News Scrapbook 1984

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Oceanside, CA (San Diego Co.) Blade Tribune (0. 28,548) (S. 29,914)

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Separate trial is a plus for mayor ..z_g,::;r::;

261984

P. c. B I .a. 1888 / Program set at USO

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ANALYSIS

By Rivian Taylor taH \\ riler Even before the trial on con piracy and periury charges. Mayor Hedgecock has achieved a maJor strategic advantage: He will be tried alone. His co-defendant political con• sultant Tom Shepard and J. David & Co. prmc1pals J. David "Jerry" Dom- melli and ;,1ancy Hoover - will not be 1ttmg along w 1th him at the de· fen e tdble. ecurmg a eparate trial or sever- ance is igmficant he<'ause 11 makes it more difficult for the prosecution to win a conviction on the conspiracy charge said 10 criminal law experts interviewed recently The experts id that . everance greatly dilutes the uperior evidenti- ary and psychological tool that the tart of hi

SAN DIEGO - The refationsh1p between religion and politics will be the topic of a pro- gram entitled "Religion and the Political Pro- cess." The program will be held on Thursday, Nov. lfrom 7 to 9:30 p.m. at the Douglas F. Man- chester Executive Conference Center on the campus of tbe ~niversit):'.Jlf.San Diego. The cost of the program is $2 per person. This forum has been organized by the San Diego Ecumenical Conference, Jewish Com- munity Relations Council, National Conference of Christians and Jews and the Office of Continu- ing Education of the University of San Diego. For further information and reservations call 232-6113 or 571-3444.

pro~ecution enJoys during a conspir• acv trial. it al o allow a defendant, directly or indirect!y, to blame his un een co- defendants for any wrongdoing, the experts said In a single-defendant tnal. the co- defendants mentioned in the origina I indictment can be called to testify by the prosecution but they can invoke their Fifth Amendment right to re- main silent. Thus a defense that blame the co-defendants might go unchallenged by the co-defendants themselves. In a joint trial, all co-defendants have the right to cross-examine wit· nesse · and present e~ dence showing ee A, 'ALY IS~~ Page A-6

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Mayor Roger Hedgecock

fendants. In a smgle trial, those kind of hear- say comments by a co-defendant not currently on trial, would be ruled inadmissible. As veteran San Diego defense at- torney Peter Hughes noted: "When the (alleged) co-conspira- tors are not there, it seems as though the trial judge is a Jot more diligent as far as making sure that the evi- dence that is being admitted was in fact something done in furtherance of the conspiracy " • • • A conspiracy trial with multiple defendants can last several months. The evidence against one or two defendants in a joint trial may take up the bulk of the time, but the oth- ers will be forced to sit throughout the trial at the same defense table. Meanwhile, all the defendants in a joint trial - even the one against whom there is only 15 minutes worth of incriminating evidence - will be lumped together in the minds of the jury. /

As one defense attorney put it, "If a kid goes to steal a candy bar, it's a misdemeanor But if two kids con- spire to steal a candy bar and don't do it, it's a felony." But beyond the felony issue, con- spiracy law changes the evidentiary rules, making it more difficult to de- fend against than other criminal charges. Generally speaking, hearsay - one person testifying about what an- other person said - is not allowed in trials because it is considered unreli- able and there is no opportunity to cross-examine the person who sup- posedly made the comment. However. in conspiracy trials, hearsay statements of co--conspira- tors made in furtherance of the al- leged conspiracy are admissible. The result is that a conspiracy de- fendant often is confronted with a host of statements by his co-defend- ants that he may never have author- ized, intended or even known about, but which help to persuade a jury that a conspiracy existed. And once the existence of the con-

spiracy 1s established and the play- ers are identified, the prosecutor can use the acts and statements of each conspirator against hirr and all the others. "It may be that one party charged to be a member of a conspiracy did much less or claims not to even have known (about the conspiracy), but there is much stronger evidence that others did know," said Dash. "But what the jury hears as to one, overlaps and spills over on the oth- ers. So that anything that is damag- ing or incriminating as to one sort of tars all the others." The weight of the evidentiary rules, say most lawyers interviewed, is felt more in joint rather than sepa- rate conspiracy trials, because the jury has a tougher time sorting out who said or did what. Some hearsay, such as certain post-conspiracy comments by a co- defendant, might be allowed in a joint trial but ruled only applicable to the individual co-defendant. In the jurors' minds, however, the com- ments might wash over to all the de-

Since Sept. 19 when the county t•rand jury indicted Hedgecock and hi' three political associates on charges of conspiring to violate state and local campaign and financial disclosure hlws, the mayor's position h s been firm He wants an immediate trial be- Ca'USE' once all the evidence is out the jur·y and the public will realize his inn ocE·nce. '. If there's time enough for the cha1·ge.s, there's time enough for the trial (before the Nov. 6 election)," said Hedgecock, who is in a re-elec- tion battle with challenger Dick Carls,Jn. So while his three co-defendants ms1ste·d on their right to a post-in· d ctm ent preliminary hearing, Hedget ~ock opted for the speediest route tt 1 trial and waived his prehmi- nary he aring. Mean while, the preliminary hear- ing for Hoover, Dominelli and Shep- ard has 1been put off indefinitely be• cause of uncertainty over Dominel- Ji's physical impairment since his Oct. 2 stroke. The result is that Hoover, Domi- nelli and Shepard will not have had their preliminary hearing before Nov. 1 - the scheduled trial date for all four defendants - and only Hedgecock will be ready to proceed. Said Pancer: "Personally I would liave rather had a preliminary hear- mg because that's an advantage to a criminal defendant. But on the other hand, we have other considerations, including the election. "We wanted to be able to show that this thing is going to be over fairly quickly." • • • Defense attorneys often refer to conspiracy as the "darling of the pro- secutor's nursery." Aconspiracy charge transforms a Joint misdemeanor into a felony and opens the door for the admission of damaging evidence that would never be allowed in a non-conspiracy trial. Severance is seen as one way to even the odds between prosecution and defense in a conspiracy trial. Simply put, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more per- sons to commit a crime. As long as the co-conspirators commit an overt act or take some action toward car- rying out their plan, they are guilty of a conspiracy - even if they never commit the planned crime. Thus, conspiracy theory allows the law to treat an aborted plan by two or more people far more seriously than the completed crime would be if it were committed by a single indi- vidual.

