A GOOD EXAMPLE of WHY BOB CONAWAY AS DISTRICT ATTORNEY WOULD BE BETTER THAN SAME-OLE-RAMOS)

How?

Focus should be made on the FHA “Back to Work” Program

There is news being reported about warrants floating out there from the current DA's office in San Bernardino to get a law firm's records which may prove some type of fraud injurying persons with (or formerly with) home mortgages.
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Aside from the fact it is years after people have been impacted (and the banks, loan servicers, foreclosure people committing fraud and or unfair and or deceptive business practices have been untouched by the San Bernardino County DA), there is nothing being done for the victims today, now.
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As part of my administration as San Bernardino County District Attorney I would be remedy focused. To quote the incumbent Mike Ramos, "you can't prosecute yourself out of every problem". 

About the Program

Under the federal “Back to Work – Extenuating Circumstances” program, if one had a foreclosure, short sale, deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, or bankruptcy, a homeowner may qualify for a new home loan if the former homeowner is back to work and can document the extenuating circumstances.

Do You Qualify?

FHA will consider former homeowners for eligibility if the former homeowner had a financial hardship in the past but can now document the follow circumstances :

1. The "Back-to-Work" applicant meets FHA loan requirements
2. The "Back-to-Work" applicant can document the mortgage or credit problems resulted from a financial hardship
3. The "Back-to-Work" applicant has re-established a responsible credit history
4. The "Back-to-Work" applicant has completed HUD-approved housing counseling

A lender will first have to determine if the "Back-to-Work" applicant meets FHA loan requirements before he/she can apply for a FHA loan under the Back to Work program. The "Back-to-Work" applicant will need to explain how the financial hardship was something beyond his/her control that reduced his/her income or caused him/her to lose employment. If the "Back-to-Work" applicant's household income dropped by 20% or more for at least six months, it may count for this type of financial hardship.
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To re-establish credit the "Back-to-Work" applicant must have a 12 month record of on-time rental housing payments with no delinquencies, and not have been 30 days late on more than one non-housing loan payment. If the "Back-to-Work" applicant still has any open collection or judgment accounts, then a “capacity analysis” will be done to see if  he/she can repay those creditors.
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It's time to change DA and really help folks! Press releases about delayed and remedy-less paper is not what victims need.

Victorville's SEC Problem

The article offers some interesting ramblings but suggests another hangman's noose can be retired.
VV officials answer, deny SEC complaint | officials, sec, angeles - High Desert News.
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The ongoing problems with local corruption ignore even more obvious facts.
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If the water is polluted under the base, what was the land ever worth.
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Victorville knew full well what the land wasn't worth.
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Keep in mind, VVEDA (Victorville Economic Development Authority, an alter ego of the City of Victorville) pushed the Air Force to deed over the air force base and Victorville's/VVEDA's litigation against Adelanto forced the water rights to be surrendered to VVEDA.
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There is all sorts of waste underground (disclosed in the early 1990s by the Air Force and EPA oversight through the Technical Review Process), which is being ignored or under treated and given the old saying that "desert without potable water is worthless sand", it was worthless [except to the bottler that used some of the water for softdrinks (yuk) and a power company for their cooling towers].
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So what was it that Victorville was selling at the former air force base? The value of the crust was also impacted by the "boneyard" characteristic of the land use [it was a place to park busted a** airplanes for salvage operations and some limited repair work].
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Oh yeah, lets not forget the wind turbine farm fiasco.
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The corruption goes back a long way with Victorville. The housing was usable for low income families, but because it would increase the inventory of low income housing, the houses were allowed to crumble, so rents could be higher for the local landlord class [in Orange County, federal buildings were turned over to homeless and low income projects].
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The hospital had been prior to base closure upgraded and had a state-of-the-art burn unit facility--it was stripped down and abandoned--perhaps because it would be bad for the local hospitals' revenues?
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The modernized pistol range was torn down, which could have been contracted out to anyone of several local gun enthusiast organizations for profit.
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The City's council races (the council oversaw the VVEDA operations) had contributions from every developer in the region.
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A problem is that everyone who is a defendant in the case (I submit the people running the whole show are not in the case as they maybe should be?) drank the same Koolaide and likely believed their yarn about the values set out in promotional documents (which could make selling intent as an element of the federal crimes, tough). I also sense that the length of time has allowed a lot to escape scrutiny, so don't be surprised when some deal is cut so the SEC does not embarrass itself with a poorly prepared case. Heh, this is the San Bernardino High Desert--the only place a Charter School can fleece kids of a hundred million and no one has been convicted, the County could be fleeced a hundred million and no one has yet to spending time for the crime(s) and now it seems certain investors will be similarly screwed. That's what happen when you have the wrong people in leadership!!

