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| and the verdict is...for those who are interested, i was on jury duty for a federal case for the past week... and here is the article that reports our verdict. it wasn't hard to come to a unanimous decision, but my heart went out to the elderly lady and the three boys, especially the youngest one. it seemed like the mother (who is now in prison for animal cruelty) concocted the whole story and decided to sue the city in order to get bail money. regardless, the entire trial process was very long and tedious at times, but enjoyable because of the other jurors on the panel. we really clicked and laughed a lot together. it seriously made the time go so much faster...
No evidence found in shelter raid suit
By Wendy Thomas Russell, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 02/12/2008 09:10:16 PM PST
LOS ANGELES - Four volunteers of a no-kill animal shelter who claimed to have been victimized during a police raid lost their lawsuit Tuesday after a federal jury found no evidence to support their claims.
Seyhan Vergun and three other plaintiffs had argued that police unlawfully detained them and used excessive force against them outside Noah's Ark Animal Rescue, 1333 Redondo Ave., in August 2006. Vergun's daughter, Alexia Tiraki-Kyrklund, owned the shelter and was convicted last year of abusing more than 150 dogs in her care. She is now in prison.
The U.S. District Court jury [that's me and 7 others! hehe] took about an hour to deliver its verdict following a five-day trial before Judge F. James Otero.
Deputy City Attorneys Monte Machit and Cristyl Meyers, who defended the case on behalf of the accused Long Beach police officers, argued that the plaintiffs - Vergun, two men and a 13-year-old boy - had concocted the tales of detention and abuse. The only interaction the officers had with the volunteers was asking them for their identification, he said.
"Absolutely no force was used," Machit said after Tuesday's verdict. "The detention was absolutely reasonable in light of all the strange and unusual circumstances. And, as it turns out ... Ms. Kyrklund was arrested later that day for felony animal cruelty."
"This case," Machit added, "was really about just very good police work."
While Animal Control authorities carried out the raid, it was a Long Beach police officer, Karen Dougherty, who alerted them to the problem. She had been responding to a silent-alarm call next door when she noticed a stench of urine and ammonia emanating from the shelter, Machit said. Vergun was parked outside at the time, he said, and immediately began accusing Dougherty of harassing shelter employees.
Vergun, as well as volunteers Estaban Toribio, Jorge Casique and Angel De Luna claimed they were detained for an hour on the hot cement. The men said they were thrown against a car and manhandled, and De Luna claimed that Dougherty had used a stun gun on him. He later acknowledged that she had not actually used the stun gun, but rather had threatened the group with it.
The raid on Noah's Ark led to the discovery of 299 dogs and cats living in squalor.
Authorities described a sweltering, poorly ventilated and overcrowded warehouse smeared with urine and feces; filthy animals with severe respiratory, skin and ear infections, open wounds, matted fur and runny eyes; animals whose paws were soaked in urine; and dogs with severely overgrown nails, indicating they had not been allowed to walk around for long, if at all.
The Los Angeles County district attorney's office charged Tiraki-Kyrklund and Gloria Ramos - De Luna's guardian, according to the lawsuit - with multiple counts of animal cruelty. Jurors who heard the criminal case split their verdict, convicting each woman of three counts of animal cruelty relating to the dogs only. They issued acquittals on eight counts, and deadlocked 11-1 in favor of guilt on another two, which related to cruelty to the cats.
Tiraki-Kyrklund was sentenced to 16 months in prison, while Ramos - considered the less culpable of the two - received probation.
Their criminal attorney, Todd Krauss, works out of the same law office as Peter Williamson, the civil attorney who brought the lawsuit against the city.
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| happy belated 2008..
2007 has undoubtedly been a year of transitions -
physically (move from japan back to the states...);
career (teacher to... student-to-be);
financially (free of debt to back in debt);
family (new baby, changes in dynamics, endless miscommunication);
church community (first time being a part of a church plant);
friends (re-establishing old ones, making new ones, losing acquaintences, meeting new ones)
friends' new babies and marriages.. and unfortunately, even divorces
changes are inevitable, but every time it happens, i kick and scream... but after it happens, it's not that bad, and i realize that God gives me just enough and what i can handle at the moment. for that i'm so so thankful.
i don't like new beginnings, but i'm slooooooowly learning to embrace this phase of my life and anticipate what He'll do through these new changes. slowly...
oh, and yay, my gre's are over. my scores are not the greatest, but it's decent. i'm just GLAD it's over! so glad it's over. don't know why these tests are so hard for me. :(
oh, and this 'once' soundtrack is pretty awesome. got it from malin, and have been listening to it for weeks. | | |
| no life until the 21st... can't wait till my gres are over.. | | |
| work is so interesting. when you work, you can't wait till the weekends and until you retire. when you don't, you can't wait to get back into it. part time is ok, but it's not consistent, and yes, making and having money does help.. school is interesting, too. studying will be a part of my life for the next couple years, and it was exciting to be back at it after a decade of NOT being in it... but since my life is so different from when i was a college student, it's a lot harder than i had imagined. and not to mention family issues... *sigh* being back in america has definitely been humbling so far.. in so many aspects. i'm learning about dependence on a whole new different level..  oh, and i really do miss good sushi! sharona took me to a great one in little tokyo a while ago, but i miss the accessibility and the good prices. anybody know of any really good (and somewhat reasonably priced) sushi places?
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