somewhat tired and dated notion of the "goold old boy" network, which Schwartz believes is still working to keep Gallegos down. Why? Because he had the gumption to prosecute members of their tribe.

Have you noticed that the non-historical cases he brought -- the cases against Debbie August and Palco. to name two -- never got past Humboldt's historical power base (the judiciary, the newspapers and the local law makers) and thus never reached a jury, which would have been made up largely of people who elected him?

I'm not sure what Schwartz means by "non-historical" here - failed? - and I'm not quite sure how, as an officer of the court, he can deplore the fact that the judicisary doesn't automatically roll over for whatever strikes Gallegos' fancy. Leave those things aside, though. The more important thing is that Schwartz is flat-out wrong on the facts.

Take the judiciary, one of "Humboldt's historical power bases." But Humboldt County judges have nothing to do with the death of the Palco suit. The appellate court killed it last month on the grounds that it had no basis in law. Neither did the Palco case founder in front of any local judge when it was back in trial court. It's true that judge Christopher Wilson ruled for Pacific Lumber on an early demurrer, but he gave the DA and his assistant Tim Stoen, leave to amend the case. And when the case was amended, Stoen fought - successfully - to have it heard before an out-of-town judge. It was Lake County's Judge Richard Freeborn who threw the case out in superior court, way back in 2005.

So what of Schwartz's charge against that other "power base" - the newspapers? This sadly, is where Schwartz dissolves into ridiculousness. Every newspaper in Humboldt County - even the Eureka Reporter - supported Gallegos' right to bring the suit, and every paper in Humboldt County editorialized strongly against Pacific Lumber's recall drive against the DA. Speaking for our paper, we would certainly do so again. It was dirty and rotten and reduced the rule of law to the level of an Alabamian backwater.

But it's one thing to bring the case, and quite another to win it. If our only desire is that Gallegos bring cases against the elite, we would have done as well with any bum standing on the Plaza ranting about the perfidity of "the corporations." It's even likely that the bum's rhetoric would be zazzier than Gallegos'. But we fear that there is no distinction between effort and accomplishment in the mind of Schwartz, or in the mind of any of the many Gallegos supporters who still look on the man with starry eyes and imagine that he has claimed the county on their behalf. Schwartz writes that Gallegos has many accomplishments in the prosecution of white-collar crime. Sadly, he does not bother to list any.

That isn't to say Gallegos hasn't achieved positive things. It's easy to make the case that the DA brought some sense to the county's prosecution of marijuana crimes, even if he did so by de-criminalizing the drug de-facto. It's a strategy that is not without its own consequences, but it's arguably more senisble than what came before.

Anything else? Schwartz himself listed two high-profile, white-collar cases that Gallegos brought and lost. In the one, he sought $250 million in remedies and in the other he sought the removal from office of a member of the Fortuna City Council. Are there any white-collar cases of so high a profile that Gallegos has won? If so, Schwartz has not remembered them. And so, to date, the man's reputation is more grounded in failure than in success. Read the rest...
***
Note: Schwartz doesn't even know how to spell Debi August's name.

OMG! The Media Maven's column in this same issue is titled Be Clear. She'd also advocate for a factual report. Obviously her advice hasn't rubbed off on Jeff "Yougofree.com."

Looks like Ken Miller and crew are pushing Gallegos into appealing his piece of shit Palco suit.

It's not enough that the case has been thrown out, what is it, three times now? Miller & Co. won't give up. How else do you explain Jeffrey "yougofree.com" Schwartz buttering Gallegos up, telling him (and you) how fabulous he looks in those silky golden, jewel-encrusted robes they have created for him, in the hopes that he will parade into court yet again without realizing he is buck-naked.

This nauseating piece of - ummmm, fiction demands a response. It's time to make the real record clear. I'm going to need more than 750 words, Mr. Somerville.

Where do I start?

Hank has nailed it in his response. Bread and Circuses (Town Dandy, Feb 7, 2008)

Appalling

Regarding the Child Abuse Services Team (CAST) statistics, Paul Gallegos asks in the email below '...why do we keep the stats we keep?..."

On the one hand, this is a clear example of why the Grand Jury (2004-2005) reported that it" is the unfortunate truth that the D.A. exhibits a limited understanding of how things are done in the department"

After five years in office, you'd think he'd know the answer to this question.