Governor Brown Appoints a former San Bernardino County Sheriff & SEBA President after the DA's Office Buries Cases Against POST Certification Cheaters??

Per the Governor's office's press release, Governor Brown appointed Laren Leichliter, 48, of Highland, to the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training. Leichliter has held multiple positions at the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department since 1991, including deputy sheriff and fiscal clerk. He was a fiscal clerk at the San Bernardino County Hospital from 1985 to 1991. Leichliter is president of the San Bernardino County Safety Employees’ Benefit Association.
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Leichliter may well run a questionable shop at SEBA. After a recent forum where three San Bernardino sheriff candidates were presented with supposedly random questions (in "unmarked" envelopes) , SEBA gets back 29.4% of the ballots from members of SEBA and Leichliter's team announces an endorsement of the association for incumbent (appointed incumbent) Sheriff McMahon (the other 2 candidates were Clifton Harris & Paul Schraeder). The truth is that 70.4% of the membership DID NOT endorse McMahon (their appointed boss). Leichliter who will now sit on the POST Commission board took a slant from a no-confidence vote that no one else could possibly justify (except McMahon and his campaign guru Ellis). Wow.
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With Sheriff's department management folks signing off on fraudulent POST certification classes and pending charges, does this appointment make sense? Is this the truthful leader the POST Commission needs?
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See excellent Sun article at:http://www.sbsun.com/general-news/20131106/two-years-after-indictments-sb-county-sheriffs-post-corruption-case-fizzles#.UntI2Rc_5rg.email.

Were the POST certification scandal cases fizzled out to open the path case for a Leichliter appointment?
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Why wasn't the employee association (SEBA) involved to ferret out what was a lax policy problem vs what was poor management and or oversight vs what was actual criminal conduct. The people signing off on the POST certification classes/work were members of SEBA,  Leichliter's colleagues and or friends.
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By fizzling out the corruption cases,  Lechliter and his buds don't have to answer those questions.
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Is this just old fashioned failure to investigate and failure to hold management who should know and care responsible or does this suggest the culture of cover-up has (a) new champion(s)?
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Our District Attorney Needs to Intake his cases to make sure Veterans & or Servicepersons eligible for Penal Code 1170.9 diversion are advised of that potential benefit at the earliest time in the proceedings

Section 1170.9 of the state California Penal Code comes into play when the defendant claims that “he or she committed the offense as a result of sexual trauma, traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, or mental health problems stemming from service in the United States military.”
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If a vet or serviceperson makes that claim, the court must hold a hearing, and the judge must determine the answers to a number of questions: Is the person (or was he/she) a member of the U. S. military? Does the defendant suffer from sexual trauma, traumatic brain injury, PTSD, substance abuse, or mental health problems as a result of his/her service? Is there a treatment program that’s appropriate for him/her? Is the serviceperson or vet eligible for probation?
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If the answer to all of these questions is yes, the judge has the authority to place the vet and or serviceperson on probation, and to order him/her into an appropriate treatment program for a period no longer than what would have been served in state prison or county jail.
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If the serviceperson and or vet do well in the treatment program and comply with the conditions of their probation, the vet and or serviceperson can request a follow-up hearing. Effective January 1, 2013, the judge at this hearing will have the authority to end the probation before its scheduled expiration date, and to cancel any fines, fees, and assessments stemming from the conviction (except for court-ordered victim restitution). In many cases, the judge will also have the authority to reduce a felony to a misdemeanor, and to order expungement of the record of your offense.

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Questions: Who is going to tell that vet or serviceperson about their potential diversion options if he or she don't know about it (and his his lawyer doesn't)? (2) Since knowing about such options would be crucial for there to be informed consent in the plea bargaining process, why isn't the DA's office asking the threshold questions to honor the sacrifice of our vets and servicepersons??

On the prosecutorial duty to disclose information--is it right to unethically withhold information even though technically permissible under case law??

