SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Defendant.

Transcription

1 MICHAEL A. RAMOS District Attorney BRITT P. IMES Supervising Deputy District Attorney SEAN W. DAUGHERTY Deputy District Attorney 1 N. Mountain View Ave. San Bernardino, CA 1 Telephone: (0-00 Attorneys for Plaintiff SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, vs. CHARLES RAY MERRITT, Plaintiff, Defendant. Criminal Case No. FVI RESPONSE TO REQUEST TO UNSEAL SEARCH WARRANT; REQUEST FOR REDACTIONS TO THE HONORABLE MICHAEL SMITH, JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT, COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO and COUNSEL FOR THE DEFENDANT: Comes now the plaintiff, the People of the State of California, by and through their attorneys, MICHAEL A. RAMOS, District Attorney; BRITT P. IMES, Supervising Deputy District Attorney and SEAN W. DAUGHERTY, Deputy District Attorney, and respectfully submits the following response to unseal search warrants and request for redactions. / / / / / / / / / Page 1

2 I. Request for Redactions If the court grants the third party request to unseal search warrants in this case, the People hereby respectfully request, in addition to any other redactions suggested by the Court or the Defendant, the following redactions to protect confidential identifying information of subjects contained therein and to protect the privacy of such people. 1. Warrant #1-01: request the warrant remained sealed in its entirety.. Warrant #1-: a. Redact the telephone number on page under You Are Commanded to Search b. Redact the telephone number subject to the court order listed in paragraph 1, page under Items to Be Seized & Collected. c. Redact the telephone number listed in the Statement of Probable Cause on paragraph on page.. Warrant #1-: a. Redact out the vehicle identifying information (license and VIN numbers on page under You Are Commanded to Search b. Redact out the vehicle identifying information (license and VIN numbers, name and address of current owner of the vehicle subject to the warrant on page, paragraph of Statement of Probable Cause c. Redact out the name of the current owner of the vehicle subject of the warrant as listed on page, paragraph of the Statement of Probable Cause. d. Redact out the vehicle identifying information (license and VIN numbers, of the vehicle subject to the warrant on page, paragraph 1 of Return to Search Warrant. Page

3 e. Redact out the address, name and license number from the Search Warrant Receipt on page.. Warrant #1-: a. Redact the telephone number listed on Return to Search Warrant b. Redact the telephone number listed on page under For the Following Property. c. Redact the telephone number listed in full paragraphs 1 and of page under Statement of. Warrant #1-: a. Redact the telephone number listed on Return to Search Warrant b. Redact the telephone number listed on page under For the Following Property. c. Redact the telephone number listed in full paragraphs 1 and of page under Statement of. Warrant #1-1: a. Last three sentences of paragraph, page of the Statement of Probable Cause.. Warrant #1-1: a. Redact the last three sentences of paragraph, page of the Affidavit. b. Redact sentence and of the first full paragraph, page of the Affidavit. c. Redact sentence and of the third full paragraph, page of the Affidavit.. Warrant #1-1: a. Redact page, paragraph, sentences, and of the Statement of b. Redact page, paragraph, sentences and of the Statement of Page

4 Warrant #1-1: a. Redact page, paragraph, sentences, and of the Statement of b. Redact page, paragraph 1, sentences and of the Statement of. Warrant #1-1: a. Redact page, paragraph, sentence continuing to sentence and on page of the Statement of b. Redact bank account numbers from first full paragraph on page of the Statement of c. Redact sentence and of paragraph on page of Statement of. Warrant #1-: a. Redact sentences, and from paragraph of page of the Statement of b. Redact sentences and from paragraph 1 on page of the Statement of 1. Warrant #1-: a. Redact phone number from Return to Search Warrant. b. Redact the name and phone number from the further description under You Are Commanded to Search on the face of the Warrant. c. Redact the phone number from the Items to Be Seized & Collected on Attachment A. d. Redact the phone number from sentence of paragraph on page of the Statement of Probably Cause. 1. Warrant #1-: Request the warrant remain sealed in its entirety. Page

