THIS IS THE RESPONDE I RECEIVED FROM THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION TWO MONTHS AFTER I FILED THE COMPLAINT AGAINST ASSISTANT DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY AMILCAR "BUTCH" FORD
My extended gratitude for upkeeping this page for me.MoM!KaRiNa!JaS!MiChElLe!LiZ!
DISTRICT ATTORNEY AMILCAR BUTCH FORD, CONFIRMS WHAT I HAD SAID ALL ALONG, HE ALREADY CONVICTED LAURA MEDINA, SHE IS STILL AWAITING TRIAL BUT HE SAYS THAT IT'S A FACT THAT SHE IS A MURDERERPLEASE READ THE ARTICLE ON INSIDE BAY AREA "SUSPECT'S MOM WON'T HAVE TO REMOVE .. POSTS" BY ERIC LOUIE THIS IS DISTRICT ATTORNEY AMILCAR FORD"In the end, she can put whatever she wants to put" "It's not going to change the fact her daughter's a murderer"DISTRICT ATTORNEY AMILCAR FORD HAS OVERSTEP HIS BOUNDS, HE IS ACTING LIKE JURY AND JUDGE, HE ALREADY CONVICTED LAURA MEDINA, WHAT HAPPENED TO "INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY" IT'S ABVIOUS THAT TO "BUTCH" FORD, OUR JUDICIAL SYSTEM ONLY APPLIES TO CERTAIN PEOPLE, MY DAUGHTER AND ME NOT BEING AMONGST THAT SELECTED GROUP. HE CALLED LAURA MEDINA A MURDERER, SHE IS "ACCUSED" "CHARGED" SHE IS AWAITING TRIAL, BUT JUST LIKE I SAY ON THE PETITIONS, THEY CONVICTED HER FROM DAY ONE AND THEY MADE SURE THAT THE PUBLIC CONVICTED HER AS WELL BY PROVIDING THAT HORRID STORY TO THE MEDIA. SCROOL DOWN TO READ THE BACK-UPS TO THE PETITION. WHERE IS THE JUSTICE IN LAURA MEDINA'S CASE????? DISTRICT ATTORNEY AMILCAR FORD IS OUT OF CONTROL, HE IS UNPROFESSIONAL AND HAS NO ETHICS.Juan Miguel Pedroza A.K.A. Phrase THIS IS THE GUY THAT WAS DRIVING THE VICTIM'S CAR, HE DIDN'T GET CHARGED WITH ANYTHING. D.A. SAID "HE WAS TRYING TO SAVE HIS SKIN"
During the three days of preliminary hearing, JUDGE ROBERT KURTS suggested to settle rather that to take the case to trial. The best offer that FORD came up with was 10 years and no credit for the two years that she has been incarcerated. Everyone else gets TIME SERVED, why not her???? But then again, where is the justice in this case?There has been no justice, Laura has been tried and convicted in the minds of a lot of people, mainly because of the FABRICATED STORY ON THE MEDIA. A story that was provided by the AUTHORITIES.To request a petition, or get more true facts about this case contact Laura's support group atTHIS WAS JUAN PERDROZA'S FIRST STATEMENT TO THE AUTHORITIES TO THE HIGHWAY PARTOL RIGHT AFTER THE ACCIDENT. WHYDIDN'T HE THELL THEM THAT LAURA WAS TRYING TO KILL THEM???THIS IS THE MC DONALD'S AT EASTMONT MALL THAT THE INVESTIGATOR COULDN''T FIND, SO HE WENT TO ANOTHER ONE ABOUT 20 BLOCKS AWAY. NOTICE HOW CLOSE IT IS TO THE POLICE STATION?? AND HOW ABOUT THE SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS????THE INVESTIGATOR STATING THAT LAURA STARTED RAMMING THE OTHER CAR AT THE MC DONALD'S ON EASTMONT MALLINVESTIGATOR STATING THAT LAURA WAS HITTING THE OTHER CAR 12 WHILE ON THE FREEWAYMORE THAN TWO YEARS AGO DISTRICT ATTORNEY TOM ROGERS TOLD THE MEDIA THAT JUAN PEDROZA WAS NOT GOING TO BE CHARGED BECAUSE HE WAS TRYING TO SAVE HIS LIFE, HE WAS AFRAID. D.A. NOW, AMILCAR FORD STILL SAYS THATTHANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT. I TOO HAVE RIGHTS, JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE. FREEDOM OF SPEECH BEING ONE OF THEM. THE ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY AMILCAR FORD IS FORGETING, OR MAYBE HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW????? ONE OF THE KEY WITNESSES WAS ON NATIONAL TELEVISION TALKING ABOUT THE CASE. THE MONTEL WILLIAMS SHOW ON OCTOBER 29, 2004.Court fight over mom's Web site postings delayed By Eric Louie CONTRA COSTA TIMES HAYWARD - The mother of an Oakland murder suspect appeared in Alameda County Superior Court today prepared to defend her First Amendment rights.But the court date for Laura Rangel, whose postings on myspace.com are being protested by the prosecutor of her daughter's case, was put off until Sept. 15.Rangel's daughter, Laura Medina, 23, is facing second-degree murder charges and three charges of assault with a deadly weapon stemming from a 2004 car chase from Oakland to Castro Valley that ended with a fatal crash.Deputy District Attorney Amilcar Ford did not yet file the motion requesting a judge to stop her actions and, at the request of another prosecutor, the matter was delayed two weeks.Ford was gone Friday and no messages could be left on his overloaded voicemail.Rangel, who was told Monday to appear today in the Hayward court, was left wondering what will happen next. Her case has caught the attention of some legal experts, who say it is Rangel's right to post what she wants.Ford, saying Rangel will be called as a witness in her daughter's case, said Monday that her postings could influence other witnesses."As a witness you're not allowed to communicate" with other witnesses, he said.Ford objects to police reports, comments from Rangel and photos that have been posted on the Web, including a picture of him and his grandmother."He'll cave. He's got no legal ground, " attorney Joseph O'Sullivan said about Ford. "He asked for this hearing this day, and he doesn't