Judge to Decide if Murder Victim's Family Can Sue Schwarzenegger
- Thread starter The Ripper
- Start date
-
Welcome to "The New" Wrestling Smarks Forum!
I see that you are not currently registered on our forum. It only takes a second, and you can even login with your Facebook! If you would like to register now, pease click here: Register
Once registered please introduce yourself in our introduction thread which can be found here: Introduction Board
A Sacramento judge will now decide if a murder victim’s family can continue to sue former Governor Schwarzenegger for reducing the sentence of the son of a political supporter.
The parents of Luis Santos filed a lawsuit earlier this year against Schwarzenegger after he commuted the sentence of Esteban Nunez, accusing the former Governor of changing the sentence for political reasons.
Nunez is the son of former California Assembly Speaker,Fabian Nunez.
"The rule of law should rule, not dirty politicians making deals in a backroom away from everybody's scrutiny," said Fred Santos, the vicitm's father.
Nunez pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in May 2010 for his part in the stabbing death of Santos near San Diego State University. He was sentenced to 16 years. Another man, Ryan Jett, also pleaded guilty to manslaughter for his role in the 2008 stabbing. Nunez admitted to stabbing Santos’ friend during the incident, who survived, but not to attacking Santos.
However, on Schwarzenegger’s last day in office earlier this year, he commuted Nunez’s sentenced from 16 years to 7. Schwarzenegger’s commutation recognized the tragedy of Santos’ death, “but given Nunez’s limited role in Santos’ death, and considering that, unlike Jett, Nunez had no criminal record prior to this offense, I believe Nunez’s sentence is excessiveâ€.
Nunez took a different spin on events by going after San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, who is running for mayor.
"This case has been politiicized from the biginning...they've been picking on my son from day one," said Nunez. He said the DA and the judge in the case went back on their word to give his sone a lesser sentence in a plea bargain.
"I wish I would have let my son fight this case which is what my son should have done from the very beginning," said Nunez.
But Fred Santos was upset at the comments made a few feet from him.
"He's the one with the weight, with the pull that made a sitting governor break the law and reduce his son's sentence," said Santos.
Santos’ family members filed the lawsuit on the grounds that the 2008 Marcy’s Law requires the governor to notify the family of crime victims that a sentence could be altered. But Fabian Nunez disputed the interpretation of the law.
"Marcy's Law doesn't apply to the governor's commutation powers. Those executive Powers hae been in place for many many years," said Nunez, who attended the court hearing.
Santos' father, Fred, also talked to reporters after Monday's hearing.
The lawsuit does not ask for financial settlement, instead the family says they want the original sentence re-imposed.
During Monday’s hearing, a lawyer from the Attorney General’s Office argued that the case should be thrown out. Santos’ lawyer says the family said as long as there was a valid dispute, the merits should be heard in court.
The Judge said she would issue a written ruling on whether the lawsuit can proceed; it could be released as soon as next week. Santos' attorneys say it was a routine attempt to de-rail the lawsuit before it gets started and they expect the case to move forward.
<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->
The parents of Luis Santos filed a lawsuit earlier this year against Schwarzenegger after he commuted the sentence of Esteban Nunez, accusing the former Governor of changing the sentence for political reasons.
Nunez is the son of former California Assembly Speaker,Fabian Nunez.
"The rule of law should rule, not dirty politicians making deals in a backroom away from everybody's scrutiny," said Fred Santos, the vicitm's father.
Nunez pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in May 2010 for his part in the stabbing death of Santos near San Diego State University. He was sentenced to 16 years. Another man, Ryan Jett, also pleaded guilty to manslaughter for his role in the 2008 stabbing. Nunez admitted to stabbing Santos’ friend during the incident, who survived, but not to attacking Santos.
However, on Schwarzenegger’s last day in office earlier this year, he commuted Nunez’s sentenced from 16 years to 7. Schwarzenegger’s commutation recognized the tragedy of Santos’ death, “but given Nunez’s limited role in Santos’ death, and considering that, unlike Jett, Nunez had no criminal record prior to this offense, I believe Nunez’s sentence is excessiveâ€.
Nunez took a different spin on events by going after San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, who is running for mayor.
"This case has been politiicized from the biginning...they've been picking on my son from day one," said Nunez. He said the DA and the judge in the case went back on their word to give his sone a lesser sentence in a plea bargain.
"I wish I would have let my son fight this case which is what my son should have done from the very beginning," said Nunez.
But Fred Santos was upset at the comments made a few feet from him.
"He's the one with the weight, with the pull that made a sitting governor break the law and reduce his son's sentence," said Santos.
Santos’ family members filed the lawsuit on the grounds that the 2008 Marcy’s Law requires the governor to notify the family of crime victims that a sentence could be altered. But Fabian Nunez disputed the interpretation of the law.
"Marcy's Law doesn't apply to the governor's commutation powers. Those executive Powers hae been in place for many many years," said Nunez, who attended the court hearing.
Santos' father, Fred, also talked to reporters after Monday's hearing.
The lawsuit does not ask for financial settlement, instead the family says they want the original sentence re-imposed.
During Monday’s hearing, a lawyer from the Attorney General’s Office argued that the case should be thrown out. Santos’ lawyer says the family said as long as there was a valid dispute, the merits should be heard in court.
The Judge said she would issue a written ruling on whether the lawsuit can proceed; it could be released as soon as next week. Santos' attorneys say it was a routine attempt to de-rail the lawsuit before it gets started and they expect the case to move forward.
<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->