On the other hand, those stats are a HUGE embarrassment for him, and you can bet he'd rather they not be kept. Remember the last time the CAST stats were revealed, the data showed an alarming and precipitous decline in the number of CAST cases filed since Paul Gallegos took office. Things didn't get any better after Gallegos removed Maggie Flemming, the competent, qualified Senior DDA he had assigned to CAST and gave those responsibilities to Jeffrey "yougofree.com" Schwartz. Not only appointed Schwartz to head it up but paid him extra for it...

There are alot of questions Gallegos could be asking - about how to repair the CAST program that he has all but dismantled.

I realize the stats are embarrassing, BUT Gallegos should be figuring out how to fix the program, not how to hide the stats.

-----Original Message-----
From: Gallegos, Paul [mailto: PGallegos@co.humboldt.ca.us]
Sent: Friday, January 04, 2008 9:04 AM
To: Lewis, Melinda; Aaron Starcher; Angela Sundberg; BIG LAGOON
RANCHERIA; BLUE LAKE RANCHERIA; Bob Kane; Cassie Burgess (E-mail);
Cavinta, George; Chief TPD Ken Thrailkill; Crandall, Phillip; Damiano,
Bill; Daniel Pratt, Karuk Tribe; Dave Gunderson, Chief BLPD; Dave
Parris, Chief Yurok PD; Donna Johnson; Duncan, Jeannie; Eads, Stacey J;
Ed Guyer, Sgt. HVTPD; Fewell, Deana (June); Gomes, Jean; Graham Hill,
Chief RDPD; Heather Landreneaux; Hislop, Michael; Honsal, William; Howe,
Karla; Jean LaPietra; Jennifer Roberts; Jennifer Rose; Karen Cahill;
Kevin Lawson; Kris Kitna, Chief FoPD; Lewis, Beverly Morgan; Lonnie
Lawson, Chief FePD; Lynne Soderberg; Maryann Hayes Mariani; Moser,
Joyce; Neel, Kelly; Neil Hubbard, Detective EPD; Nord, Ben; Officer
Richardson, FoPD; Philp, Gary; Randy Mendosa; Rasines, Doug; Shoshani,
Michele; Steve Volow; Tom Chapman, Captain APD; Tom Dewey, Chief HSUPD;
Wendy Morris; Wheeler, Donna; William Hostler, Chief HVTPD
Cc: Neel, Kelly; Honsal, William
Subject: RE: CAST meeting agenda items?

I have a question I would like put on the agenda, why do we keep the stats we keep? What is the purpose? What is the goal? Is it something that came from another agency? I am curious what it is we are trying to measure or track.

Paul V. Gallegos
District Attorney

Office of the District Attorney, Humboldt County
825 Fifth Street
Eureka, CA 95501
(707) 445-7411
Fax: (707) 445-7416

The information contained in this email message is intended for the CONFIDENTIAL use of the addressees only. The information is protected under the attorney-client privilege and the work-product privilege. Recipients should not file copies of this email with publicly accessible documents. If you are not an addressee or an authorized agent responsible for delivering this email to a designated addressee, and you have received this email in error, THEN ANY FURTHER REVIEW, DISSEMINATION, DISTRIBUTION, COPYING OR FORWARDING of this email is STRICTLY PROHIBITED. If you receive this email in error, please notify the office of the Humboldt County District Attorney immediately at (707) 445-7411. Thank you in advance for your courtesy and cooperation in this matter.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Lewis, Melinda
> Sent: Friday, January 04, 2008 8:26 AM
> To: Aaron Starcher; Angela Sundberg; BIG LAGOON RANCHERIA; BLUE LAKE
RANCHERIA; Bob Kane; Cassie Burgess (E-mail); Cavinta, George; Chief TPD
Ken Thrailkill; Crandall, Phillip; Damiano, Bill; Daniel Pratt, Karuk
Tribe; Dave Gunderson, Chief BLPD; Dave Parris, Chief Yurok PD; Donna
Johnson; Duncan, Jeannie; Eads, Stacey J; Ed Guyer, Sgt. HVTPD; Fewell,
Deana (June); Gallegos, Paul; Gomes, Jean; Graham Hill, Chief RDPD;
Heather Landreneaux; Hislop, Michael; Honsal, William; Howe, Karla; Jean
LaPietra; Jennifer Roberts; Jennifer Rose; Karen Cahill; Kevin Lawson;
Kris Kitna, Chief FoPD; Lewis, Beverly Morgan; Lewis, Melinda; Lonnie
Lawson, Chief FePD; Lynne Soderberg; Maryann Hayes Mariani; Moser,
Joyce; Neel, Kelly; Neil Hubbard, Detective EPD; Nord, Ben; Officer
Richardson, FoPD; Philp, Gary; Randy Mendosa; Rasines, Doug; Shoshani,
Michele; Steve Volow; Tom Chapman, Captain APD; Tom Dewey, Chief HSUPD;
Wendy Morris; Wheeler, Donna; William Hostler, Chief HVTPD
> Subject: CAST meeting agenda items?
>
> If anyone has anything they want added to the agenda for next week's meeting, please let me know.
>
> Thank you,
> Melinda Lewis
> CAST Office Coordinator
***

