Well, I’m glad someone has written about it.
Tim Rutten calls it government by tantrum —which try as I might not to endlessly criticize the actions of our city attorney, Carmen Trutanich—is about right when it comes to describing his latest escapade with the city’s legal system.
For those playing catch up, Trutanich is on a crusade to bring into line the scofflaw building defacers who ignore the city’s permitting process and wrap giganzoid “supergraphic” posters around multi-story structures that they personally own, in return for a handsome fees.
Good for Trutanich for holding the expensively-suited lawbreakers to answer.
To make it clear that he meant business (also a good idea; don’t put a gun on the table unless you are willing to fire it, so to speak), the city attorney chose to send a message to all the supergraphics law-ignorers by making an example of Pacific Palisades businessman Kayvan Setareh, who had evidently blithely ignored a bunch of warnings from Trutanich’s office, and wrapped an 8-story poster around a building of his located at Hollywood and Highland.
Since Setareh reportedly has other buildings and other supergraphics, this was moral equivalent of waggling his tongue at Trutanich and saying, “Naah-naah-naah-naah-naah-naah! MAKE ME, MO-FO!”
So Carmen Trutanich decided he would, indeed, make Setareh comply. All well and good. If you and I have to obey city regulations or risk icky consequences, so does the Pali-living, multiple-building-owning Setareh. Nuch, we’re behind you all the way in your quest to make the guys in pricey suits obey the law! Go get ’em!
But here’s where the tantrum came in. Trutanich had Setareh arrested. (Fine.) And slapped him with a million dollars in bail. (Not fine.)
Rutten explains the unfineness of Nuch’s bail action perfectly. (I said something similar, although not as well articulated or in as much detail, in an email to a student who is also planning to write about the issue. It will be interesting to see what he finds out.)
The problem is that even scofflaws are entitled to due process. Trutanich found a feeble-willed judge who was willing to set the landlord’s initial bail at $1 million. By having him arrested on a Friday, the city attorney essentially gave Setareh a choice: Pay the nonrecoverable $100,000 a bail bondsman would have charged to write the bond, or spend the weekend in jail, because it takes three to four days to secure release by putting up your own real property as surety. (The bail was subsequently reduced to $100,000.)
Putting aside the question of whether there’s any ethical proportionality in demanding $1 million bail for three misdemeanor charges, are we really supposed to believe that Setareh — with all his holdings in Los Angeles — is a flight risk? Bail is not a punishment; it simply is a way of enforcing a defendant’s promise to appear in court. In this case, though, Trutanich essentially imposed a choice between jail time or a $100,000 fine on a defendant who’d never had a minute — let alone a day — in court and is entitled to the presumption of innocence.
Trutanich has explained why the guy with the misdemeanors got a higher bail than most child molesters and attempted murderers by muttering something about public safety and how when there are lots of people on Hollywood Blvd. at night, why that nasty graphic could blow off fall on people and, oh, the horror! doncha know!
Or something like that.
This was even less effective as an excuse than the weak tea offered by that other recent government bully, whom Rutten also writes about, namely Washington, Sen. Jim Bunning and his appalling use of the one-man fillbuster to, until Tuesday night, prevent passage of an extension of aid to the nation’s recently jobless.
OKAY SO HERE’S A FRIENDLY NOTE to City Attorney Trutanich, Senator Bunning and all the others who have signed on to this new “Because I can!” way of holding office:
We elected you to be our representatives, to do a job in the name of the people, not to be our hired thugs.
Got it? Thank you. I’m glad we had this little talk.
You are out of your mind Celeste and your mindless attack on consevatives is making me gag when I think of the politics played by the liberals in congress and the Chicago style politician sitting in the Oval Office.
Very weak that you mention Bunning who simply said to use the new rule of law to pay for a project and Harry Jackass Soon To Be Out Of A Job Reid, who voted for the bill Bunning wanted him to abide by said no.
So pathetic you let your emotions run so crazy and let facts slip out the door.
Get a grip.
