cannabisnews.com: Lockyer Takes On Prison Guards And Loses!





Lockyer Takes On Prison Guards And Loses!
Posted by FoM on July 24, 1999 at 18:56:56 PT
Kubby Announce
Source: The Kubby Files
Last year, the CCPOA (Prison Guard Union) spent more than $2 million on Gov. Gray Davis' behalf alone, running ads for him up and down the Central Valley...
 "Most peace officers are honest and ethical. But it distresses me when unions I respect feel they have a duty to hide the bad apples from public attention." "The Kings County DA (who tried to prosecute rogue prison guards) got taken out by CCPOA. ... It doesn't take many of those to know there is enormous political risk to even raise this subject in public." Pubdate: Fri, 23 July 1999Source: Orange County Register (CA) Copyright: 1999 The Orange County RegisterContact: letters link.freedom.com Website: http://www.ocregister.com/ Author: John Jacobs-McClatchy Newspapers political editor LOCKYER TAKES ON PRISON GUARDS AND LOSES Sacramento-Just about a year ago,then-Attorney General Dan Lungren and some of his top prosecutors visited the editorial board of the Sacramento Bee to complain about an editorial. The Bee had criticized what it called a lackluster state investigation into a series of spectacular abuses by correctional peace officers against prison inmates at Corcoran State Prison. Over a seven-year period, guards killed or wounded some 50 inmates in the deadliest prison in America. Others were set against each other in gladiator-style fights. Lungren made a number of useful points that day about the challenges of obtaining convictions against abusive guards who committed criminal acts. Among them was dealing with the California Correctional Peace Officers' Association, one of the state's most powerful unions, which aggressively defended its members. Another was that district attorneys in small, rural counties, where many state prisons are located, often lack the resources to mount complicated prosecutions. Juries often lack the will to cross the biggest institution in their community. And when DAs do prosecute, sometimes the CCPOA gets even. A dew weeks later came state legislative hearings into the Corcoran prison incidents. Former Kings County District Attorney Greg Stickland, who unsuccessfully prosecuted several guards and convened a grand jury to investigate other, testified that at the next election the CCPOA spent nearly $30,000 on his opponent's behalf and helped remove him from office. The prison guards' union said it backed his opponent because Strickland was "inept." To cure this problem, state Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, wrote SB 451, which would have given the attorney general authority to take over prosecutions where local DAs lack the manpower or the will. The California District Attorneys' Association supported the bill, which passed out of the Senate on a two-thirds vote. But it died last week in the Assembly Public Safety Committee. Calling SB 451 its top priority "kill" for the year and arguing that it was unnecessary, the correctional officers' union heavily lobbied every member of the committee to vote against it. What made the hearing extraordinary was the degree to which Attorney General Bill Lockyer advocated for the bill, laid out the politics and made explicit - in ways not often heard by politicians in the state Capitol - just how the special-interest money game is played. Lockyer, a pro-labor Democrat, and Lungren, a conservative Republican, don't agree on much. But both, a year apart, saw the need for the attorney general's office to be involved. Almost as notable was the way members of both parties proved Lockyer's point, currying favor with the wealthy union by doing its legislative bidding. Four Assembly members who directed hostile questions at Lockyer and Schiff are running for the state Senate next year: Democrat Carl Washington and Republicans Jim Battin, Jim Cuneen and Rico Oller. All no doubt would love to get their share of CCPOA boodle. Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, who is close to Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa, voted against the bill, as did committee chairman Mike Honda, D-San Jose. Last year, the CCPOA spent more than $2 million on Gov. Gray Davis' behalf alone, running ads for him up and down the Central Valley. The union also supported Republican Dave Stirling against Lockyer, which certainly "liberated" Lockyer. It's not clear what signals, if any, the governor's office had sent on whether it would veto the bill, assuming it had survived. Davis last week did attend a $3,000-a-person celebrity golf tournament hosted by CCPOA. "This year," Lockyer said in the hearing, "seven Corcoran cases were referred to my office. They are six years old. I can almost guarantee the outcome. There won't be anything that happens because the evidence is so stale. ... Most peace officers are honest and ethical. But it distresses me when unions I respect feel they have a duty to hide the bad apples from public attention." When Battin and Oller said they "resented" Lockyer's assertion that some local DAs told him privately they lack the will to take on the guards' union or even refer cases to his office, Lockyer said, "Others who get prosecuted don't have a huge ... political action committee and run candidates against the prosecutors. The Kings County DA got taken out by CCPOA. ... It doesn't take many of those to know there is enormous political risk to even raise this subject in public." When Cuneen said legislators cast tough votes all the time against powerful special interests, Lockyer said, "I'm here sticking my neck out trying to do the same thing. I'd like some company." In a later interview, he added, "The odor of special-interest cave-in is one I am well qualified to identify." Assembly Speaker Prp Tem Fred Keeley was one of just two Democrats to vote for the bill. "If CCPOA weren't in on the play," Keeley said, "is there a Democrat who doesn't think this is a good bill?" That's a good question. At what price self-respect?THE KUBBY FILEShttp://www.kubby.comMonarch Bay Plaza #375Dana Point, Ca 92629DON'T GET LEFT OUT OF THE LOOP:Subscribe: Kubby-Announce-on list.kubby.org Unsubscribe: Kubby-Announce-off list.kubby.org 
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on July 24, 1999 at 19:38:15 PT:
Auburn Journal: Kubby Treatment Repugnant- 7/23
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