John Chiv: How many Judges need to rule against RJ Leohner before he stops wasting court resources and taxpayer money

May 22, 2023

How many Judges need to rule against RJ Leohner before he stops wasting court resources and taxpayer money

(Leohner)

In April I did a post on the Earl Castillo case.

In that post I wrote, "After Judge Kaleb Cockrum ruled against the defense on a motion to supress on 3/7, Deputy Conflict Counsel R.J. Leohner filed a motion to recuse Judge Cockrum on 3/27. Who recuses a Judge after one ruling on a motion and says that the Judge is biased? Jury selection and the trial dragged on for days because Leohner wastes time on stupid stuff and theatrics in court during jury selection and trial. I am all for raising issues of racial bias in the system and Humboldt but unlike former Deputy Conflict Counsel April Van Dyke who put in effort with data and research, Leohner just wastes time on a show."

On 4/19, Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge Charles Treat denied a motion to recuse Judge Kaleb Cockrum from the Castillo case. I have included the order. Will it stop Leohner from continuing to behave the way he does? I doubt it.

Castillo's sentencing tomorrow is now scheduled before Retired Judge Christopher Wilson.

Leohner is the only Humboldt attorney I know with multiple counts of contempt and sanctions issued against him because he chose to ignore warnings and a judge's rulings.

Why is Leohner still employed with Humboldt Conflict Counsel? He is rude, abrasive, confrontational, wastes court resources and time. All because of his ego which his talent does not match. He drags a simple trial into weeks due to his laborious meandering. The tragedy is that his clients deserve a better attorney who does not abuse the court process to inflate his sense of self importance. Humboldt Superior Court schedule is backlogged and other defendants who deserve their cases to move forward suffer when useless motions are filed. Visiting Judges cost money. Leohner isn't paying for that extra cost out of his pocket.