Oh Jesus, you’re a miserable, ignorant hack. Defending Bunning ? Bunning voted against “Pay-Go” but poses as a “deficit hawk.” That’s your type, obviously. Total phonies blowing gas out of their ass. (Remind us of anyone ?) This demented old fool tried to stop a vote to extend unemployment insurance and halt medicare cuts, but he did vote for every unfunded POS legislation little W Bush put in front of him when there was no economic crisis. The extension of jobless benefits and COBRA in a deep recession was exactly the kind of emergency legislation specifically exempted from Pay-Go. Remove your head from your ass.
A weak weasel such as yourself musters the hubris to tell Celeste she’s “out of your mind”, “mindless” and “pathetic”? She makes you gag ? Really ? Why are you always hanging out here ? All you do is make me laugh, sucker. You’re nothing but a bundle of petty resentments and tired bullshit. It’s barely worth commenting on, but I do enjoy watching you go even more nuts when you’re called on your crazy.
Celeste, it’s a pity that you are so willing to drink the koolaide that Tim Rutten’s peddling. It’s poison, doubtless made all the more toxic by that bastion of untruthfulness, disgraced defense attorney Leslie Abramson – Rutten’s life partner.
Of course $1M is high bail for any crime – misdemeanor or felony. But the point that Rutten makes, and that you’ve swallowed hook, line and sinker is totally misleading. Of course, given that Abramson probably spoon-fed Rutten as much anti-prosecution ant-judge bile as he could lap up, the fact that his hit piece completely fails to offer any possible legal justification for high bail is conveniently missing.
Rutten (and you) warmly embrace the notion that the accused ‘businessman’ presents absolutely no flight risk whatsoever, as if that were the only reason for setting bail.
You might at least be fair minded enough to take a look at California Penal Code Section 1275(a) – Tim Rutten won’t look because it defeats his position.
“In setting, reducing, or denying bail, the judge or magistrate shall take into consideration
the protection of the public,
the seriousness of the offense charged,
the previous criminal record of the defendant, and
the probability of his or her appearing at trial or hearing of the case.
The public safety shall be the primary consideration.”
Clearly the “probability of his or her appearing at trial” is but one of 4 considerations, and public safety is the primary one, and that is why bail was set so high. The risks that these unauthorized supergraphics present was well described to the much maligned judge. It wasn’t the possibility of 4,000 square feet of vinyl falling down that impressed her all that much.
It was the statement of a fire captain who described the very real dangers a firefighter would face if he or she had to tackle a fire at this 12 story office building where the majority of the windows were obscured by the Dreamworks. Windows are one place that people trapped inside a burning building can be rescued when smoke and fire below makes it impossible to leave the building. It is also one way that a fire can be tackled from above. But when you cannot see the windows, it is very unsafe for a firefighter to try to guess where the window is, and then have to cut through the vinyl to get to the window. Imagine how much worse that gets if the vinyl itself catches fire? Why should the work of firefighters be made even more dangerous than it already is, just because of the vanity of big Hollywood who wanted an advert in full view of the Oscars cameras, and the greed of a ‘businessman’ who wanted to make a fast buck?
The public safety concerns were real and validly considered by Trutanich in asking for the bail, and validly considered by the judge who agreed and granted the bail.
Other factors in assessing bail that were relevant here are the defendant’s previous record – he has a record. It’s not one of violence, but one that shows that he doesn’t follow court orders promptly.
The attacks on City Trutanich and Judge Mildred Escobedo were completely unfair and totally biased. I am sorry that you were conned by the desperate attempts of Rutten to mislead you and the other Los Angeles Times reader. It was a cheap trick and is typical of the type of rigorous defense that our legal system requires to protect a defendant’s rights.
But if I understand the pitch of your comment, as well that of Rutten, you aren’t expressing any concern for the innocent occupant of a burning building who cannot escape because of vinyl cladding. You don’t care about the added risk to a firefighter in trying to rescue an innocent occupant. No, you’re more upset because Mr. Setareh and Dreamworks did not get their way, and it was a non-Democrat who took care of the public’s safety.
