1
1
1
Attorney Richard I. Fine Released - by Stephen Lendman
An earlier article explained his judicial lynching, accessed through the following link:
A longtime distinguished lawyer, detailed information about him, his career, and lawless disbarment and imprisonment can be found through the following link:
http://sites.google.com/site/freerichardfine/
From the early 1990s until his disbarment and March 4, 2009 jailing, Fine challenged and corrected state corruption, returning about "$350 million to California taxpayers which state, county and municipal governments (unlawfully took from) 'special funds' and 'trust funds' in a series of taxpayer cases filed in federal" and state courts.
Yet, for his many years of crime fighting, he was charged with "contempt of court" and "moral turpitude," disbarred by California's Supreme Court, and jailed by Superior Court Judge David Yaffe (retiring November 1) "in retaliation for bringing the cases and exposing the unconstitutional payments," ones later held to be unconstitutional.
Last spring, Fine appealed to the US Supreme Court for release. The California Bar waived its right to respond, meaning his appeal was unopposed. Nonetheless, on May 24, 2010, Fine's Petition for Writ of Certiorari (an order to a lower court) was denied without explanation or comment. As a result, he remained a political prisoner, one of many hundreds in America, a topic an earlier article addressed, accessed through the following link:
At the time, his daughter Victoria Fine, a Huffington Post journalist and editor, said:
"We are deeply disappointed in the outcome of this. It's scary to me that the justice system at all levels doesn't see the inherent flaws in the system and is choosing not to correct them."
Richard Fine Released
With few details available, and little media coverage outside Los Angeles, the following accounts announced the news:
On September 18, Los Angeles Times writer Scott Glover headlined, "Lawyer abruptly freed from jail," saying:
After a year and a half in jail on contempt charges, "Richard Fine was released from Los Angeles County Jail in downtown Los Angeles shortly after 9 p.m. but did not wish to speak to a Times reporter."
On LA Observed, Kevin Roderick wrote:
