A Kern County Superior Court judge granted a public defender’s motion Wednesday to obtain unpublished notes created by a Californian reporter during a jailhouse interview of a co-defendant who’s accused of killing a corrections counselor at The Shops at River Walk.
This reporter interviewed co-defendant Sebastian Parra at Lerdo Justice Facility after he was indicted on first-degree murder and attempted second-degree robbery in the death of Benny Alcala Jr., 43. An article about this interview was published in The Californian in February.
Deputy Public Defender Lexi Blythe, who’s representing co-defendant Robert Pernell Roberts, served a subpoena to The Californian seeking the “complete recording, both audio and video” and a “copy of the complete notes from the interview as well as a list of all questions asked” during the interview of Parra. She argued in court the notes are vital for her defense of Roberts because the notes would help establish Parra is lying. Parra’s attorney was not in court for the hearing.
“He’s being accused of a crime that he did not commit,” Blythe said of her client during Wednesday’s hearing.
The Californian’s counsel, Thomas R. Burke of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, had refiled a motion to quash a subpoena after Judge Elizabet Rodriguez denied last month a previous subpoena filed by the Kern County Public Defender’s Office. He invoked the First Amendment and California Shield Law, both of which offer protections to journalists.
“The court’s ruling will make reporting on criminal matters even more challenging than it already is,” Burke wrote in an email to this reporter. “We respect the court’s consideration of this matter, but The Bakersfield Californian plans to seek emergency appellate review because Roberts’ counsel failed to explain how having the reporter’s unpublished notes in this case would provide any different information than what was already published in the newspaper or materially assist his murder defense.”
Alcala, the murder victim, went to southwest Bakersfield’s Target in August and was charging his electric car near the charging station. He died near that area after he was shot.
Police first arrested Roberts in the death of Alcala. Parra was called to testify against Roberts during a preliminary hearing, but was arrested after giving his testimony. Parra testified at a preliminary hearing that both were together for hours the day Alcala was killed.
Rodriguez ruled “there is a possibility” this reporter’s unpublished notes could help Roberts in his defense and exonerate him.
It is highly important for Roberts’ defense because he is facing a prison sentence of life without parole if convicted, she added.
The judge also ruled providing notes in his case wouldn’t hinder The Californian’s newsgathering ability. There is no other method to receive documentation of this reporter’s interview with Parra, she noted.
“It would be a shame for Roberts to be convicted … when we don’t have the full information,” Blythe argued in court.
Blythe also argued in her motion to release subpoenaed records that if The Californian didn’t want the public to know attorneys sometimes serve subpoenas to obtain records “it would have been in The Californian’s best interest to keep quiet on this issue.” The Californian previously published a story about Rodriguez granting a motion to quash Blythe’s earlier subpoena.
“If The Californian was truly concerned about any chilling effect, it never would have reported on the defense trying to obtain these records,” Blythe wrote.
Burke, The Californian’s counsel, said in court Wednesday this argument means the newspaper wouldn’t interview anyone at all.
“The Court’s ruling today raises the prospect that every criminal defendant who talks with the media may have a greater opportunity to compel journalists to produce their unpublished interview notes if the defendant faces a long criminal sentence,” he wrote in an email. “Such an outcome is contrary to California’s Shield Law and the First Amendment protections that safeguard the daily work of reporters.”
You can reach Ishani Desai at 661-395-7417. You can also follow her at @_ishanidesai on Twitter.