Shame on you.
Windscale,
I appreciated your perspective and I don’t know that Rutten was right to slam the judge. But, I drank nobody’s cool-aide. As one who covers criminal justice on a regular basis, I’d been muttering for days over the bail but, for one reason or another, had not posted about it.
I’m completely behind Mr. Trutanich’s willingness to nail Setareh and his like (which if you reread my post you would see clearly). I have no sympathy for the guy and think it probably did him good to spend a little quality time in CJ or wherever he was housed.
BUT, and this is a big but, I think the city attorney was entirely out of line in going for that million dollar bail. I think it’s preposterous and a very bad precedent.
As for this: You don’t care about the added risk to a firefighter in trying to rescue an innocent occupant. No, you’re more upset because Mr. Setareh and Dreamworks did not get their way, and it was a non-Democrat who took care of the public’s safety.
Shame on you.
That’s completely ridiculous on all levels and offensive as well.
I don’t care about the safety of firefighters and of building occupants? Right. That’s my M.O. You got me there.
By the way, I endorsed Mr. Trutanich on this blog and personally voted for him. But since then I have been very concerned by some of his actions, this among them.
And another thing: I don’t separate life into Republican and Democrat, liberal and conservative.
I’m sorry that you do. It’s precisely that willful splintering that is poisoning the public dialogue and certainly the political process.
Celeste
And another thing: I don’t separate life into Republican and Democrat, liberal and conservative. I’m sorry that you do. It’s precisely that willful splintering that is poisoning the public dialogue and certainly the political process.
It was Rutten who made it an anti-Republican issue (even though Trutanich is a Decline to State), I lumped you in as you embraced his divisiveness. Perhaps you should have stated what you did not find acceptable in Rutten’s opinion – like slamming a judge.
But for all you say, you do not seem willing to accept that the calculation of bail in this case was fully within 1275a PC. Sure it was high, but wasn’t the risk to public safety?
Hall of Fame pitcher Bunning wasn’t saying, “Because I can.” He was saying, “Because you won’t.”
Jim Bunning: Why I took a stand
Read it. How can you disagree?
I am pretty sure the “risk to public safety” provision is about doing bad/dangerous things once you are out on bail. So as long as nobody thinks Setareh is going to go around putting up more graphics (or, as is the more traditional concern, shooting people) the judge shouldn’t rule that he’s a public safety risk.
Mavis, “I am pretty sure the “risk to public safety†provision is about doing bad/dangerous things once you are out on bail.” Try to overcome the politics here. The logic of your argument is that he’s only a ‘danger’ if he puts up more supergraphics. What about the existing one? Do you see the problem now?
Windscale was right to call you on not caring about firefighters Celeste, based on this in sarcasm in your post:
“…by muttering something about public safety and how when there are lots of people on Hollywood Blvd. at night, why that nasty graphic could blow off fall on people and, oh, the horror! doncha know!”
Oh, the horror indeed. In other words, these are trumped up charges and there is no threat to public safety, according to you.
Anyway, whatever. The bail was right on the money, as far as I’m concerned. I think it’s nuts that you compare this to other social justice cases. Wtf?! Setareh has always had the option to TAKE THE GRAPHIC DOWN. Take the thing down and guess what? No jail time, no bail.
As far as losing $100K to a bail bondsman, what is to Setareh? I’m sure he’s already made that much just on this graphic. That amount of money is nothing to him compared to what a red light camera ticket costs a janitor who makes minimum wage or to an unemployed person with no income.
I am tired of the vitriol and disrespect that’s thrown at judges. You wrote nothing in this post to distance yourself from that.
For once, a rich person had to pay a bail amount that was comparable in hardship to what a poor person who breaks the law has to experience.
That IS social justice, Celeste.
And now—to paraphrase Alvy in Annie Hall—I gotta go. I’m due back on planet earth.