I can answer this one for ya, Paul. The stats are kept so that any granting agency can know whether the terms of their grants are being met. The stats are kept so that we, the public, can know if we are getting our money's worth and, in this case, so that we can know the extent to which you are failing the children of Humboldt County.

Related:
ER - Former deputy DA speaks out
Be sure to look at the statistics chart
ER - Candidates spar over child abuse team
ER - DA's Office yet to respond to request for child abuse records
ER - CAST established with child victims in mind
ER - CAST needs support Gallegos is not providing
A matter of priorities
Paul Gallegos - Paying More for Less re: Schwartz January 2, 2007
PUBLIC RECORDS ACT REQUEST re: CAST May 8, 2007
In addition I have filed Public Records Act Requests for the CAST agendas. minutes and attendance sheets - Gallegos claims such documents are "evidentiary" in nature and therefore refuses to release them.

City could face hefty bill for Douglas' defense

So much to say about this one. So little time: City could face hefty bill for Douglas' defense

EUREKA -- If the City Council decides to pick up the bill for former Police Chief David Douglas' legal costs, one former prosecutor estimates it could reach the $1 million mark for the city's already-pinched general fund budget.

The Humboldt County District Attorney's Office announced last week that a criminal grand jury convened to look into the 2006 shooting death of Cheri Lyn Moore indicted Douglas and Eureka police Lt. Tony Zanotti on charges of involuntary manslaughter.

Legal experts said the indictments might be a first, as they target the incident's commanding officers rather than those who shot Moore.,,,

...Zanotti, who is being represented by Redwood City attorney William Rapoport, is covered by the Peace Officers Research Association of California Legal Defense Fund, which covers most EPD officers. The extent of that coverage isn't exactly clear.

Rapoport confirmed Monday that he was being paid by the legal fund “so far,” but declined to elaborate. He said there is no telling what his final bill might be, as the case could be thrown out in the coming weeks or end in a lengthy trial.

The case of who is covering Douglas, represented by local attorney Bill Bragg and the Santa Ana firm of Ferguson, Praet and Sherman, is a bit more complicated.

Councilman Jeff Leonard said the shooting of Moore occurred at a time when Douglas was not covered by the association's legal fund, leaving it unclear who will pick up the bill.

Bragg said Monday that he was under the impression the city of Eureka “has accepted the responsibility to pay for Mr. Douglas' defense.” But, Eureka City Manager David Tyson indicated it was not a done deal.

Tyson said in civil suits, the city is obligated to pick up the bills for legal defense funds, which are paid through the city's insurance carriers. Criminal matters, like the case of Zanotti and Douglas, are different, Tyson said, and the council has the choice of whether to cover the costs.

”I think it's a choice because the council, not just our council but any council or board of supervisors, would want to have the opportunity in a criminal matter to hear at least some of the facts and make an informed decision on whether they want to provide a defense,” Tyson said.

The determination the council will likely have to make, Tyson said, is whether Douglas was acting within the boundaries of his position as police chief. Tyson said the city has no insurance carrier for criminal cases, and any money it offers for Douglas' defense would come directly out of the city's general fund.

City Attorney Sheryl Schaffner said any discussions regarding funding Douglas' defense would be held in closed session, and would not be made public until a final decision is made by the council. The council has a closed session agenda item at Thursday's meeting about Douglas' case.

If the council did decide to pick up Douglas' tab, Schaffner said a budget adjustment would be in order to ensure the funds were available.

And that could be a hefty sum, said local attorney Jeffrey Schwartz, a former prosecutor in the district attorney's office.

Schwartz said an attorney of Bragg's caliber probably demands between $300 and $400 an hour for criminal defense, and estimated Douglas' defense team would put in at least 2,000 hours on the case, assuming it goes to trial. On the low side, that comes out to $600,000. But, Schwartz said that is far from the total.