show up?"O'Sullivan represents Medina, Rangel's daughter.Friday's brief court appearance included a short exchange between O'Sullivan, and another prosecutor when Judge Roy Hashimoto asked what kind of motion Ford will file. Hashimoto will hear this argument. A different judge will be assigned the murder trial, that begins Oct. 30."I think he wants to take away her first amendment rights, " O'Sullivan said."I suppose that's one way of looking at at, " responded Deputy District Attorney Donna McIntosh, who made note of the photo of Ford and his grandmother, retired Alameda County Judge Judith Ford, on the site.Rangel said after court that she believes Ford took the issue personally because of that photo, which she is considering removing or editing. Rangel said she doesn't know how to crop digital photos herself.Although Rangel said she'd be willing to edit the photo, she thinks the Web issue is part of "a personal vendetta" against her by the prosecutor. She said she was told to appear in court on the issue the same day she was subpoenaed as a witness, which limits her from observing her daughter's trial.Ford told the Times on Monday that he saw the posting of photos of his grandmother and that of an alleged victim in the case as a possible threat. He also said he always planned to call Rangel as a witness, because she had contact with her daughter before she turned herself in to authorities, but had not until recently so Rangel could attend Medina's previous court dates.Medina is accused of killing Michelle Dickerson, 18, of Manteca, in a June 22, 2004, accident in Castro Valley. Authorities say Medina chased the car in which Dickerson was riding from Oakland to Castro Valley after spotting her boyfriend in the vehicle.Investigators say she rammed the car repeatedly on the freeway and through a Castro Valley neighborhood, where it crashed.The trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 30. Rangel's postings can be found on the Web at www.myspace.com/fairtrialforlauramedina.Reach Eric Louie at [email protected] or 925-847-2123.ANOTHER ARTICLE FROM CNET NEWS TECHNOLOGY NEWS AND BUSINESS REPORTSSeptember 1, 2006 12:42 PM PDT Murder case questions Net's role in trials A murder case out of Hayward, Calif., has taken a twist that's got legal experts debating whether a prosecutor has the right to limit what a potential witness puts up about the case on the Web.The case, which brings up new issues about the role of the Internet during ongoing criminal proceedings, stems back to June 22, 2004, following a long car chase and fatal crash. Police allege that Laura Medina, 24, got angry after spotting her ex-boyfriend in Oakland, Calif., in a vehicle with a new girlfriend. Driving her own vehicle, Medina allegedly rammed and bumped into the other car until the driver lost control and crashed, in Castro Valley, Calif., killing an 18-year-old and injuring three others, police said.Medina, who is charged with second-degree murder and three charges of assault with a deadly weapon, has since been in jail on more than $2 million bail, according to her mother, Laura Rangel, who now has her own role in the case.The trial date had been set for this past Monday, but was continued at least in part because of a beef Alameda County Deputy District Attorney Amilcar "Butch" Ford has with Rangel's MySpace.com account.Unfamiliar with the ways of the Web, about a year ago Rangel figured out how to put up a MySpace account she initially used just as a way for her daughter's friends to send greetings and messages. Rangel said she would read the comments over the phone to Medina every day.But following the preliminary hearing, Rangel became more and more frustrated with what she says are inconsistencies and omissions in the prosecution's investigation of the incident. So she started using the MySpace account to launch a petition drive against the district attorney's office.Ford did not return a call to CNET News.com, but according to press accounts, he's concerned police reports and other items on the site have the potential to taint the trial. Ford has told the press Rangel is now a potential witness in the case, although she has not yet been subpoenaed to testify.Ford is particularly upset about a photo Rangel posted of Ford with his grandmother, Deputy District Attorney Donna McIntosh told Alameda County Superior Judge Roy Hashimoto. McIntosh stood in for Ford at a court appearance Friday morning asking for the postponement of a related hearing.The intention isn't to shut down the site, but rather "to restrain it in a reasonable way, " McIntosh told the judge.Meanwhile, Rangel says she would take down the photo of Ford if he asked her to. But she doesn't see how the court can order her to take down postings without violating her free-speech rights. And legal scholars seem to agree, so long as she's putting up public, unsealed documents.The hearing on the MySpace issues was postponed until Sept. 15. Stay tuned for more coverage.Posted by Michelle Meyers Permalink | Post a commentDAILY JOURNAL NEWSWIRE ARTICLE http://www.dailyjournal.com © 2006 The Daily Journal Corporation. All