An appellate panel upheld the dismissal of a malicious prosecution case against former San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael Ramos Feb. 23.
The plaintiff, James Erwin, had helped developer Jeffrey Burum secure a $102 million settlement in 2006 against San Bernardino County, known as the Colonies Settlement. The District Attorney investigated Erwin, county supervisors, Burum and others for corruption, extortion and bribes.
Erwin alleged that Ramos retaliated against him in violation of his First Amendment rights by conducting a criminal investigation into his lobbying efforts.
The panel found that California Central District Judge Jesus Bernal correctly determined that Erwin did not prove causation between his protected speech and the investigation when Bernal dismissed the case in July 2020.
“While the record is replete with evidence of hostility toward Erwin, whom the defendants considered ‘bottom-sucking’ and ‘evil,’ there is no indication that the defendants disliked Erwin because of his protected speech or that any animosity existed before the start of the investigation. Instead, that animosity was rooted in the defendants’ belief that he had extorted and bribed county officials in the course of settlement negotiations. Perhaps the defendants were mistaken, but even so, they were free to investigate someone they thought had committed a crime—and also free to dislike him because of it,” the unpublished appellate decision reads.
Alan Yockelson of San Diego represented Erwin during the appeal.
When Ninth Circuit Judge Eric Miller questioned why Ramos’ prosecution was illegitimate, Yockelson said that in this specific case Ramos was politically motivated, based on a mailer sent by his wife for Ramos’ re-election campaign.
Parties
Charles Slyngstad of Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP represented Ramos during the appeal.
Ninth Circuit Judges John Owens and Eric Miller, and United States District Court of Montana Judge Dana Christensen considered the appeal.
Rajan Maline of Riverside’s Maline and McGee LLP represented Erwin during the federal case.
Slyngstad and Kyle Anne Piasecki, Lauren Talia Krapf, Brian S. Ginter and Susan E. Coleman of Los Angeles’ Burke Williams and Sorensen LLP represented Ramos and other defendants during the federal case.
District Case No. 5:18-cv-00420
Appellate Case No. 20-55903
Read Bernal’s ruling here.
Read Erwin’s appellate brief here.
Watch the oral argument here.
Read the decision here.
Read our coverage of the appellate hearing here.
