Judge in Grand Jury Case Refuses to Recuse Himself

A retired judge sitting on assignment to the Los Angeles Superior Court refused to disqualify himself Tuesday from deciding whether minorities are unfairly excluded from the county’s grand jury.

“Why don’t we let the appellate courts make the call?” Judge James M. Ideman told attorney Victor Sherman, who represents Jaime Alejandro Mares, indicted in the deaths of a Los Angeles police officer and another man.

Sherman and Charles Lindner, another attorney in an unrelated case, are mounting the challenge because they allege Latinos and other minorities have been underrepresented on grand juries. Such underrepresentation, they contend, amounts to discrimination against their clients and a violation of their constitutional rights.

Not a single Latino serves on the current panel of 23 grand jurors and four alternates, and only eight people with Latino surnames are among the 122 prospects for next year’s grand jury. If Latinos were fairly represented, more than 30 would be expected in the pool, Sherman said.

Outside the courtroom, Sherman said he plans to file a writ with the 2nd District of the state Court of Appeal in Los Angeles by Monday. He also will ask the appellate court to halt proceedings in the Mares murder case.

The attorneys want a neutral judge to determine whether the Los Angeles bench has discriminated against Latinos and other minorities through a jury selection process the judges control.

Latinos make up about 40% of the population of Los Angeles County, and 28% of the eligible trial jurors. But they never have accounted for more than 8% of the grand jury pool.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Danette Meyers said her office is opposing the grand jury challenge but is taking no position on whether the Superior Court judges should decide the matter or refer it to an outside jurist.