The final hearing in Ross Mirkarimi's ersatz trial before the Ethics Commission is going on this morning. If you have the stamina, and absolutely nothing useful to do with your morning, you can watch it live here. The attorneys on both sides are giving their closing arguments, which are subject to frequent interruptions with questions from the commissioners.
On the D.A.'s side, there was a rehashing of the issue of Sheriff Mirkarimi's role in trying to dissuade witness Ivory Madison from going to the police, and in encouraging his wife, Eliana Lopez, to dissuade a witness as well. They argue that there is text-message evidence that Mirkarimi tried to get Madison to keep quiet.
Mirkarimi attorney David Waggoner brought up the issue of "vagueness," laying out a legal definition that at least one commissioner found tedious and said would be more appropriate in a real trial not a commission hearing where all they're doing is gathering evidence and making a recommendation.
Waggoner was also called to task for a comment regarding the proceedings calling them a "dog and pony show," and the commissioners took serious issue with that, saying he wasn't doing his client any favors by dismissing the hearings as such.
And Mirkarimi's other attorney Shepard Kopp is currently discussing a previous precedent, regarding the case of Airport Commissioner Joseph Mazzola, in which an appellate court overturned Mayor George Moscone's 1978 decision to dismiss Mazzola from office. The issue here is whether the definition of "official misconduct" is conduct that occurs while in office, and actions that relate to the office itself. Kopp primary closing argument is that Mirkarimi's actions, allegedly abusing and/or falsely imprisoning his wife, occurred before he was sworn in as sheriff, and therefore this case should never have been one of "official misconduct" according to California law.
Asleep yet? Got all that? After this, the commission will gather their thoughts, give their recommendation to the Board of Supervisors, who maybe (but probably not) will decide to dismiss Mirkarimi from his job, sometime around early October.
[SFgov.TV]