In addition to straight attorney fees, Schwartz said, in a case like this especially, the defense is going to need experts, and lots of them. Not only do each of the experts command fees, Schwartz said, but there are also the travel, hotel and meal expenses associated with attorneys traveling the country to speak with them.

”I'd say, minimally between both (fees for attorneys and experts), you're talking a million bucks easy,” Schwartz said.

Schwartz also said it is likely, once news of the indictments hits the wires and is widely disseminated, police chiefs and departments around the country will start up a defense fund, fearing a guilty verdict could set a precedent for tactical situation police commanders across the country.

Officers at a Dec. 10 court hearing, where Zanotti and Douglas appeared before a judge for the first time, said no such fund was in the works. An arraignment, where the officers will enter pleas, is set for Feb. 21.

While Schwartz was hypothesizing about what a full blown trial might cost in legal fees, Douglas' lawyers were readying to attempt to ensure it doesn't come to that.

Bragg said Monday he received word from the court that the grand jury transcripts had been compiled, and he would pick them up today. Those transcripts, Bragg said, will have a lot to say about how Gallegos lead the grand jury through the proceedings, and consequently about whether this case will make it to trial.

”Chances are there will be some things we will want to challenge pre-trial,” he said. “Given the DA's unique theory, which, frankly, I don't know what his theory is in this case, if I were a betting man, I would bet we are going to take a very hard look at this (transcript) and probably file a motion of dismissal.”

If the case does make its way to trial, Schwartz said law enforcement officers from around the country will likely pitch in $100 here and $50 there for a legal defense fund, which might not be bad news for Eureka.

”Really, the city should be the one out there trying to rally police chiefs,” he said.
***

Rose's note: How to contribute to city's defense fund for David Douglas: Send checks made out to the City of Eureka, with David Douglas written in the “for” line, to City Hall, 531 K St., Eureka, CA 95502. Councilman Larry Glass said the checks would only be cashed if needed.

What's your take?

What do you get out of this My Word from Sunday's Times Standard? An attempt at humor? Successful or unsuccessful? An attempt to revive Gallegos' mythological stature - keep the divisive climate alive? Is he deriding his former boss or kissing up?

Worth Dikeman vs. Paul Gallegos, Round 3?

It is time for Worth Dikeman to come back to Humboldt County to battle Paul Gallegos in the third and final bout in the political arena. this time that arena would be the courtroom of the Cheri Moore homicide, where two high-ranking Eureka Police Department officers will be on trial for involuntary manslaughter.

There are some problems to get Worth back. They are not insurmountable. Worth would never be a defense attorney. He bleeds DA blood. Never say never. It would be a one-time shot defending his beloved Eureka Police Department.

During the last bout with Gallegos, Worth Dikeman had two EPD officers in his corner - his campaign managers. This time he'll again have two more EPD officers in his corner. It would be like the last election all over again.

The second insurmountable problem is Dikeman is working on his pension benefits at the El Dorado County DA's office. At his current annual salary of over a hundred grand, it would take him five years to make just under $600,000. But as counsel for one of the EPD officers, he'll make that in a year. In two years, when the case is done and over and tried, he'll have made close to a mil. Not bad - two years work as defense attorney defending police officers in exchange for 10 years pay as a DA defending police officers.

You say, "A million bucks? No way." You bet, a million bucks. Do you know how much money will be thrown at the defense of this case? Not only is the city and police union obligated to pay for the defendants (which is chump change), but also this indictment will light the fire of police chiefs and their underlings all around the country. We'll see the money coming in like it was the defense of Barry Bonds.

Here's how it works for Worth to try this case. With all that money coming in, the temptation ultimately will be to bring in the dream team, something similar to barry bonds' recent six-lawyer team.

But it would be a big mistake to bring in an out-of-town dream team to take on Paul Gallegos, who will try this case himself, if I know Paul Gallegos. (Disclosure: I know Paul Gallegos). These two officers need one thing, Worth Dikeman.

Instead of paying a six-lawyer dream team and $10 million, Worth can do it for a million. Worth will also need a million for his support team of out-of-town experts in mental health, SWAT tactics, pathology, forensics, ballistics and psychology. he'll need investigators, law clerks, law assistants, and interns.

And the most important person of all, he'll need a jury selection expert. This case is not about lawyering; it is about politics and demographics. It is Humboldt County's version of pro-life/pro-choice, Iraq war/no war, gay marriages/no gay marriages, and global warming/global warming Fraud. Some of our local versions include Arkley/Glass, Marina Center/Not, Higgins/Ollivier and, of course, Gallegos/Dikeman.