Just saw Reg’s respnse and of course he goes off the deep end. You know I read some of your comments on Marc Cooper’s blog, you’re a clown Reg with no hope of ever getting better and way to deranged to take seriously. Looks like lots of people see you that way.
I never go nuts Reg or take the comments of an internet troll like yourself seriously.
clf,
I don’t agree with you about the bail at all. But quite separate from that, I honestly do think I was much too flip about the public safety issue. As a consequence, I’m going to look further into it next week.
About the judge, I don’t think we need to go around judge bashing either. But I simply don’t understand why she cosigned on this outsized bail.
Kudos to you Celeste for having the grace to say you may have been too flip about the bail. I do hope you will follow up. Speak to Trutanich, speak to the Fire Captain who will tell you the very real dangers this type of supergraphic presents to them.
As for not understanding the judge ‘cosigning’ the bail, please do some research. Judges do not cosign bail, they set bail. Sometimes they agree with the bail sought by prosecutors, sometimes they do not.
Look at the bail set in the second case regarding the Asics sign diagonally across the intersection from the Dragon sign that caused all this fuss. There the bail is $1M amongst the 8 defendants. And while the individual bail amounts range between $250k and $100k, remember, the Asics ad is much smaller than the Dragon supergraphic.
I use “cosign” as an expression. I think you can safely assume I know how bail works.
But I now want to know more about the Asics bails. Appreciate the information.
Right on, celeste – and note how the day after Rutten’s dead-on piece came out, a cowardly UNSIGNED Editorial from the (S)limes editorial board came out praising their guy whose endorsement they continued to justify in purely demagoguic terms, by vilifying literally everyone at city Hall and anyone who’s ever done business with or shaken hands with anyone at City Hall as criminals and renegade gunslingers. A term some would say more aptly applies to Trutanich. It’s no coincidence that Laura Chick called out Trutanich as a “demogogue” as well as liar (her word, as we all know) for using this exact same tactic to campaign.
Sure there are unsavory characters lurking about in City Hall and doing business with them but the notion that anyone who opposes them and threatens to sue them and jail them willy-nilly (note also AEG/ Staples Live CEO Leiwike, his top executive and lawyer(!), when he admitted he had NO legal justification just “theories of legal structures” he rambled on about to the Daily News – how many months ago was it that he barged into Council threatening “legal aspects” yet to be named or proven?; Jan Perry his esteemed “client,” ditto the Controllers, volunteer planning commissioners before he even took office; the singling out of those who dared follow City Council ordinance on medical cannabis instead of his/Cooley’s (and he really is just Cooley’s hands and legs and mouth at the city level, on our dime) radical interpretation that all exchange of money is illegal, and ONLY when sick people cultivate and share their own pot, might it be OK, like the Organica dispensary owner in Venice or poor former mayoral candidate/ minister Craig X Rubin; on and on…
Proving they both follow Cooley’s dictum that “the City Council — AKA, governing body of LA and Trutanich’s boss – are so irrelevant they’re not even funny.” Two guys “governing” by turning the “bully pulpit” of their legal jobs, with ALL the city and county’s lawyers and legal firepower at their disposal while Trutanich deprives the allegedly similarly important Controller of even ONE lawyer to defend herself, are a pair of scary dudes and the real “wild west gunslingers” if you ask me. NO WAY can we have Cooley and Trutanich move upto Attorney General and DA, respectively. (Rutten’s very inconsistent in holding to his paper’s party line supporting Cooley, even IF he’s running against a Republican in the primary who calls him soft on Three Strikes: the one thing Cooley has RIGHT, so he’s “making up for it” by going after ALL medical cannabis dispensaries and Roman Polanski as symbol of “Hollywood elitism and moral decay.”)