5 Warrant #1-: a. Redact sentences, and from paragraph of page of the Statement of b. Redact sentences and from paragraph 1 on page of the Statement of 1. Warrant #1-: a. Redact sentences and of paragraph on page of the Statement of b. Redact sentences 1 and of paragraph 1 on page of the Statement of c. Redact sentences and from paragraph on page of the Statement of 1. Warrant #1-0: a. Redact sentences, and of paragraph on page of the Affidavit. b. Redact sentences and of paragraph on page of the Affidavit. 1 1 II. The Court Has Authority to Protect Third Party Privacy Rights by Redactions and Sealing Orders To the extent relevant to the minor redactions at issue, the People reincorporate here the points and authorities we filed on January,, 1, in our written Opposition to Unseal Search Warrant Materials. (See, e.g., People v. Jackson (0 Cal.App.th 0 [upholding over media objection the sealing of warrant affidavit materials to protect private victim information and defendant s right to fair trial]. Although we now withdraw opposition to unsealing most of the sealed warrant materials, we still rely on those authorities and the Court may also safely rely on them to the extent relevant in order to protect sensitive personal information of third parties and victims. The Court retains Page

6 the authority to weigh any competing interests and make appropriate findings and protective, sealing orders. Here, we add that in California, victims (broadly defined have robust privacy rights under the Victims Bill of Rights in the state Constitution: (b In order to preserve and protect a victim s rights to justice and due process, a victim shall be entitled to the following rights: (1 To be treated with fairness and respect for his or her privacy and dignity, and to be free from intimidation, harassment, and abuse, throughout the criminal or juvenile justice process. ( To be reasonably protected from the defendant and persons acting on behalf of the defendant. ( To prevent the disclosure of confidential information or records to the defendant, the defendant s attorney, or any other person acting on behalf of the defendant, which could be used to locate or harass the victim or the victim s family or which disclose confidential communications made in the course of medical or counseling treatment, or which are otherwise privileged or confidential by law. (California Constitution, Article 1, (b, emphasis added. (As a side note, the court must realize that disclosure of personal information to the media must be assumed necessarily to disclose that same information to the defendant. Then there is the general right to privacy recognized by California Constitution, Article I, Section 1. All people are by nature free and independent and have inalienable rights. Among these are enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety, happiness, and privacy. (Emphasis added. Page

7 Here, were disclosure of the warrant materials to include the private, personal information of victims and third parties, their Constitutional privacy rights would be breached without notice, an opportunity to be heard, and without all other due process. (See People v. Connor (0 Cal.App.th [holding that newspaper had no broad First Amendment right to access defendant s probation report; that after statutory 0-days of unfettered access expires, court must hold hearing and balance competing interests; and to satisfy due process, defendant [or those affected] must receive notice and opportunity to be heard concerning release of personal information.] June 1 MICHAEL A. RAMOS DISTRICT ATTORNEY By: BRITT P. IMES, Supervising Deputy District Attorney 1 Page

8 SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY PROOF OF SERVICE STATE OF CALIFORNIA ss. COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO I, Mari Luna, declare: That I am a citizen of the United States and employed in San Bernardino County, over eighteen years of age and not a party to the within action; that my business address is 1 North Mt. View, San Bernardino, CA 1. That I am readily familiar with the business practice for collection and processing of correspondence for mailing with the United States Postal Service. Correspondence would be deposited with the United States Postal Service that same day in the ordinary course of business. That on June 0, 1 I served the within REQUEST FOR REDACTIONS was served on interested parties: Jimmy Mettias, Esq. c/o The Mettias Law Firm, APLC 1 Park Ave. Ste. 0 Victorville, CA Fax: 0-- Kelly Aviles Foothill Blvd., Suite - La Verne, CA Fax: 0-1- I certify under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct, and that hits declaration was executed at San Bernardino, California, on June 0, 1. Maria Luna Page