American Bar Association's Rule 3.8(d) is more demanding than the constitutional case law in that it requires the disclosure of evidence or information favorable to the defense without regard to the anticipated impact of the evidence or information on a trial's outcome.  ABA Rule 3.8(d) requires prosecutors to disclose favorable evidence so that the defense can decide on its utility. The ethical duty of disclosure is not limited to just admissible 'evidence' [but] it also disclosure of favorable 'information'. Though possibly inadmissible itself, favorable information may lead a defendant's lawyer to admissible testimony or other evidence or assist him [sic] in other ways, such as in plea negotiations.For the disclosure to be timely, it must be made early enough that the information can be used effectively. . . . Once known to the prosecutor, [evidence and information] must be disclosed under Rule 3.8(d) as soon as reasonably practical.  Among the most significant purposes for which disclosure must be made under Rule 3.8(d) is to enable defense counsel to advise the defendant regarding whether to plead guilty. 

Attorney General Eric Holder recently threw out the corruption case against Alaska Senator Ted Stevens because Holder concluded that DOJ lawyers violated their obligation to disclose information to the defense.

We need to make sure the notch-on-the-gun hunger some prosecutors embrace for visibility, promotion and/or re-electability is not satiated by unethical non-disclosure.

Full Text of Rule 3.8 @ http://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publications/model_rules_of_professional_conduct/rule_3_8_special_responsibilities_of_a_prosecutor.html

DA RACE for 2014 is ..............

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
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Inspired in part by the "Kumbayah" Kamala Harris & Mike Ramos fund raiser yesterday [and by the utter failure of Mikes Ramos over his past two terms to even get to trial the Charter School & Colonies case, the sentencing favoritism for "Friends of Mike Ramos" & the continuing abuse of the DA's office's charging authority to target people based on their ethnicity, incomes and politics, Bob Conaway decided to join the race for the top cop spot.
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Ramos has allowed environmental and civil rights crimes to be committed in our communities, and those committing those crimes to act with impunity. Mike Ramos shows a resistance to the spirit of change and reform required by AB 109 (the Realignment Legislation). It makes no sense to talk about drug seizures and the community impact from drugs on the street while ignoring the poisoning of our air and water by corporate America, the illegal foreclosure of homes by financial institutions and code enforcement harassment of small businesses. It makes no sense to make people of color serve time in county jails for offenses while "Friends of Mike Ramos" pay fines or are allowed to walk.  How Mike Ramos let Mitzelfelt get away with his false statements on campaign statements (hiding some of his developer money sources), current Supervisor James Ramos' failure to report timely and under penalty of perjury six figure contributions to his college board campaign and how Kamala Harris did not prosecute Mike Ramos for misleading (and therefore false) statements of his 700 forms are all examples of taking people off the prosecutorial target range for political reasons.

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In the last election cycle Bob, the endorsed democrat came within 4% of forcing a runoff with Ramos despite being outspent over 25+ to 1 so money and glitcy fund raisers notwithstanding, this may be, the Good Lord willing and assuming Ramos does not trump up some charges against me or my clients, a race for the books.
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Bob Conaway

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY DOES NOT HAVE A COMMUNITY RELATIONS or CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSION [nor the District Attorney a Civil Rights Law Enforcement Program]--WHY??

A glance at the San Bernardino County website in an attempt to see if there is a structure that gives people a place to grieve about civil rights violations or to discuss government policies concerning same [http://www.sbcounty.gov/cob/main/OtherServices-bcc-BoardRoster.aspx] revealed that the County does not advertise the existence of a Community Relations, Human Relations or a Civil Rights Commission.
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At the San Bernardino District Attorney's office's website [http://www.sbcountyda.org/]  the categories under the "Action Center" include:

Marsy's Law
High Profile Cases
Apply for Victim Compensation
Inmate Locator
Find Case Information
Report a Crime
Report Workers' Comp Violation
Report Real Estate Fraud
Report Welfare Fraud
Report Auto Fraud
Report Identity Theft
My Day in Court

Victims of discriminatory abuses by private (and public officials) are marginalized by the focus AWAY from civil rights (so how can that be tolerated?) The Unruh Civil Rights Act found at California Civil Code 51 et seq, specifically contemplates enforcement action by District Attorneys (like Mike Ramos)---so the mandate of the law is not even a thought in the process with the current DA Mike Ramos?? Sad. Another reason for a change in the Board of Supervisor's leadership, the Sheriff and the District Attorney?

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As a candidate for the District Attorney's top spot, I would form a civil rights unit in the DA's office, staff it and work with community groups and any commissions established by the County to hear grievances and complaints, with an eye to making the DA's office a part of the team the law contemplates as players in the effort to enforce our civil rights laws.

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Sincerely,

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Bob Conaway