Category Archives: Media Appearances

Celebrity tweet puts new focus on Stephon Clark shooting

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One tweet from actress and fashion model Kim Kardashian-West has shined an international spotlight on the case of Stephon Clark, an unarmed man who was fatally shot by Sacramento police during an encounter two years ago.

Earlier this month, Kardashian-West tweeted about the March 2018 case to her 6.5 million followers on the social network, urging her fans to sign a petition demanding justice for the man’s killing.

“Kim Kardashian understands that the officers who killed my brother in my grandmother’s backyard while he was unarmed should be held accountable,” Stevante Clark, the brother of Stephon Clark, told CBS13 News in an interview.

Clark was shot as he fled from police officers who were investigating a report of a man looking into car windows. Police said they had reason to believe Clark was armed when he was shot; what was thought to be a firearm turned out to be Clark’s cell phone.

Last March, Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert declined to file charges against the two officers connected to the shooting.

In an interview with FOX40 News in May, Sacramento defense attorney Mark Reichel said county prosecutors rarely charge police officers because their positions are elected and cases brought against police officers can be difficult to win.

“It’s better [for county prosecutors] to not bring it than to lose a high-profile case and, obviously, officer-involved killings are always high-profile,” Mark said.

More than a year later, police shootings of unarmed men — particularly those who are Black — have captured the attention of a nation. Following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who was killed by a police officer in Minneapolis, police accountability has become a rallying cry in large cities and small towns across the United States.

It has also led some activists and celebrities, like Kardashian-West, to ask for justice in cases with a copious amount of unfinished business.

“I think Kim Kardashian’s involvement will help this substantially,” Mark told CBS13 News in an interview. “I think this is a major platform. Stephon Clark’s murder is well known around American anyways and when you add Kim Kardashian to that, that platform is spread out far and wide.”

Mark said if voters choose a different district attorney in the next election, that prosecutor could elect to bring charges against the two officers. Federal officials could also bring charges, Mark explained, because “there is actually no double jeopardy between the state and the federal government.”

Click here to read the full story from CBS13 News

Sacramento police reform measures don’t go far enough, legal experts say

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A series of police reform measures approved by the Sacramento City Council last week are small steps in the right direction, but the city still has a lot of work that needs to be done and shouldn’t be lauded for such minor changes, legal experts argued on Wednesday.

The reforms were prompted by calls from local activists as part of a national movement following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was killed during a police encounter by a white Minneapolis police officer.

Since then, officials in towns small and large throughout the country have looked internally at what can be done to fix the fractured system of policing.

n Sacramento, city leaders passed a series of measures that, among other things, reallocated funds away from the Sacramento Police Department toward other community initiatives; banned the use of choke holds during most police encounters; and paved the way for the creation of an independent inspector general who would be tasked with the responsibility of reviewing allegations of police misconduct and abuse of force.

Legal experts in Sacramento said the measures were a long time coming — and should have come a lot sooner.

“The policy proposals from [Sacramento Mayor Darrel Steinberg] and city officials are much delayed and hardly reform,” Elizabeth Kim, the head of the National Lawyers Guild in Sacramento, told the Davis Vanguard in an interview.

Other steps need to be taken by the city, Kim said, including an acknowledgement that so-called “non-lethal” force approved in most cases is, in fact, extremely dangerous and can be lethal for the subjects of police encounters.

Criminal defense attorney Mark Reichel agreed, pointing out the inequities between ordinary citizens and law enforcement officials.

“Lawfully, [citizens] cannot resort to force if someone steals their car, their identity, or assaults their family,” Mark said. “But the police have that lawful right — the right to use force if needed.”

Mark said it was clear that Sacramento officers had been enabled to use that force because of the city’s inaction for a long time.

Click or tap here to read the full story at the Davis Vanguard

Businesses can legally refuse customers who aren’t wearing face masks — but there are some exceptions

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A Ceres, California woman is upset at her gym after she says she was kicked out for refusing to wear a mask.

Sara Fontana is a member of InShape Health Clubs, a California chain of gyms and fitness centers. During a recent visit, she said she was confronted by management who told her state law required her to wear a mask.

Fontana complained, saying she was exempt from the mask mandate because she has asthma, a recognized medical condition. Despite this, she said she was asked to leave.

The legal confusion over state-imposed mask mandates has generated a significant amount of public confusion, with some people claiming the government is “infringing” on their rights by forcing them to wear a mask in the middle of an international health crisis.

One group calling itself the “Freedom to Breath Agency” even started selling cards online that claimed the bearer is entitled to an exemption from mask mandates because of the Americans with Disabilities Act, prompting the Federal Trade Commission to issue a rare statement saying the cards were fake and the information printed on them misleading and false.