During the two previous bouts, there was one thing consistent with Dikeman: voters voted for him, just not hte majority of voters. This time Gallegos needs more than a majority. He needs all of the votes of the jurors and Dikeman only needs one.

In Round Three where a win for Gallegos is 12-0 and a win for Dikeman is anything else, all Dikeman needs to do is pick 12 jurors reflective of the views of Humboldt County.

If the trial goes forward with a representative sampling of the voting public of Humboldt County, Dikeman wins. This county is split on just about every liberal/conservative issue out there, such as police shootings, TPZ, rails and trails, chain stores and above all, Cheri Moore.

A jury consisting of a cross section os our community will split probably favoring Gallegos, just as the voters favored Gallegos. But a split is a win for Dikeman and the officers.

Like another like-minded person who won without the popular vote, Dikeman, too, can win without the majority of the people he is trying to convince. But it will be a win for Dikeman he has sorely sought.

Having the last victory will mean alot to him, and we can get Worth back into our county, retired, living on a good public pension plus a million dollars to spread around.
___
Jeffrey {yougofree.com} Schwartz, a {very briefly} former deputy district attorney {who plea bargained more cases than he could shake a stick at}, is an attorney practicing in Arcata {or trying to}. ...he notes that "Since writing this piece, it appears that Lt. Zanotti and Chief Douglas have retained attorneys. One is local, one is not. Both are top-tier attorneys. One of them needs Worth Dikeman on his team.
****

Once I get past the obscenity of someone like Schwartz invoking Dikeman's name, it is an interesting, though seriously skewed, piece.

Ambulance Chasing yougofree.com style

Absolutely HILARIOUS! Kevin's Humboldt Review recently featured former Humboldt County prosecutor Jeff Schwartz, who discussed his new "Humboldt Center for Constitutional Rights."

His "Mission Statement" is Too often, people and organizations in Humboldt County have their basic state and federal constitutional rights violated. The Humboldt Center for Constitutional Rights was established to provide those people and organizations who have suffered constitutional violations such as assaults on the right to assemble and petition the government, race discrimination and police abuse, pro bono legal representation and support necessary to right the constitutional wrong.

Think about his dismal record in the DA's Office, his handling of the Whitethorn rapists case, wonder how she'd feel about this.
  
He says The Center is a grass roots organization funded by individuals and organizations that care about human rights.

Here's where he explains the modern day AMBULANCE CHASING" He calls it an EVENT MONITORING PROGRAM... Part of any 21st Century civil rights organization must be the use of 21st Century technology. We intend to monitor events in and around Humboldt County when we anticipate constitutional violations. We need volunteers who can assist us in setting up appropriate monitoring devices at hot spot events. We feel strongly that the monitoring of a public event with audio and visual recording devices will in and of itself prevent the abuse of constitutional rights by law enforcement, or at least cause hesitation and circumspection before law enforcement acts. Companies that insure law enforcement offers are known to visually record most planned events. But seldom, if ever, do those videos become available to the wronged person. We need our own.

The Center for Constitutional Rights is open for business. The inspiration behind the Center started when our Director, Arcata Attorney Jeffrey Schwartz, who was new to Humboldt County at the time, saw firsthand at the Humboldt County Courthouse the dismal lack of organization and legal representation of anti-war protesters and immigration reform protesters arrested by local law enforcement agencies. These protesters, exercising their rights to assemble and voice their opinions about the Iraq War and Immigration Reform, were arrested and charged with crimes commonly associated with protesting -- resisting arrest, battery on a police officer and other lesser offenses and infractions. The arrests and prosecutions of these protesters cause a chilling affect on others who would even think of protesting in the future.

What was most troubling to Jeff was the lack of legal support and pro bono representation by local lawyers who believe in the same cause as the arrested protesters but did not get involved. In larger communities in California and around the country lawyers and support personnel are matched to the protester before and throughout all legal proceedings. 

The lack of organization in Humboldt County, not the lack of care and concern of many lawyers in the community, was the reason some devoted local lawyers did not get involved, which Jeff found deeply disappointing.

The Center therefore will organize, encourage, prod and beg the good legal community to be there for all of us who simply exercise our constitutional rights or live our lives under the protection of the Constitutions of California and the United States.

The Center expects to be the focal point, the clearinghouse, the lightning rod or whatever it takes to make sure those whose rights are violated have a voice to speak for them and with them in order to right the wrong.

Remember - this is the man who was assigned to head up the Child Abuse Services Team (CAST) - who never filed a single case.

