Andrews International BID Patrol All 2013 Arrest Reports and Daily Activity Logs Now Available

January 27, 2016 Mike Leave a comment

Screenshot of a random daily activity log from 2013. Click to enlarge.

I am pleased to present a stunning dump comprising all BID Patrol arrest reports and all daily activity logs.¹ Kerry Morrison was conscientious enough to supply these in their original .doc format, allowing for effective and reliable batch searching. We’ll be writing on the results² later tonight, but for now I just wanted to get links to these up here. Note that the files are as I received them, except that I had to change the file names a little bit to (a) get them to sort properly and (b) to be acceptable to the Archive, which has strict rules on filenames.
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Public Records Act Pragmatics, Stop LAPD Spying Coalition

Stop LAPD Spying Public Records Lawsuit Switched to Judge James C. Chalfant, Hearing Continued to March 8, 2016

January 27, 2016 Mike Leave a comment

The Rampart LAPD Station. Why? Don't know. — The Rampart LAPD Station. Why? Don’t know.

The City of Los Angeles, which is being sued by the National Lawyers Guild Los Angeles and the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition because of its flouting of the California Public Records Act, filed a motion a couple weeks ago asking that the judge be changed. Last Thursday this motion, which was peremptory, was granted, and here is the order. It’s now in Judge James C. Chalfant’s courtroom, Stanley Mosk Courthouse, Department 85, and the initial hearing has been set for Tuesday, March 8, at 1:30 PM.
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Selma Park

A 2013 Arrest for Violating PC 653b at Selma Park Further Confirms Ongoing Pattern of Civil Rights Violations by Andrews International BID Patrol

January 27, 2016 kohlhaas Leave a comment

BID Patrol Officer Islas in 2014. — BID Patrol Officer George Islas (badge number 128) in 2014.

Long-time readers of this blog will recall that in 2007 the HPOA, by hook and by crook, put up signs in Selma Park in Hollywood (illegally) declaring it off-limits to adults unaccompanied by children. Subsequently, the Andrews International BID Patrol spent the next eight years falsely arresting people and shooing them out of the park on the basis of these unauthorized signs, until we got them taken down by the City in September 2015. Subsequently, Kerry Morrison told a friend of this blog that “A/I says that after looking into this, it is unlikely that any arrests ever were made by A/I in Selma Park with specific regard to the signs and penal code section you recite (as opposed to public urination, drinking, and other reasons)…” Today, in the form of an actual A/I arrest report from July 2013, we have more evidence that, even though Kerry is almost certainly telling the truth about what she was told by A/I, what she was told by A/I is not the truth.
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Central City East Association

Video of Yesterday’s Central City East Association Meeting Now Available

January 27, 2016 Mike Leave a comment

Edward Camarillo at the January 26, 2016 meeting of the CCEA at 725 S. Crocker Street.

I’m formally initiating coverage of the Central City East Association with some video of yesterday’s meeting of the Board of Directors at CCEA headquarters at 725 S. Crocker Street. You can find Part 1 and also Part 2. Note that the record is not complete because the Board went into closed session and I couldn’t stick around to see them reconvene. Part I consists entirely of CD14 representative Jose Huizar policy director Martin Schlageter talking about homeless issues in the BID’s territory and then, most interesting of all, taking questions from the Board members. The level of micromanagement is astonishing. We hope to write on some of the details later, but check some representative Q&A after the break. Part 2 is mostly taken up by a representative from the Runyon Group seeking CCEA support for entitlements for their ROW DTLA project (this project was formerly known as Alameda Square). Someone here will be writing on this soon in some detail.
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Hypocrisy, Municipal Ethics, Street Vending

Law-and-Order-Touting Anti-Street-Vending Central City Association Flack Marie Rumsey is a Hypocritical Defier of the Revolving Door Ordinance of the City of Los Angeles

January 21, 2016 kohlhaas Leave a comment

Marie Rumsey in happier days back at CD13.

When last we wrote of Marie Rumsey, late of CD13 but now moved on to greener pastures with the revoltingly Schatzian nightmare horror-show the Central City Association, she was introducing thuggish opposite-of-Alinsky Jessica Borek of the not-so-very-law-abiding-their-own-selves Rodriguez Strategies to the Board of Directors of the racketeer influenced criminal conspiracy known as the Hollywood Property Owners Alliance.

Since that time we’ve learned a little bit about the government ethics laws of the City of Los Angeles, such as they are, and, amazingly, it turns out that Marie Rumsey is, was, and, for all we know, shall be violating them big-time. This, you will remember, is the woman who, in March 2015, went on and on and on and on about how there would be no way to enforce health codes and laws if street vending were to be legalized and how desperately bad that would be for everyone. Well, let us now enlighten you about the law Marie Rumsey was breaking even as she spoke those fateful words.
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Lawsuits

Defendants in Street Vending Lawsuit (City of LA, Fashion District BID, etc.) Granted Extension to February 25, 2016, to File Response to Complaint

January 21, 2016 Mike Leave a comment

Judge Beverly Reid O'Connell presenting an award to some people in Burbank. — Judge Beverly Reid O’Connell presenting an award to some people in Burbank.

This is not a big deal, but I just thought I’d mention it. On Tuesday all the parties to the street vending lawsuit filed a stipulation asking Judge O’Connell to extend the deadline for the defendants to answer the initial complaint until February 25, 2016. Today the judge filed an order granting that request. The reason for the delay is the settlement conference scheduled for February 11, 2016. You read it here first, friends!