“Seen cards that say you don’t have to wear a mask because of a disability?” the FTC’s warning says. “They have the Department of Justice…seal, but they’re not from the federal government. DOJ has said not to rely on the information in the cards.”

Information from the Centers for Disease Control says wearing a cloth or other type of mask is shown to be effective in combatting the novel coronavirus COVID-19 because they “reduce the spray of droplets when worn [correctly] over the nose and mouth.”

But the CDC also says cloth face coverings shouldn’t be worn by a certain group of people, including children who are under the age of two years old or anyone who has a legitimate medical condition where using a cloth mask would be difficult.

Following CDC guidance and similar advice from local health officials, California adopted those exemptions and others when it mandated the wearing of cloth masks in public and indoor businesses last month.

So why was Fontana kicked out of her local gym?

Sacramento legal expert Mark Reichel said a business can legally ask someone to leave for not following the state mask mandate if a person can’t back up their claim of a medical exemption with some kind of proof.

“The burden is on [the customer] to prove their exemption is legitimate and back it up with medical paperwork,” Mark told CBS13 News.

If a business makes other accommodations for a customer who claims they can’t wear a mask, the customer can be asked to leave if they don’t accept that offer.

In this case, InShape Health Clubs is likely in the clear because it informed guests last month that they wouldn’t be allowed to access a gym without a face covering, and it provides an avenue for members to contact their local gym’s manager or send an email to InShape’s corporate office to request an accommodation because of a disability.

In a statement to CBS13 News, InShape said it extended the same offer to Fontana, but she refused.

“We offered [Fontana], as we do with all members, an opportunity to work with us on finding an accommodation to keep her safe and all members around her safe,” InShape Health Clubs CEO Francesca Schuler said in a statement to CBS13 News. “But she chose to not take advantage of it which then could place other members in the club at risk.”

InShape told the news outlet it has chosen not to cancel Fontana’s membership and wants to work with her in the future toward a solution that will keep her and other guests safe.

Click or tap here to read the full story from CBS13 News

Family of murdered librarian Amber Clark sues Sacramento police, prosecutor for gun records

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The family of a Sacramento woman who was gunned down while sitting in her car outside a city library two years ago has filed a lawsuit against the Sacramento Police Department and Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office.

The lawsuit, filed in state court earlier this week, comes after the relatives of librarian Amber Clark sent numerous requests to law enforcement and the county district attorney’s office seeking records related to the gun used in the murder.

In December 2018, police arrested Ronald Seay in connection with Clark’s murder. Investigators allege Seay shot Clark more 11 times at close range, striking her in the face and head.

Police acknowledged Seay had a history of mental health issues, was known to harass library patrons and had several law enforcement encounters in California and Missouri over the years.

Despite this, Seay was able to legally purchase the gun allegedly connected to Clark’s murder in Missouri, authorities said.

Since the murder, Clark’s family has tried on numerous occasions to get records related to the purchase of the gun and other documents in the case.

“The information we’re seeking can help explain how Amber’s shooter was able to access a gun despite a well-documented history of mental illness involving threats of violence, contact with law enforcement, and aggressive behavior,” Amber Clark’s spouse Kelly Clark said in a statement. “Making this information available won’t bring Amber back, but by potentially exposing gaps in the system, it may help prevent someone else from going through what our family has.”

Both the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office and the Sacramento Police Department have refused to turn over documents in the case, citing exemptions in California’s Public Records Act that allow withholding of investigatory records during ongoing criminal cases. In one instance, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office said federal law prevented the disclosure of certain firearms-related records that were being sought for disclosure.

But attorneys representing the Clark family say the records they’re seeking aren’t covered by the exemptions and should be released to the family, in part because an amendment to California’s constitution allows victims to obtain certain information about crimes.

Sacramento legal expert Mark Reichel told CBS13 News the lawsuit filed in state court could put the state’s victim’s bill of rights against federal exemptions.

“I don’t know what interest the federal government would have to override a Californian constitutional amendment, giving the victims the right to know this type of information,” Mark said, adding that the case was unusual because the county prosecutor’s office typically tries to appear “very victim-friendly.”

As of Wednesday, the Sacramento Police Department and Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office had not formally responded to the lawsuit.

Seay is currently awaiting trial in the case.

Click here to read the full story from CBS13 News

Guilty plea expected in case of Golden State Killer, East Area Rapist suspect Joseph DeAngelo

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Joseph DeAngelo, the man arrested in 2018 on suspicion of a string of kidnappings, rapes and murders stemming from his time as a police officer in the 1970s and 1980s, is expected to formally enter a guilty plea to some of those charges during a court hearing on Monday.