rights reserved. -------------------------------------------Message from sender: Thanks for your help with the story. Looks like legal scholars agree with you ======================August 30, 2006PROSECUTOR WANTS DEFENDANT'S MOM TO CLOSE MYSPACE PAGEBy Dennis J. Opatrny Daily Journal Staff WriterSAN FRANCISCO - An Alameda County prosecutor has accused a murder defendant's mother of inappropriately posting court documents on a popular Web site to try to garner sympathy for her daughter. The prosecutor is also upset that the posting on MySpace.com includes a photo of his own grandmother, a retired judge. Assistant District Attorney Amilcar "Butch" Ford said he doesn't mind what people say of him publicly, but "bringing someone from my family into it is just crap."Ford is prosecuting 23-year-old Laura Medina for allegedly ramming her car into another car in a jealous rage that left one passenger dead and her ex-boyfriend and two other people injured. Medina's mother, Laura Rangel, said she's just exercising her free-speech rights by using MySpace.com to draw attention to her daughter's case. Her Web site posting includes her own criticism of the prosecution and a plea for help from friends of her daughter, as well as excerpts of official documents and photos of people involved in the case. "They want me to close it down, " Rangel said. "I don't think so." The judge presiding over the murder case, Michael Gaffey, has scheduled a hearing over the MySpace.com controversy for Friday in the Hayward branch of the county's Superior Court. Legal commentators say the conflict raises novel and interesting issues about the role of the Internet during ongoing criminal proceedings. Constitutional scholar Stephen Barnett, an emeritus professor at Boalt Hall, said he doubts the prosecutor can force the defendant's mother to alter her posting. "I think free speech prevails, unless she's posting a crucial piece of evidence, like a confession that may not be admitted at trial and could prejudice a jury, " Barnett said. Among the documents posted by Rangel on MySpace is the police report on her daughter's car accident and excerpts from a court transcript of Medina's preliminary hearing. Ford said Rangel's Web posting has the potential to taint the trial by creating prejudice against the district attorney's office."I told [the judge] that this is an attempt to influence witnesses and jurors, " Ford said. He also expressed concern that some of the information Rangel has posted is not truly public and insisted he's not trying to censor her opinions. "I never said to anybody that I want to shut down her Web page, " the prosecutor said. Medina's trial, which is scheduled for Oct. 30, stems from a June 2004 car crash on a city street in Castro Valley. Police allege that Medina became angry when she saw her boyfriend with two girls in a car driven by a male friend of hers. Investigators say she gave chase and continuously bumped the other car until the driver lost control and crashed, killing an 18-year-old passenger and injuring three others, including the driver. Rangel said she posted her comments and documents on MySpace about a year ago to generate support for her daughter, who remains in jail with bail set at $2 million. "I use it to communicate with her friends, " Rangel said. "When she calls me at nighttime, I read them to her." In her commentary, Rangel argues that the police investigation was botched. She also urges readers to contact Alameda District Attorney Tom Orloff and ask him to consider taking a second look at the case. "We want the district attorney to acknowledge negligence of their investigation or rather lack of investigation, " she wrote. Rangel said she got the police report and court transcript from her daughter, who received them from authorities. She said she found the photo of Ford and his grandmother, retired Judge Judith Ford, on a Web site called California Legal Women. She hoped that by displaying photos, people browsing MySpace would connect with her daughter's story. "People are more interested in reading things with pictures, " she said. "If you just see a lot writing, you don't read it."
Barnett isn't alone in his assessment. Another legal scholar and a defense attorney representing Medina both said Rangel's MySpace.com postings are protected under the First Amendment. Peter Keane, a law professor at Golden Gate University School of Law, said Ford is "totally off base" if he's trying to censor a Web site. Keane said that a preliminary hearing transcript is a public document as part of the official court proceeding in a case. He said that once the police report has been given to the parties, they can do with it what they wish. Keane said the judge could have issued a protective order at the beginning of proceedings if he thought those documents would compromise the case. As for the picture of Ford and his grandmother, Keane said the only possible action could be a privacy lawsuit by the retired judge. "Sounds to me like he's over-sensitive, " said Keane, the former chief attorney in the San Francisco Public Defender's office. Attorney Joe O'Sullivan, Medina's def