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h nee to alt with not spe- :y ca. e, y who's , off on Gerald Loyola Jf Cal- l Jus-

their mnoc nee. Thu blame others 1s d1m1mshcd. The experts' comments de cifically the Hedgecock ca e "Generally in any conspirat you're going to have somebod dirt)' and the dirt tend· to rut ill of the d fendan ," said U Iman prof · or of law at Un vers1ty and past president , forma Attorn ys for Crimina t1 ·e. the c <'Onspiracy ca m general,

"So it's u ually to th defen, dant's dv ntage to be tried alone m , 1con- pir cy trial ·o the jury only c( msid- r the evidence that' adm1 sit 1le to him" •· verance in con piracy ca se 1 very important," aid Samuel I lash, who was chief coun. el to the U.S. en te Watergate Committee Dash a law professor at Gem ·ge- town University who i teaching this me. ter at the.1.lSU..la~~chgpl, s aid that in a conspiracy trial with mu Jll. pie defendants. "it's awfully d1Hic ult to extricate one person from the o th· ers. "Also, there's ome kind of psych o- logical impact when two or thr, ee people being charged with conspir a- cy are actually itting together in a courtro•om. With their lawyer ·s conferrimg - whispering into eac h other's t•ars - the message comm1 to the JU ry is that they're conspira tor . ''It's almost an irrational type ol thing, but 1t works." In the mayor's ca e, even the chief pro~ecutor, A sistant Distnct Attor- ney Richa1·d Huffman, conceded that •verance will work to Hedgecock's advantage. "Every good defense attorney would want to get a everance m a conspiracy 1trial," said Huffman, who teaches ern1inars on conspiracy Jaw to prosecutors. Hedgecock's attorney, Michael Pancer, agrees that severance will ht) helpful to Hedgecock. But he also insists that the district attorney's case is weak. Further- more, he note that the mayor did not formally seek a severance and that it occurred only because the other defendants chose a different pre.trial strategy • • •

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Son Diego, CA (San Diego Co.) Son Diego Union {Cir. D. 217,324) {Cir. S. 339,788}

San Diego, CA (Son Diego Co.) San Diego Union {Cir. D. 2 17,324) {Cir. S. 339,7881 1CT 28 98 Jl.l/na '• P. c. B

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- Toreros get first football ':~!~•~go foot ball team got its first victory of the season yesterday, beating host UC- Santa Barbara, 31-28. The Toreros scored the winning touchdown with 2:48 left on a 38-yard pass from Greg Moll to Jeff Mansuh- kani. They are 1-6-1, though the vic- tory won't be counted by the NCAA bec_ause Santa Barbara (1-3) is com- peting on the club level. The pro- gram is in its second year USD took a 2-0 lead on a safety. The Toreros took a 9.7 lead in the second quarter when Mansuhkani when he ran back a kickoff a school- record-tying 101 yards. USD scored two more touchdowns before Santa Barbara scored three straight to take the lead. Moll completed 13 of 21 passes for 15 2 yards, two touchdowns and no in- terceptions. UCSB quarterback Steve Marks was 18 of 37 for 241 yards and one interception. The USD defense held Santa Bar- bara, a Club team, to six yards rush- ing. . ?n_Sa_turday, USO hosts Asuza Pa- c1f1c _in its homecoming game at l: 30 p.m. in Torero Stadium. USO lost last week at Asuza, 34-7. L

/4o BEATS RENO - Unive1,ity of San Diego came from behind to defeat Nevada-Reno S-15, 15·9, 15-1, 15-17, 15-11 in a volleyball match in Reno. The Toreros (5·I0) trailed 8-1 in the final game before rallying again for the five-game victory. Nevada-Reno dropped its 15th match in 16 tries. ~55 /

Los Angeles, CA (Los Angeles Co.) Times (San Diego Ed.)

(0. 50,010) (S. 55,573) CT

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through Dec. 21. The exhibition traces the process from sketches to drafting to scale orlting models to photographs of the :finished production. Gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday (until 7

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..<.--u.s nN" ARTS 0 ... -•y (8051 University Ave., La Mesa), Mary Abernathy's works will be featured through Wednesday, as will works by Foothills Art Assn. members. Gallery hours are 11 a.m to 4 p.m. Tuesday-Satur- day. Z'l~.S FOUNDERS GALLERY (Uni~ of San Diego), "Designs for the Stage," an exhibition of scenic design., by Ralph Funicello and Richard Seagen, will show r ~VUTHJ. "'

lp.m. Wednesday).

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