Image of Judge O’Connell in Burbank seems to me to be a public record in California since I got it from the website of the California Judiciary.

Public Records Act Pragmatics, Stop LAPD Spying Coalition

City of Los Angeles Files Boilerplate Motion in Stop LAPD Spying CPRA Case Stating that Judge Joanne O’Donnell is too Prejudiced to Officiate

January 21, 2016 Mike Leave a comment

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Joanne O'Donnell. — Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Joanne O’Donnell.

There’s a (relatively) new development in the Stop LAPD Spying v. City of L.A. Public Records Act case. Unfortunately the L.A. County Superior Court doesn’t seem to have an automated filing notification system like the Federal District Courts do, which is why I missed (until now) this interesting motion that the City of L.A. filed on January 12, 2016. It is a Motion for an Order Establishing Peremptory Challenge to Judicial Officer as well as a Declaration of Julie Raffish. Julie Raffish is the Deputy City Attorney that’s defending the case for L.A. In this declaration she claims that:

Joanne O’Donnell, the judge before whom the trial or hearing in this action is pending or to whom it has been assigned, is prejudiced against the Respondent [City of Los Angeles] or its attorney or the interest of the Respondent or its attorney, so that the declarant [Julie Raffish] believes that she cannot have a fair and impartial trial or hearing before the judge.

Now, this is obviously a boilerplate motion, and, at least as of today, the first three hits on a Google search on los angeles superior court peremptory challenge to judicial officer are forms for this, using the identical language to the motion filed by Julie Raffish. But there’s more!
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Lawsuits

A Series of Unexpected Events Add Up to Discovery Delays in L.A. Catholic Worker v. City of L.A., Central City East Association Lawsuit Over Homeless Property Confiscations; Trial Now Scheduled for June 21, 2016

January 16, 2016 Mike Leave a comment

Yesterday, Judge Philip Gutierrez issued an order extending the discovery deadline in L.A. Catholic Worker et al. v. City of L.A. et al. until February 19 and moving the trial date to June 21, 2016. This order capped off a week full of filings. First, on Monday, January 11, presumably after the hearing on plaintiffs’ motion to compel discovery, Ronald Whitaker, who supervises the Business and Complex Litigation section of the L.A. City Attorney’s office, filed a notice of appearance in the case. He’s (probably) the boss of Deputy City Attorney Elizabeth Fitzgerald, who has been defending the case for the City.

I didn’t see the significance of this at the time, but it was clarified on Wednesday, when the plaintiffs filed an ex parte (that is, without the on-the-record participation of the defendants) application to amend the scheduling order to continue dates by 30 days. This is an unusual procedure and it seems it must be justified by the existence of exigent circumstances. In this case the first of these is that on Monday the 11^th, after the discovery hearing, Elizabeth Fitzgerald had a medical emergency and will be on leave at least through the end of January. At the very least this requires the rescheduling of a bunch of depositions, and is probably why Ronald Whitaker joined the case. Note also that the plaintiffs asked for and received the City of LA’s support of the application and that the CCEA did not oppose it.

Elizabeth Fitzgerald’s illness is only one of the reasons supporting plaintiffs’ request for an extension. The others all have to do with what’s turned out to be a lengthy, drawn-out, painful, inch-by-inch discovery process. It seems that any optimism over the pace of document production, both by the City and by the CCEA, was unwarranted, and I’m guessing it won’t even be complete by February 19, but we shall see, shan’t we? There are some more specific details after the break if you’re interested.
Continue reading A Series of Unexpected Events Add Up to Discovery Delays in L.A. Catholic Worker v. City of L.A., Central City East Association Lawsuit Over Homeless Property Confiscations; Trial Now Scheduled for June 21, 2016 →

Lawsuits

Street Vending Lawsuit Mandatory Settlement Conference Set for February 11, 2016

January 15, 2016 Mike Leave a comment

Mere minutes ago, Judge Beverly Reid O’Connell filed an order in the street-vending lawsuit Aureliano Santiago et al. v. City of L.A. and Fashion District BID setting a mandatory settlement conference for February 11, 2016. The order looks like pure boilerplate and of course settlement conferences are super-top-secret, so there’s nothing to attend and probably will be nothing to report. But I had to get the document to learn that, so I thought I’d toss it up here for you.
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Announcements, Lawsuits

Documents Available as City of L.A., Charlie Beck Sued by Michael Brown Protesters, National Lawyers Guild, over November 2014 Rights Violations

January 15, 2016 Mike Leave a comment

April 2015 Death by Cop march in Westlake. It's not what this lawsuit is about, but it's a good picture. — April 2015 Death by Cop march in Westlake. It’s not what this lawsuit is about, but it’s a good picture.

Yesterday night the Times reported that a suit was filed in federal court on January 14, 2016, on behalf of people, including NLG-LA lawyers there to observe, whose rights were violated by the LAPD in November 2014 during a protest against a Missouri grand jury’s failure to indict Darren Wilson for killing Michael Brown. For whatever reason, newspaper articles like this never link to the court filings, which I, and maybe even you, find fascinating. On the face of it this case has nothing to do with BIDs, although it’s conceivable that a connection will develop,¹ but I’m going to collect filings here anyway since I’m going to read them myself, so I might as well distribute them. I don’t plan to write much on them, but who knows? I set up a page to display them. It’s also reachable through the menu structure above. Right now the initial complaint is there and is well worth your time. There are some selections after the break:
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