But the hearing won’t happen in a typical courtroom. Instead, prosecutors have announced the hearing will take place inside a large ballroom at the California State University’s Sacramento campus.

Legal experts speculate the unusual move was made to accommodate more than 100 families and friends of the Golden State Killer and East Area Rapist’s victims, some of whom are expected to make impact statements during the hearing.

California criminal defense attorney and legal expert Mark Reichel told CBS13 News the decision to hold the hearing at CSU Sacramento makes sense because “this is a highly unusual case, probably the biggest case in California history.”

Under normal circumstances, a judge would allow a certain number of victims, members of the public and news reporters into the courtroom to observe a hearing, then provide an overflow space for anyone else who wanted to attend.

Courts have been forced to modify their operating procedures in the wake of the global health crisis brought on by the novel coronavirus COVID-19.

“I think it is driven by the [coronavirus] epidemic,” Reichel said in another interview with FOX40 News. “Normally, they would allow a certain amount of people in the courtroom.”

To ensure those who want to attend in person can, the ballroom at CSU Sacramento was selected so that court officials could accommodate the family and friends while attempting to adhere to social distancing rules and other guidelines that have been put in place in public spaces throughout California.

No matter where the hearing takes place, Mark hopes a guilty plea will spare victims the experience of having to go through a lengthy trial.

“Now we have a guilty plea, I think that’s what’s going to happen. We have a guilty plea. We have a guilty finding,” Mark said. “No more trial. No more guessing. No more speculation. No more fighting. That type of finality is probably good for everyone.”

Golden State Killer suspect Joseph DeAngelo expected to plead guilty

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The man suspected of carrying out a string of burglaries, rapes and murders in the 1970s and 1980s is expected to enter a guilty plea at a court hearing later this month.

That guilty plea will likely spare Joseph DeAngelo from a death sentence and preserve millions of taxpayer dollars that would have been spent on a lengthy criminal trial, according to legal experts.

DeAngelo, a former police officer from Northern California, was arrested in 2018 after DNA submitted to a genealogy website reportedly match some of DeAngelo’s distant relatives. The DNA allegedly proved a link between DeAngelo and an unknown man whom police called the East Area Rapist and the Original Night Stalker.

Prosecutors charged DeAngelo with 13 counts of kidnapping and 13 counts of murder. Though he is suspected of other crimes associated with the East Area Rapist and Original Night Stalker cases, statutes of limitations in California law prevented prosecutors from seeking charges for those alleged crimes.

Rumors of a possible plea deal began swirling in early March after attorneys representing the man said they were trying to “resolve” the case.

A footnote in a supplemental court filing seeking the dismissal of certain charges said DeAngelo had offered to plead guilty to other charges in exchange for a lifetime sentence.

Court hearings were delayed due to the ongoing COVID-19 global health crisis, but as proceedings started up again, the Sacramento Bee published a report on Monday saying attorneys had been contacting victims with information about a plea deal.

The Bee’s report said the deal is still in the works and had not been finalized, and that any plea deal could collapse due to DeAngelo’s erratic nature.

Sacramento criminal defense attorney Mark Reichel told CBS13 News a plea deal would save California taxpayers a considerable amount of money and spare victims and their families from what was sure to be a lengthy trial.

“Many times, this was referred to as what was going to be the biggest trial in the history of California,” Reichel said, adding that the costs associated with litigation were expected to be around $50 million.

DeAngelo’s plea could be entered as early as June 29, which would coincide with his next court appearance.

Sacramento County Judge James Arguelles to fill Eastern District vacancy

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A Sacramento County Superior Court judge has been appointed by President Donald Trump to fill a vacancy in the federal Eastern District of California.

Judge James Arguelles is the second Trump nominee within the federal judicial district. The pick comes more than a month after the president appointed Fresno attorney Dirk Paloutzian to the Eastern District’s Fresno court, which has been burdened with criminal and civil case activity due to court vacancies there.

Prior to his term as a judge in Sacramento County, Arguelles worked as a partner at the Sacramento firm Stevens, O’Connell & Jacobs. He was also an Assistant U.S. Attorney  in the Eastern District prior to entering private practice.

Speaking to the trade publication Law.com, Sacramento criminal defense attorney Mark Reichel called Arguelles’ appointment a smart pick.

“He is a very smart lawyer, is very well-rounded as a person and has relatively broad experience,” Mark said. “He is personable and kind to litigants and their lawyers, works hard. Judge Arguelles might turn out to be all that is right with lifetime appointments.”

U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott of the Eastern District of California said any presidential administration would be “hard-pressed to find someone as well-qualified as Jim Arguelles for a district court position.”

Click here to read the full story on Law.com