Monday, November 22, 2010 – 05:00 a.m.
San Bernardino County’s criminal defense conflict panel has been the subject of harsh criticism on this blog and at iePolitics.com.
The reason?
Conflicts of interest related to more than $100,000 in contributions to San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael A. Ramos and allegations of misconduct related to plea agreements, involving conflict panel defendants, which were negotiated by non-attorneys.
The defense panel, under a contract administered by the law firm of Carter, Spring, Schank and O’Connor is suppose to provide for indigent criminal defense, may finally have fallen under scrutiny.
Word is coming to InlandPolitics.com that one criminal defense attorney, formally employed by the panel, has come forward to federal authorities.
Sources indicate a probe may be under way and that the Carter Spring firm is in the process of bracing for the potential inquiry.
Plea bargain agreements carried-out by non-attorneys using what insiders refer to as “plea sheets” with the knowledge of the District Attorney, could lead to the overturn of hundreds, if not thousands, of convictions on civil rights violations.
At this hour, it’s unknown as to whether or not members of the San Bernardino County bench were aware of the panel’s activities.
Former insiders say the motivation for such conduct is purely financial. The less attorney man-hours the firm devotes per case the higher the profit margin.
The same insiders tell stories of having to threaten the firm with filing complaints with the state labor commissioner in order to get paid.
Developing…..
This has been going on for years and every Judge handling criminal cases has known about it. They don’t care because the lawyers employed by Spring have no incentive to work hard thus their days are easier. The wages paid by Spring are so slim that no one stays there long. Several have left for the Public Defender’s Office which is amazing since that organization treats its employees worse than any other Department. Spring has greased about everyone in the system inlcuding Judges so don’t believe the Judges when they said they didn’t know. We have Rex Victor to thank for these clowns.
“isnt it a little suspicious” that after numerous failed attempts, judge norell was the first presiding judge to award the high desert conflict contract to spring, at the expense of awarding the contract to the local high desert bar? and then he “suddenly retired”. C’mon Jake, its Chinatown
it has been a couple of months ago that a man named harold toney from kentucky was arrested and extadicted to california for a cold case double homicide in apple valley.he was arrested and held for a couple of days in 1988 soon after the murders were commited,then released with not enough evidence to charge him at the time.he was a terminally ill patent released from a veteran hospital to his uncles home to b treated by hospice for his remaining days in sept.of 2010. arrested on 9/11/201 we never heard from him again as he died october 21st of this year in a clifornia jail.i have always wandered about the situation as things unfolded.only evidence to my understanding and reason for arrest warrant was information turned over to authorities by a convicted drug dealer whom faces alot of legal problems himself,and at one time was a “friend turned snitch ” against mr.toney in previous drug cases in kentucky in the past. there is a whole lot more to my theory but seemed funny to me to beable to take a non credible persons testimony whom had plenty of revenge motivation and act on it as if it came from a substantial source. what i have read about this “legal representaion” raises an eyebrow .