Judge Drops Order Requiring Officials to Attend Hearing

A federal court judge reversed himself Tuesday, withdrawing an unusual order that Mayor Richard Riordan, the entire City Council, the whole Police Commission and other city officials appear before him to discuss several civil rights lawsuits against the Los Angeles Police Department’s elite Special Investigations Section.

Attorneys for the city had appealed U.S. District Court Judge J. Spencer Letts’ order requiring the officials to appear in court Monday.

On Tuesday, Letts said the officials should voluntarily attend the hearing.

“The prospect of accomplishing anything useful at any conference held under [mandatory] circumstances is virtually nil,” Letts wrote in a five-page opinion, adding that he thought hearing the facts in the cases could help the officials consider changes in the way the controversial division operates.

City officials said they were pleased by the judge’s ruling but were unsure how many--if any--of those named in the lawsuits would appear.

Noelia Rodriguez, Riordan’s spokeswoman, said: “The mayor’s contention was that it seemed to be an ineffective use of elected officials’ time. The mayor has no authority or power to make any decisions regarding the settlement of cases.”

Stephen Yagman, the civil rights attorney representing the plaintiffs in the cases, said he believes the judge made the right decision, and that he hopes the city officials will show up to hear the facts.

“What he’s saying to these people in the nicest possible way is, ‘I’m not going to force you to do what you don’t want to do but this is serious stuff . . . and you ought to change the way you do business,” Yagman said.