Youngblood’s Lawsuit Against Gates Delayed : Federal Judge, Saying His Calendar Was Too Crowded, Also Will Consider Dismissal Motion

A federal judge Thursday postponed until July 15 the trial of Orange County Municipal Judge Bobby Youngblood’s $10-million civil rights lawsuit against Sheriff Brad Gates.

U.S. District Judge Richard A. Gadbois Jr., sitting in Los Angeles, also said he would consider motions filed by Gates’ attorneys to dismiss the 3-year-old case, which alleges that Gates spied on and harassed Youngblood and two of his friends.

Gadbois said he had to reschedule the trial, which was due to begin in February, because his calendar was too crowded.

Michael Cisarik, Youngblood’s attorney, told Gadbois that Youngblood and Gates will “. . . probably go at it until they shoot each other.” Cisarik argued that the case should go to trial because “we’ve clearly established their (plaintiffs’) life and liberty have been threatened.” No arrests have been made and no charges have been filed against Youngblood, who has been a longtime vocal critic of the way Gates runs the County Jail. Youngblood recently announced plans to oppose Gates in the June 3 election. Youngblood has taken a leave from the Municipal Court bench to organize his campaign.

“They have a right to privacy and to speak out against Brad Gates,” said Cisarik. “He should not surveil the people who are opposed to him.”

In arguing for dismissal, James Slack, Gates’ attorney, said: “Surveillance alone is no violation of a person’s constitutional rights.

“What happened in this case is a justifiable use of police powers,” Slack said. He also denied Cisarik’s allegations that Gates ordered telephone taps of phones belonging to Youngblood and others.

Two of Youngblood’s friends, George Patrick Bland, a private investigator, and George Wright, a Rancho Santiago College instructor, are suing Gates along with Youngblood, alleging that the sheriff has harassed them and continues to harass them for political reasons. Bland and Wright were both unsuccessful candidates for sheriff.

Also at issue in the case is whether Youngblood has the right to examine two large boxes of documents and audio tapes belonging to Gates. In December, U.S. Magistrate Ralph J. Geffen ruled that Youngblood had the right to review the material because Gates’ investigation “may have bordered on overzealousness and the plaintiff’s civil rights may have been violated.”

Gates’ attorneys insist that the material is confidential. A hearing on their appeal of Geffen’s order is scheduled for Feb. 3.