aawas re) 10 M1 12 14 15 16 7 18 19 20 2 22 23 24 25 26 27 ANNE MARIE SCHUBERT District Attomey Sacramento County 901 G Street Sacramento, CA 95814-1858 Phone (916) 874-6637 SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF SACRAMENTO ‘THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, NO. 1500640 DEPT. 8 Plaintiff, NOTICE, MOTION AND DECLARATION TO AMEND vs. COMPLAINT Maile Hampton Hearing: 4/30/15 Time: 8:30 AM Defendant. TO THE DEFENDANT HEREINABOVE AND TO THE DEFENSE ATTORNEY: i NOTICE YOU AND EACH OF YOU WILL PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that on April 30, 2015, at 8:30 AM in Department 8 of the above entitled court the People will move the court for an order amending the Complaint filed in the above entitled matter. Said motion will be based upon this Notice, the documents and papers on file in this action and the proposed Amended Information.10 M1 12 13 14 15 16 7 18 19 20 21 2 23 24 25 26 27 UL MOTION The People hereby move to amend Information number 1500640 in accordance with the attached documents entitled Amended Complaint which is hereby specifically incorporated by reference herein, I. DECLARATION I, Steve Grippi, hereby declare on the basis of information and belief as follows: That I am the Chief Deputy District Attorney for the County of Sacramento, California; that the above entitled matter is set for further proceedings in the above entitled court on a charge of violation of sections 405a and 148(a) of the Penal Code. The People's motion to amend the Information is based on the following: Penal Code Section 405a, charged in Count One of the original complaint, prohibits the taking of any person from lawful custody of a police officer by means of a riot The word riot is defined in the code as any use or threat to use force or violence by ‘two of more persons aeting together without authority of law. Thus, when two or more persons, without authority of law, act together to take a person from lawful custody of a police officer by means of force or violence, they have violated Section 405a of the Penal Code. This code section, passed into law in 1933, describes the prohibited conduct as “lynching”. Despite the commonly understood and incendiary connotations of the word, a lynching as defined by P.C. 40Sa need not involve intent to harm the person in custody. Under California law, “lynching” includes not only the notorious form of Iynch mob behavior that aims to take vengeance on the victim, but also anyWW 2 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 participation in riotous conduct aimed at freeing a person from the custody of a peace officer. In re Anthony J. (1999) 72. Cal. App. 4" 1326, 1327.! The People request leave of court to amend the instant complaint to remove Count One, charging a felony violation of Penal Code Section 40Sa. This will leave as the only charge in the complaint a violation of Penal Code Section 148(a), interference with a peace officer in the performance of his/her duties. It is the People’s position that this violation is equally applicable to the conduct alleged in this action but does not carry with it the racially charged and inflammatory terminology associated with P.C, Section 405a, By operation of law, Penal Code Section 148(a) is a misdemeanor.” I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. ANNE MARIE SCHUBERT pateo:__ 7/28/1 _ DISTRICT ATTORNEY XN . Chief Deputy District Attorney + See also, People v. Jones (1971) 19 Cal. App. 3d 437, which held that P.C. Section 405a was not unconstitutionally ‘vague due to the absence of the element of intent to harm the prisoner or due to the variance between the statutory and dictionary definitions of “lynching”. Jones also provides a very brief history of the apparent origin of the term, citing the 1894 West Virginia case of State v. Aler, 39 W. Va. 549, 2 There are two other Penal Cade Sections generally applicable to the type of conduct alleged in this case. Penal Code Section 4550 is inapposite to the instant facts because it does not apply where the would-be escapee assists in his own escape. People v. Hernandez (1976) 64 Cal. App. 3d Supp. 16. Penal Code Section 4534, removing a person from the lawful custody of a faw enforcement officer, would apply to the facts alleged in this case. However, PC 4534 is not a “wobbler” and therefore, the People lack legal dscretion to file the charge as a misdemeanor. After a thorough review of the evidence, itis the People’s position that the conduct alleged herein does not warrant felony sanctions.