Funny. I didn't see him at the TPZ rally today at the Courthouse. I guess they're not the kind of people whose rights he cares about. Maybe he was in disguise.

Oh God, he's back...

yougofree.com dispensing advice - Jeff Schwartz: How to solve Arcata's grow house crisis – Arcata Eye October 31, 2007
He believes that Arcata needs to provide public garden areas for people to grow medical marijuana in designated areas that are protected and secured.

God help us!

I thought I'd be through posting about Jeffrey "yougofree.com" Schwartz, and that he would quietly return to private life, but no such luck. He's decided to stay in the limelight and opine on the ridiculous "incident at Avalon." His theory seems to be that Arkley wasn't really threatening Glass, he was really threatening the entire City Council by threatening Glass (not allegedly threatening, mind you).

I really couldn't stand to read it all the way through, so if any of you can decipher it, let me know. I kinda had to skim down to where he says: "That's why we need to vet this with local jurors and locally elected judges who care about what the voting public thinks."

Uh, Jeff, judges aren't SUPPOSED to CARE what the voting public thinks. They're supposed to care about this little thing called THE LAW, NO MATTER WHAT the voting public thinks. Read Schwartz's "My Word"

yougofree.com on Craig's List

CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY JEFFREY SCHWARTZ
Reply to: mailto:jdsarcata@--------subject=CRIMINALDEFENSEATTORNEYJEFFREYSCHWARTZ
Date: 2007-09-17, 8:08PM PDT

Local criminal law attorney Jeffrey Schwartz is now practicing criminal defense in Arcata and Eureka after leaving his senior position with Paul Gallegos at the district attorney's office.

Mr. Schwartz now can offer his keen knowledge of the Humboldt County criminal justice system and his 20 years experience as a criminal defense attorney in San Francisco to help you or your loved ones.
From Misdemeanors to Murders, Jeff Schwartz has tried them all.

Please call, text or email him at:
Tel. 707 822-----
Text. 707 499-----
Email: jdsarcata@---------
Location: Arcata/Eureka
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
PostingID: 425205586
***
Best of luck to you and your clients.
***
What's up with this? The listing has been changed - deleted all reference to Gallegos:
Reply to: jeff@aboutcriminallaw.com
Date: 2007-10-11, 12:14AM PDT
Local criminal law defense attorney and lawyer Jeffrey Schwartz is practicing criminal law in Arcata, Eureka and in Humboldt County.
Mr. Schwartz can offer you or your loved ones his keen knowledge of the Humboldt County criminal justice system and his 20 years experience as a criminal defense attorney in Northern California, including Humboldt, San Francisco and Mendocino counties.
From Misdemeanors to Murders, Jeffrey Schwartz has tried them all.
Please call, text or email him at:
Tel. 707 822___
Text. 707 499___
Email: jdsarcata@___
Location: Arcata Eureka Northern California
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
PostingID: 445891394

Goodbye Jeffrey "yougofree.com" Schwartz

Today was Schwartz's last day in the Humboldt County DA's Office. This is a good thing. 'Bout goddam time.

Remember, Under Gallegos the DA's Office has "lost:"
DDA Zach Bird
DDA Jose Mendez
DDA Ed Borg
DDA Worth Dikeman
DDA Frank Dunnick
DDA Eamon Fitzgerald
DDA Heather Gimle
DDA Paul Hagen
DDA Nicole Hansen
DDA Shane Hauschild
DDA Andrew Isaac
DDA Allison Jackson
DDA Harry Kassakian
DDA Elizabeth Norton
DDA Murat Ozgur
Patrick Pekin
DDA Amanda Penny
DDA Gloria Albin-Sheets
Jennifer Strona
DDA Andy Truitt
DDA Nandor Vadas
DDA Rob Wade
Bill Rodstrom
PLUS:
Investigator Chris Andrews
Investigator Chris Cook
Investigator Jim Dawson (retired)
Paul's secretary Gail Dias
Office Manager Linda Modell
Investigator Eric Olson
Investigator Kathy Philp (retired)
Investigator Dave Dave Rybarczyk
Investigator Dave Walker
FROM CAST:
Child Interview Specialist Laura Todd
Senior Legal Secretary Melissa Arnold
Alternate Child Interviewer Jennifer Maguire

And, of course: Schwartz and Stoen.

Question, still, is "Who's left?"

