Sanger Swysen & Dunkle Attorneys Criminal Defense Civil Litigation

https://www.davisvanguard.org//horrific-stories-of-neglec/

https://www.independent.com//lawanda-lyons-pruitt-a-trust/

As a litigation law firm handling civil and criminal matters, Sanger Swysen & Dunkle has always been - and is now - available at all times (24/7) for urgent matters by calling the office at 805 962-4887. SS&D has been using the latest technology for some time and we are fortunate to be able to represent our clients and to consult with new clients while complying with the Governor's orders and CDC recommendations. We are fully staffed and the attorneys and other professional...s in the firm are available to conduct business by telephone, video conference and, where necessary, by court appearance. We also accept collect calls from people in jails and prisons. SS&D is also acutely aware that the orders of the various courts - on the county, state and federal levels -- have made our jobs more challenging while collaterally causing potential harm to our clients. We have had long term relationships with the courts and various governmental agencies, as well as with local, state and national criminal defense and civil litigation organizations. We are making not only individual, but systemic efforts to make sure that the legal needs of our clients are being met.

Sanger Swysen & Dunkle Prevail in California Supreme Court "Petitioner, William Tupua Satele, asked the superior court to release ballistics evidence for expert testing in preparation for filing a habeas corpus petition. The court denied the request under the authority of Penal Code section 1054.9, which governs discovery in habeas corpus proceedings involving certain judgments, including a sentence of death. Specifically, the court found that Satele had failed to show good c...ause to believe his access to the evidence was reasonably necessary to obtain relief, as the statute requires. The trial court erred. Section 1054.9’s good cause requirement applies only to physical evidence in possession of the prosecution and law enforcement authorities, not to evidence held by the court. Court documents, including exhibits, are generally open to public inspection and may be released subject to such conditions the court deems necessary to safeguard their integrity. A threshold showing of good cause is not required. We issue a writ of mandate directing the trial court to vacate its order and conduct further proceedings consistent with this opinion." Sanger Swysen & Dunkle, Robert M. Sanger and Stephen K. Dunkle for Petitioner. https://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/S248492.PDF

In a petition filed with the court earlier this month, lawyers for Cleamon Johnson argue jurors cannot fairly decide whether to put someone to death while the moratorium is in place. To return a fair decision, the lawyers argue, jurors have to believe their choice could result in the defendant being put to death. Under Newsom’s order, the jurors will be unable to assume a death sentence will result in an execution and be unable to comprehend fully the gravity of their decis...ion, they argue. In light of this paradigm shift, a California jury in a capital case cannot be expected to provide a fair and reasoned penalty-phase determination, the lawyers wrote. Johnson’s lawyers filed the petition with the Supreme Court on July 1 after an appeals court judge dismissed the argument. The next day, the Supreme Court asked prosecutors to respond. The Supreme Court also halted a separate death penalty case after lawyers in that case made a similar argument. Those actions indicate the court is taking the argument seriously, said Robert Sanger, one of Johnson’s lawyers. https://www.sacbee.com//capitol-alert/article232710122.html

Remembering Justice John Paul Stevens

Death penalty lawyer and DPF board member Robert M. Sanger believes that the moratorium Gov. Gavin Newsom announced in March created a paradigm shift in the reality of California’s death penalty. And the result is that a California jury in a capital case cannot be expected to provide a fair and reasoned penalty-phase determination free from speculation. https://deathpenalty.org//paradigm-shift-californias-deat/

Judicial Council Adopts New Emergency Rules https://jcc.legistar.com/View.ashx

The attorneys say a fair decision is impossible given that Newsom granted a reprieve to the more than 700 prisoners on death row and had the state’s execution chamber dismantled with much fanfare in front of cameras. It’s just really impossible for a jury to go into a jury room and say, ‘We’re going to ignore that,’ said Robert Sanger, a defense attorney who first made this argument on behalf of a defendant in a separate, unrelated capital case in Los Angeles County. Sang...er’s client is Cleamon Johnson, a gang leader known as Big Evil who is charged with five counts of murder in a case coming up for trial in January. https://www.latimes.com//death-penalty-california-supreme-