MICHAEL A. RAMOS
District Attorney
BRITT P. IMES - 195212
Supervising Deputy District
Attorney
SEAN W. DAUGHERTY - 214207
Deputy District Attorney
316 N. Mountain View Ave.
San Bernardino, CA 92415
Telephone: (760) 243-8600
Attorneys for Plaintiff
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF
CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF
CALIFORNIA,
Criminal Case No.
FVI1404194
vs.
Plaintiff,
RESPONSE TO REQUEST TO UNSEAL
SEARCH WARRANT; REQUEST FOR
REDACTIONS
CHARLES
RAY MERRITT,
Defendant.
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. / / / / / /
/ / /
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 #14-0631: request the warrant remained sealed
in its entirety.
2.
Warrant #14-1096:
a. Redact the telephone number on
page 2 under You Are Commanded to
Search
Search
b. Redact the telephone number
subject to the court order listed in paragraph
1, page 3 under Items to Be Seized & Collected.
1, page 3 under Items to Be Seized & Collected.
c. Redact the telephone number
listed in the Statement of Probable Cause on
paragraph 7 on page 5.
paragraph 7 on page 5.
3. Warrant #14-1097:
a. Redact out the vehicle identifying information
(license and VIN numbers) on
page 2 under You Are Commanded to Search
page 2 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 6, paragraph 7 of Statement of Probable Cause
name and address of current owner of the vehicle subject to the warrant on
page 6, paragraph 7 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 6, paragraph 8 of the Statement of Probable
Cause.
warrant as listed on page 6, paragraph 8 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 9, paragraph 1 of Return to
Search Warrant.
the vehicle subject to the warrant on page 9, paragraph 1 of Return to
Search Warrant.
e. Redact out the address, name and license number
from the Search Warrant Receipt on page 10.
4. Warrant #14-1293:
a. Redact the telephone number listed on Return to Search
Warrant
b. Redact the telephone number listed on page 2 under For
the Following
Property.
Property.
c. Redact the telephone number listed in full paragraphs
1 and 2 of page 6
under Statement of Probable Cause.
under Statement of Probable Cause.
5. Warrant #14-1294:
a. Redact the telephone number listed on Return to Search
Warrant
b. Redact the telephone number listed on page 2 under For
the Following
Property.
Property.
c. Redact the telephone number listed in full paragraphs
1 and 2 of page 6
under Statement of Probable Cause.
under Statement of Probable Cause.
6. Warrant #14-1494:
a. Last three sentences of
paragraph 4, page 5 of the Statement of Probable Cause.
7. Warrant #14-1589:
a. Redact the last three sentences of paragraph 4, page 3
of the Affidavit.
b. Redact sentence 7 and 9 of the first full paragraph,
page 4 of the Affidavit.
c. Redact sentence 7 and 9 of the third full paragraph,
page 5 of the Affidavit.
8. Warrant #14-1594:
a. Redact page 2, paragraph 5, sentences 4, 5 and 6 of
the Statement of
Probable Cause.
Probable Cause.
b. Redact page 4, paragraph 2, sentences 7 and 9 of the
Statement of
Probable Cause.
Probable Cause.
9. Warrant #14-1595:
a. Redact page 2, paragraph 5, sentences 4, 5 and 6 of
the Statement of
Probable Cause.
Probable Cause.
b. Redact page 4, paragraph 1, sentences 7 and 9 of the
Statement of
Probable Cause.
Probable Cause.
10. Warrant #14-1666:
a. Redact page 4, paragraph 6, sentence 4 continuing to
sentence 5 and 6 on
page 5 of the Statement of Probable Cause.
page 5 of the Statement of Probable Cause.
b. Redact bank account numbers from first full paragraph
on page 5 of the
Statement of Probable Cause.
Statement of Probable Cause.
c. Redact sentence 7 and 9 of paragraph 5 on page 6 of
Statement of
Probable Cause.
Probable Cause.
11. Warrant #14-1842:
a. Redact sentences 4, 5 and 6 from paragraph 5 of page 2
of the Statement
of Probable Cause.
of Probable Cause.
b. Redact sentences 7 and 9 from paragraph 1 on page 4 of
the Statement of
Probable Cause.
Probable Cause.
12. Warrant #14-1844:
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.
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.
Attachment A.
d. Redact the phone number from sentence 6 of paragraph 7
on page 5 of the
Statement of Probably Cause.
Statement of Probably Cause.
13. Warrant #14-1846: Request the warrant remain sealed in
its entirety.
14. Warrant #14-1848:
a. Redact sentences 4, 5 and 6 from paragraph 5 of page 2
of the Statement
of Probable Cause.
of Probable Cause.
b. Redact sentences 7 and 9 from paragraph 1 on page 4 of
the Statement of
Probable Cause.
Probable Cause.
15. Warrant #14-1849:
a. Redact sentences 4 and 5 of paragraph 5 on page 2 of
the Statement of
Probable Cause.
Probable Cause.
b. Redact sentences 1 and 2 of paragraph 1 on page 3 of
the Statement of
Probable Cause.
Probable Cause.
c. Redact sentences 7 and 9 from paragraph 4 on page 4 of
the Statement of
Probable Cause.
Probable Cause.
16. Warrant #14-1850:
a. Redact sentences 4, 5 and 6 of paragraph 4 on page 3
of the Affidavit.
b. Redact sentences 7 and 9 of paragraph 2 on page 4 of
the Affidavit.
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, 26, 2015, in our written Opposition to Unseal
Search Warrant Materials. (See, e.g., People v. Jackson (2005) 128 Cal.App.4th 1009
[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
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.
(2)
To be reasonably protected from the defendant and persons acting on behalf
of the defendant.
(4) 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, § 28 (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.)
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 (2004) 115 Cal.App.4th
669 [holding that newspaper had no broad First Amendment right to access
defendant's probation report; that after statutory 60-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.].)
MICHAEL A. RAMOS
DISTRICT ATTORNEY
30 June 2015
By:_________________________________
BRITT P. IMES,
Supervising Deputy District Attorney
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 316 North Mt.
View, San Bernardino, CA 92415.
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 30, 2015 I served
the within REQUEST FOR REDACTIONS was served on interested parties:
Jimmy Mettias, Esq. Kelly Aviles
c/o The Mettias Law Firm, APLC 1502 Foothill Blvd., Suite
103-140
14393 Park Ave. Ste. 100 La Verne, CA 91750
14393 Park Ave. Ste. 100 La Verne, CA 91750
Victorville,
CA 92392 Fax: 909-991-7594
Fax: 760-843-6855
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 30, 2015.
Maria Luna