Answer:
Maggie Fleming, Max Cardoza, Wes Keat, Stacey Eads (on leave),
Allan Dollison, Arnie Klein, Jeff Schwartz,
Mary McCarthy, Davina Smith and Randy Mailman (the newest hire)

Two deputies leave DA's Office 3/8/2007
Update: 6/12/2007
County Counsel Kim Kerr - Longtime employee of the county takes job in Ione

8/12/07
Like Stoen leaving, this is good news... "yougofree.com" Jeffrey Scwhartz is leaving the DA's Office, going in to private practice (No surprise since he has had his "practice" listed in the phone book for the better part of a year, while acting as a prosecutor, which should be a big no-no.) 8/31/07, yougofree.com is gone.

1/2008 Davina Smith moves to the County Counsel's Office.

9/25/08 Deputy District Attorney Kelly Neel, who has been handling the (Belant) case, will be leaving the office for another job at the County Counsel Office, Gallegos said.

1/5/10 Kathleen Bryson, hired and reputedly fired by Gallegos, is now running against him... ◼ Local attorney throws hat in the ring for DA

yougofree.com moving on to private practice, hallelujah!

I go out for awhile and look what happens! Shoulda been front page news. Deputy district attorney moving on to private practice

A deputy district attorney is leaving the office this month to move into private practice in Arcata.

Jeffrey Schwartz said the motivation for the move is to have more flexibility in his schedule to spend time with his family.

”You can't do it with this job,” Schwartz said.

Before coming to Humboldt County in 2005, he was a defense attorney in the San Francisco area.

He has been practicing law for about 20 years.

”I'm going to set up a private practice and go out on my own,” Schwartz said.

He said he'll probably continue practicing criminal law but would like try out other specialties.

He has a 2-year-old son and having the flexibility to spend more time with him is the reason for the career change, Schwartz said.

He said if all goes well, his practice in Arcata will start in September.
***

September? That's funny, since he has had his private practice listed in the phone book for a long long time.

Who will be "in charge" of the CAST program now?

Now, who's left?
***

He said he'll probably continue practicing criminal law but would like try out other specialties.

I'm just wondering - what might those "other specialties" be? Predatory litigation? Big money in that. Very little work.

Be careful what you wish for.

"Media Maven" Marcy Burstiner is "...frustrated with the two dailies because they each go about covering crime and the courts in a superficial manner." She makes some excellent points in a well written piece, and she does the right thing, noting: "Now, before all you bloggers with too much time on your hands go ballistic on me, here’s the disclosure you want to see: My husband works as a deputy district attorney and he used to be a criminal defense attorney."

It's a good thing she included the disclaimer this time. Her husband is not just any Deputy District Attorney, he is Jeffrey "yougofree.com" Schwartz, the source of much of the frustration surrounding the DA's Office itself. The same "Jeffrey, Schwartz" listed in the yellow pages under Attorneys, with a cell phone number as his office number, while he is serving as a public prosecutor.

The Maven's column addresses trial coverage, which of late has been territory largely ceded to The Eureka Reporter. And, as she points out, reporter Kara Machado sticks to "the facts, Ma'am, just the facts." The Maven would like to see the story behind the story, and oddly enough, we are in agreement here. Funny thing, though, it is The Journal that has traditionally filled that niche, telling the story behind the story, and rounding out the coverage.

But, be careful what you ask for, Marcy. It would be interesting, for example, to hear from the woman who was tied to a tree and raped for three days whether or not she was willing to testify against her attackers, and how she was treated by the DA's office, whether or not she was encouraged to stand up, or guided into not testifying. It would be interested to hear how the victims and the victims families feel about all the plea bargains of late. It would be interesting to hear how the jurors felt about how the trials went. It is indeed the way it is done in other places.

What may really shock Marcy the most though, is just how little the public cares about the people in the DA's office. How little they know about the work they do, about the long and thankless hours that they put in on behalf of the public. They do indeed care more about the cast of "Law and Order" than they do about the people working for them.

The prosecutors who have left, and who have been fired found out. They found that the people they had toiled for did not even raise an eyebrow at their passing. Did not squawk about the talent they were losing, expressed no appreciation for the years of work, and laughed it off with the notion that any pro-bono attorney (or defense attorney) could be brought in to fill their shoes.

Perhaps it will be a sobering realization when it hits home.

Question really is, Who's left?

Rules of Professional Conduct

NDAA National Prosecution Standards

Conflicts of interest
7.1 Conflict Avoidance
The prosecutor should avoid interests and activities which are likely to appear to, or in fact do, conflict with the duties and responsibilities of the prosecutor's office.

