"County Counsel did not call me to inform me of the decision. I saw the press release and called County Counsel and clarified that they did not want to resolve informally and that we would need to file the writ. They confirmed that was the case, " Patrik Griego.
Mr. Griego will be filing a lawsuit, as he has indicated previously.
Listed below is the statement he sent out to pess yesterday.
"The Board's press release omits the following facts: A Grand Jury found Mr. Marcus had an overly cozy relationship with the District Attorney's Office during his last stint as Public Defender. Mr. Marcus then left the State and has not practiced criminal law in more than five years. During those five years, while living in Florida, he has not practiced law in the courts of California, as required by the Government Code. The Board was informed by a practicing Deputy Public Defender that Mr. Marcus has shown himself unqualified to practice criminal law while in the office this past week.
We hope to defend the rights of indigent citizens in our County to a qualified Public Defender as vigorously as the Board is defending the law enforcement panel it used as part of the hiring process. We have given the Board an opportunity to avoid litigation which, unfortunately, will be costly to all parties. They declined. We will file the writ against the Board and let the Court decide the matter. "
I hope Mr. Griego nails their sorry skins to the wall...The County (or whoever is pulling the strings on this) is being so stupid. It's not going to go away: More people will ask more questions and if there are illegal actions that have been taken or if actions are censurable, well it may affect those directly responsible but it makes the county look like something out of Justified, except without the humor.
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