Here's something you might be interested in.
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed
Big Screen — Movie commentary
Blurt — Music's inside track
Booze News — San Diego spirits
Classical Music — Immortal beauty
Classifieds — Free and easy
Cover Stories — Front-page features
Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes
Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts
Feast! — Food & drink reviews
Feature Stories — Local news & stories
Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore
From the Archives — Spotlight on the past
Golden Dreams — Talk of the town
The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it
Letters — Our inbox
[email protected] — Local movie buffs share favorites
Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans
Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists
Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news
News Ticker — News & politics
Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated
Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna
Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated
Poetry — The old and the new
Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers
Reading — The hunt for intellectuals
Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails
San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds
SD on the QT — Almost factual news
Sheep and Goats — Places of worship
Special Issues — The best of
Street Style — San Diego streets have style
Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves
Theater — On stage in San Diego this week
Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative
Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work
Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego
Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads
Your Week — Daily event picks
Oh, no — the judge looks like the accused
Defense attorney asks for suspension of Christopher Lee murder trial
Defense attorney David Kaloyanides and Christopher Lee
The murder case against Christopher Brandon Lee was suspended at a hearing in a San Bernardino County courthouse today, May 26.
Judge Rodney Cortez
Defense attorney David Kaloyanides had petitioned an appeals court four weeks ago, on April 30, to prevent further hearings on the case until a higher court can make a decision on his request to recuse the judge who is currently hearing the matter, that being Rodney Cortez.
Kaloyanides said he wants to move the case into the only other courtroom in the Joshua Tree Courthouse that hears criminal matters, the bench occupied by judge Bert L. Swift.
In remarks after the hearing this morning, Kaloyanides was pleased that on May 6, the Fourth District Court of Appeal ordered Judge Cortez to “stay” or stop hearing the murder case. The defense attorney pointed out that the same appeals court published a suggestion that Cortez could move the case over to the other judge “sua sponte” or on his own voluntary action, without being ordered to do so.
The website for the appeals court noted that the San Bernardino district attorney’s office filed two volumes in response to defense’s petition, on May 22. And the DA’s office made nine more filings this afternoon, including a request for time extension and petition for rehearing.
Lee, now 25, denies killing Erin Corwin, 19, a woman married to the man who lived in the apartment directly across from Lee and his wife, on the Twentynine Palms Marine Base.
Lee is due next in court before judge Cortez on June 30.
Here's something you might be interested in.
Oh, no — the judge looks like the accused
Defense attorney asks for suspension of Christopher Lee murder trial
Oh, no — the judge looks like the accused
Defense attorney asks for suspension of Christopher Lee murder trial
Defense attorney David Kaloyanides and Christopher Lee
The murder case against Christopher Brandon Lee was suspended at a hearing in a San Bernardino County courthouse today, May 26.
Judge Rodney Cortez
Defense attorney David Kaloyanides had petitioned an appeals court four weeks ago, on April 30, to prevent further hearings on the case until a higher court can make a decision on his request to recuse the judge who is currently hearing the matter, that being Rodney Cortez.
Kaloyanides said he wants to move the case into the only other courtroom in the Joshua Tree Courthouse that hears criminal matters, the bench occupied by judge Bert L. Swift.
In remarks after the hearing this morning, Kaloyanides was pleased that on May 6, the Fourth District Court of Appeal ordered Judge Cortez to “stay” or stop hearing the murder case. The defense attorney pointed out that the same appeals court published a suggestion that Cortez could move the case over to the other judge “sua sponte” or on his own voluntary action, without being ordered to do so.
The website for the appeals court noted that the San Bernardino district attorney’s office filed two volumes in response to defense’s petition, on May 22. And the DA’s office made nine more filings this afternoon, including a request for time extension and petition for rehearing.
Lee, now 25, denies killing Erin Corwin, 19, a woman married to the man who lived in the apartment directly across from Lee and his wife, on the Twentynine Palms Marine Base.
Lee is due next in court before judge Cortez on June 30.
Comments
But why does the defense attorney want to move the trial to the other judge?
Attorney David Kaloyanides did mention that he is currently arguing a case before the other judge, Hon. Bert Smith.
This reporter asked the defense attorney if he believed it would make a difference to take the Christopher Lee murder case to the other judge. "I think that there will be some differences," he replied. "Without going into detail, I think this will completely change the makeup of the case, procedurally." The defense attorney also spoke about the protocol for declaring for the death penalty in San Bernardino County, which is different from what we have here in San Diego County. More on that later, as it develops.
Courthouse in the town of Joshua Tree.
So, this means the clever headline has no bearing on the report, or the reasons for wanting the other judge. (Can't tell whether that's a question or a statement.) The likely reasons have to do with Cortez being hard-nosed with defense pleas and denials and suppression of evidence. I do think the good judge could pay more attention to his grooming.