Not to mention the similar “anger management issues” obvious even toward the most humble and vulnerable, like medical cannabis patients he verbally attacked inches from their face at a “nice meet” city hall meeting a few months ago, screaming at one cancer survivor who didn’t buy his argument about all pot being sold laced with toxic pesticides by criminal Mexican cartels (profiled on LA Citywatch incl. video, on blogs like WarOnMe.blogspot.com written by a severely ill MMJ patient, and Don Duncan’s aboutmedicalmarijuana.com, who like the whole community had been duped into campaigning FOR Trutanich. Saying one thing then throwing those who voted for you for that reason under the bus, is just one indication of someone who will say anything to get elected then “govern by fiat,” from the prosecutorial and NOT legislataive branch, Rutten’s and others’ (L A City Charter expert R. Sonnenschein, e.g., in an earlier Times Op Ed) well-stated point.
“Very Worried”: Ever since Trutanich got elected I’ve had two concerns about you; 1) Who pays you to write this drivel and 2) if not paid then why are you not in therapy. Can’t get a response.
Why do people change their name so much here? Stick to your guns and take the heat.
Hey Celeste, I’ve seen judges issue million dollar and no bail warrants on habitual drunks for failing to appear on drunk in public charges so where I know what bail is supposed to be about piss, you off a judge and you’re at their mercy, trust me on that.
People want to give the finger to the law, the law should be allowed to give it back in a certain way. Sometimes people gripe about the little things that don’t amount to anything but people posturing. All it is amounts to a little bit of theatre.
surefire your last comment is not only incoherent, it has no discernable bearing on the issue at hand so please forgive me if I just ignore it. And Windscale accusing Celeste of partisan party blindness while repeating that Trutanich is a “decline to state” is laughable. He became such after being a lifelong Republican only cynically, to run and fool the likes of Celeste (and her mentor Marc Cooper “the blogfather” as he calls him, Al Mittelstaedt who weighed in similarly on this blog, and other – sorry, in this case I feel it applies – naive and easily duped libs, into voting for him as “the neutral candidate” beholden to no party.
Significantly, DA Steve Cooley who recruited him, used his clout as most powerful DA in the state and allegedly country, and “tamed him” (long enough to run, anyway, but just barely) is now running openly as a Republican – having expressed the opinion in some MSM that although Democrats are a majority in California, they are divided amongst themselves (so true) and are more apathetic voters, while the Republicans “vote as a bloc” and always get out to defeat taxes: which were on the ballot in both the Primary and the general for the CA election (and mayoral, in the first case).
Of course this partisanship was clear all along to anyone who’d bothered to look: endorsements and money from Red Country, Met News-Enterprise the legal journal (owned by lifelong Republican Party activist, USC alum and Cooley BFF Roger M. Grace), Republican County BOS supervisors, Zine, Kevin James and Doug McIntyre…really!
Cooley’s “coming out” (for fundraising purposes, I guess) is especially interesting since I recall he sued some poor slob, an Asst. DA, who dared run against him and “out him” as a Republican, claiming at the time that it was such a negative stigma that it amounted to defamation! (This is just another example of using the bully pulput to bully, to paraphrase Rutten, seems to me; the fact that the Asst. DA’s in his office are daring to sue him as a group for retaliating against those who speak their minds against him, or try to unionize, also says a lot about where he and Trutanich really stand when it comes to party-line attitudes about unions, free speech, the very nature of the democratic process.)
I mean of course as “(s)he calls him” that is Cooper, “the blogfather.” Sorry about the open parens and the rest but you get the gist. That I am VERY WORRIED about what this guy and his enabler(s) mean for the democratic (lower case) process.
Greeneberg’s cartoon in LAObserved is very apt: a giant supergraphic of Trutanich’s Marxist-era head glaring down over the banner “OBEY,” and a woman saying, “that’s the scariest supergraphic I ever saw!”
If you want to see what kinds of crimes Trutanich is committing look at case 8CA10541 in the criminal courts buiiding on Temple. There a victim/defendant was denied bail for absolutely no reason. That case is a pandora’s box and should be investigated if you want to see govermental waste at its worst.
There are many completely corrupt judges in the Los Angeles Superior Courts. Do not be so sure of their fairness. You need to witness it to understand that Judges are politicians and many are sociopaths who will do anything to keep thier jobs.