7.2
Conflicts with Private Practice
In those jurisdictions which do not prohibit private practice by a prosecutor:
a. The prosecutor should avoid representation in all criminal and quasi-criminal defense regardless of the jurisdiction.

b. The prosecutor should avoid any representation in which there is a reasonable belief that the subject matter will be that of a criminal investigation.

c. The prosecutor should avoid any representation of a person who is under criminal investigation, charged or indicted, and any agent or close relative of such a person.

d. The prosecutor should avoid any representation to private clients or prospective clients that the status as prosecutor is or could be an advantage in the private representation.

e. The prosecutor may not designate the status as prosecutor on any letterhead, announcements, advertising, or other communications involved in the private practice and may not in any manner use the resources of the prosecutor's office for the purpose of such non-prosecutorial activities.

f. The prosecutor should excuse himself from the investigation and prosecution of any client of the prosecutor and should withdraw from representation of that client.

7.3 Specific conflicts
In all jurisdictions, including those prohibiting private practice by prosecutors:

a. The prosecutor should excuse himself from the investigation and prosecution of any former client involving or substantially related to the subject matter of the former representation, unless, after full disclosure, the former client makes a counseled waiver permitting the prosecutor's involvement in the investigation or prosecution.

b. The prosecutor should excuse himself from the investigation and prosecution of any person who is represented by a lawyer related to the prosecutor as a parent, child, sibling, or spouse or who has a significant financial relationship with the prosecutor.

d. The prosecutor should avoid any private interests, financial or otherwise, which may affect his professional judgement in the exercise of the duties and responsibilities of the prosecutor's office.

MOU: COUNTY ATTORNEYS' ASSOCIATION
County Documents > Memorandum of Understanding http://co.humboldt.ca.us/personel/docs/Attorney/

11. OUTSIDE EMPLOYMENT

A. Policy on Incompatible Activities
Each employee and officer of the County of Humboldt, regardless of the capacity in which he may be employed, is hereby prohibited from engaging in any activity inconsistent, incompatible or conflicting with his duties or which might impair the impartial performance of his duties. Any employee engaging in outside employment shall notify his appointing power of the nature and expected duration of such outside employment seven (7) days before the commencement of such outside employment. Such employee or officer shall not perform any work, service or counsel for compensation outside of County employment where any part of his/her efforts will be subject to approval by any officer, employee, board or commission of Humboldt County unless otherwise approved in the manner prescribed below.

Each appointing power may determine those outside activities which, for employees under his/her jurisdiction, are inconsistent with, incompatible with, or in conflict with their duties as Humboldt County officers or employees. An employee’s outside employment, activity or enterprise may be prohibited if it: a) involves the use for private gain or advantage of Humboldt County time, facilities, equipment and supplies, or the badge, uniform prestige or influence of their Humboldt County office or employment; or b) involves receipt or acceptance by the officer or employee of any money or other consideration from anyone other than Humboldt County for the performance of an act which the officer or employee, if not performing such act, would be required or expected to render in the regular course of their Humboldt County employment or as a part of their duties as a Humboldt County officer or employee; or c) involves the performance of an act in other than their capacity as a Humboldt County officer or employee which act may later be subject directly or indirectly to the control, inspection, review, audit or enforcement of any other officer or employee of Humboldt County; or d) involves such time demands as would render performance of their duties as a Humboldt County officer or employee less efficient. An employee or officer may appeal an adverse decision of the appointing power, within five (5) days after written notification of the decision, by written appeal to the Personnel Director who shall affirm, reverse or modify the decision of the appointing power. The employee or officer may then, within five (5) days after written notification of the decision of the Personnel Director, appeal in writing to the Board of Supervisors. The decision of the Board of Supervisors shall be final and conclusive.

B. Prohibition Against Personal Use of County Equipment

No County-owned equipment, autos, trucks, instruments, tools, supplies, machines or any other item which is the property of the County of Humboldt shall be used by any employee of the County while said employee is engaged in any outside employment or activity, for compensation or otherwise, except upon prior order by the Board of Supervisors.
C. Prohibition Against Loaning County Equipment
No employee shall allow any other person to rent, borrow or use any of the items mentioned in Paragraph B above for any other than a public purpose, except upon prior order of the Board of Supervisors.
D. Penalty for Violation of Section
Any violation of the provisions herein contained respecting outside employment or activity and use of County property shall constitute sufficient grounds for immediate dismissal from the County service of the officer or employee guilty thereof.
pg 7