John Chiv: Another sentencing screwed up and another delay for victims because Humboldt Superior Court Kaleb Cockrum, took a plea he shouldn't have, then recused himself and Humboldt Superior Court scheduled it before another judge knowing the conflict

May 4, 2026

Another sentencing screwed up and another delay for victims because Humboldt Superior Court Kaleb Cockrum, took a plea he shouldn't have, then recused himself and Humboldt Superior Court scheduled it before another judge knowing the conflict

Another sentencing screwed up and another delay for victims because Humboldt Superior Court Kaleb Cockrum, took a plea he shouldn't have, then recused himself.

Humboldt Superior Court knew Retired Humboldt Superior Court Judge Marilyn Miles would have the same conflict, so did the defense and DA but instead of scheduling it before a Visiting Judge, this mistake has wasted the victims' time and mine.

This is information my court coverage provides because I have been there for 12 years, people trust me and I have the guts to call out the establishment.

Unfortunately, now Troy Friedman whose sentencing kept getting delayed is now on for trial setting/change of plea. Court minutes from today included so you can read why.

In my last post, I wrote, "I knew and have previously reported that Jennings is Friedman's ex. I don't know when Judge Cockrum found out this information or if he knew. This is the kind of information that should have been disclosed before and defense had to know because Jennings was willing to be a character witness for Friedman."

I don't know what the DA knew or did not but enough people involved with the courts, the Public Defender and DA's office read my blog and run to the judges, court admin, DA and public defenders when convenient. There is no excuse for this to happen.

I covered the case since his arrest. Links to previous coverage are included for those who did not read those posts.

Let's see if the other local "media" such as Times Standard, Lost Coast Outpost or Redheaded Blackbelt now decided to cover this court case with a brief update and provide a spin for Humboldt Superior Court, the Public Defender or the DA's office and pass it off as "reporting." They started this by years of treating me with disrespect, ripping off my original work, not crediting me so if they want to be unprofessional and petty, I will keep calling them out until they apologize and act like professionals. A dot com and funding by hedge funds, grants and good ole Humboldt boys and gals does not define media. The work you do does. If the public trusted them, I would not be inundated with tips. I passed on two because I don't have the time. Told the people to contact other local media. Let's see if they cover and how they "report."