Blunderbuss Firozabad
Made of Pumpkin pie
The trial has been held over until June 2021.
Date Set for Attorney’s Suit Against Judge for Alleged Abu
Judge Gregory Elvine-Kreis photographed at a 2019 boat party on Lake Shasta, according to attorney Rory Kalin, who provided the photo.
A deputy public defender’s lawsuit against Judge Gregory Elvine-Kreis won’t go to trial until next June. This afternoon Mendocino County Judge Ann Moorman set a June 7 trial date for the civil case, in which Deputy Public Defender Rory Kalin alleges the judge called him “Jew Boy” and pushed him into Shasta Lake. The alleged incident occurred during a houseboat party during Memorial Day weekend in 2019.
The suit further alleges that after the attack, Kalin was subjected to “harassment and discrimination” at work, and that his bosses, including Public Defender Marek Reavis, “took part in an effort to cover [the incident] up.”
Elvine-Kreis spent years working in the Humboldt County Public Defender’s Office before he got appointed to the bench in 2017, and Kalin’s suit suggests that he’s still tight with that crew. It says the “get-together,” which took place on May 25, 2019, at Antlers RV Park and Campground in Shasta County, had been arranged by the wife of Kalin’s immediate boss, Luke Brownfield.
“Many of the attendees were employed in the Public Defender’s Office, as well as their spouses, families and other acquaintances,” the suit says.
Is it appropriate for a judge to party with attorneys who regularly appear before him in court? Well, that behavior appears to fall into a gray area, ethically and legally. A 1994 advisory opinion from the California Judges Association’s Committee on Judicial Ethics says that before attending an attorney-hosted social event with free food, beverage or entertainment, “each judge must determine in advance of the event whether it is ethically proper to attend.”
The opinion also states, “A judge should not attend such an event if attendance would undermine public confidence in the impartiality of the judiciary or promote the private interests of another.”
Eureka attorney Patrik Griego, representing Elvine-Kreis, was hoping for a trial in March because the judge “wants to see this resolved as soon as possible.” But Kalin’s new attorney, Jonathan Hornberger, said he just received the case on July 24 and can’t be ready until June or July 2021.
“We’re just getting our feet under us,” said Hornberger, whose firm is in southern California.
He replaces attorney Cyndy Day-Wilson, who according to Griego had refused repeated requests for information on the case. Griego had asked for sanctions against Day-Wilson, but he dropped that request today because the new lawyer has agreed to provide the information. “He doesn’t think we need to fight about this,” Griego said.
Through Griego, Elvine-Kreis has denied verbally or physically assaulting Kalin. Two other deputy public defenders have backed up the judge’s denial.
Kalin, however, stands by his account of being taunted and thrown into the water. He says the unwanted dip exacerbated an earlier head injury, and he now suffers from seizures, anxiety and panic attacks.
Today Moorman said she’s unsure how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected jury selection in Humboldt County.
“I’d like to think things will be back to pre-Covid era by June,” she said. “But I’m not banking on it.”
Moorman also encouraged attorneys to discuss resolving the case before trial. Kalin is on leave from his job at the Public Defender’s Office. Elvine-Kreis remains on the bench.
Date Set for Attorney’s Suit Against Judge for Alleged Abu
Judge Gregory Elvine-Kreis photographed at a 2019 boat party on Lake Shasta, according to attorney Rory Kalin, who provided the photo.
A deputy public defender’s lawsuit against Judge Gregory Elvine-Kreis won’t go to trial until next June. This afternoon Mendocino County Judge Ann Moorman set a June 7 trial date for the civil case, in which Deputy Public Defender Rory Kalin alleges the judge called him “Jew Boy” and pushed him into Shasta Lake. The alleged incident occurred during a houseboat party during Memorial Day weekend in 2019.
The suit further alleges that after the attack, Kalin was subjected to “harassment and discrimination” at work, and that his bosses, including Public Defender Marek Reavis, “took part in an effort to cover [the incident] up.”
Elvine-Kreis spent years working in the Humboldt County Public Defender’s Office before he got appointed to the bench in 2017, and Kalin’s suit suggests that he’s still tight with that crew. It says the “get-together,” which took place on May 25, 2019, at Antlers RV Park and Campground in Shasta County, had been arranged by the wife of Kalin’s immediate boss, Luke Brownfield.
“Many of the attendees were employed in the Public Defender’s Office, as well as their spouses, families and other acquaintances,” the suit says.
Is it appropriate for a judge to party with attorneys who regularly appear before him in court? Well, that behavior appears to fall into a gray area, ethically and legally. A 1994 advisory opinion from the California Judges Association’s Committee on Judicial Ethics says that before attending an attorney-hosted social event with free food, beverage or entertainment, “each judge must determine in advance of the event whether it is ethically proper to attend.”
The opinion also states, “A judge should not attend such an event if attendance would undermine public confidence in the impartiality of the judiciary or promote the private interests of another.”
Eureka attorney Patrik Griego, representing Elvine-Kreis, was hoping for a trial in March because the judge “wants to see this resolved as soon as possible.” But Kalin’s new attorney, Jonathan Hornberger, said he just received the case on July 24 and can’t be ready until June or July 2021.
“We’re just getting our feet under us,” said Hornberger, whose firm is in southern California.
He replaces attorney Cyndy Day-Wilson, who according to Griego had refused repeated requests for information on the case. Griego had asked for sanctions against Day-Wilson, but he dropped that request today because the new lawyer has agreed to provide the information. “He doesn’t think we need to fight about this,” Griego said.
Through Griego, Elvine-Kreis has denied verbally or physically assaulting Kalin. Two other deputy public defenders have backed up the judge’s denial.
Kalin, however, stands by his account of being taunted and thrown into the water. He says the unwanted dip exacerbated an earlier head injury, and he now suffers from seizures, anxiety and panic attacks.
Today Moorman said she’s unsure how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected jury selection in Humboldt County.
“I’d like to think things will be back to pre-Covid era by June,” she said. “But I’m not banking on it.”
Moorman also encouraged attorneys to discuss resolving the case before trial. Kalin is on leave from his job at the Public Defender’s Office. Elvine-Kreis remains on the bench.
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