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Inland Empire Law Weekly provides honest news on suits, prosecutions, and courts in San Bernardino and Riverside.
GOOD DAY, AND WELCOME, TO THE FEBRUARY 1, 2026, AUDIO EDITION OF INLAND EMPIRE LAW WEEKLY. THIS NEWS IS WRITTEN BY AIDAN MCGLOIN, PUBLISHED SUNDAY MORNING ON THE WEBSITE IE LAW DOT NEWS, AND READ BY ROBERT SIDES. THIS ABRIDGED AUDIO FORMAT IS PRODUCED AS A SERVICE TO OUR SUBSCRIBERS, AND BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE PERSONAL INJURY FIRM RIZIO, LIPINSKY, HEITING
THE PRIDE BAR ASSOCIATION OF THE INLAND EMPIRE HOSTED APPROXIMATELY 150 PEOPLE AND RAISED $35,500 AT ITS FIRST GALA JAN. 22.
THE NEWLY FORMED ASSOCIATION HONORED LOS ANGELES SUPERIOR JUDGE MARTHA BELLINGER, FORMER SAN BERNARDINO SUPERIOR PRESIDING JUDGE AND APPELLATE JUSTICE MARSHA SLOUGH, NATIONALLY KNOWN ATTORNEY ABBY RUBENFELD, ADVOCATE AND ACTOR BETH BRODERICK, AND THE RESTAURANT CHAIN HAMBURGER MARY’S.
PRESIDENT DEAN MCVAY SAID, "WE'RE LAUNCHING A VISION. WE'RE AFFIRMING A COMMITMENT AND PLANTING THE ROOTS OF AN ORGANIZATION THAT WILL SERVE, UPLIFT AND ADVOCATE FOR OUR LGBTQIA LEGAL COMMUNITY AND ALLIES THROUGHOUT THE INLAND EMPIRE, FOR GENERATIONS TO COME. AND MAY I PLEASE SAY IT IS LONG OVERDUE."
READ THE SPEECHES AT IE LAW DOT NEWS
WORABIT MEKTRAKARN, WANTED FOR THREE DECADES ON CHARGES OF MURDERING HIS EMPLOYEE, WAS DELIVERED INTO LOCAL CUSTODY ON JAN. 16. PROSECUTORS ALLEGE MEKTRAKARN MURDERED LUIS GARCIA, AN IMMIGRANT AND EMPLOYEE OF HIS ONTARIO NOODLE PRODUCTION PLANT RAMA FOODS. GARCIA WENT TO RECEIVE $3,000 FROM MEKTRAKARN IN EXCHANGE FOR REMAINING SILENT ON UNPAID OVERTIME WAGES ON NOV. 23, 1996, AND WAS NOT SEEN SINCE. AFTER FLEEING THE COUNTRY, MEKTRAKARN LIVED UNDER A FAKE NAME IN THAILAND.
MEKTRAKARN PLEAD NOT GUILTY ON JAN. 20. DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY DEBBIE PLOGHAUS PROSECUTES. HE IS DEFENDED BY A PUBLIC DEFENDER. A PRELIMINARY HEARING IS SCHEDULED FOR FEB. 17. AN ALLEGED CONSPIRATOR WAS FOUND NOT GUILTY OF ACCESSORY TO THE MURDER IN 2008.
READ ABOUT THE CASE AT IE LAW DOT NEWS
THE SAN BERNARDINO DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE ANNOUNCED MURDER CHARGES AGAINST GORDON ABAS GOODARZI OF ROLLING HILLS, ALLEGING HE KILLED HIS WIFE, ARYAN PAPOLI. ARRAIGNMENT HAS BEEN CONTINUED UNTIL FEB. 10. THE CHARGE COMES WITH THE SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCE OF MURDER FOR FINANCIAL GAIN.
SHERIFF'S DEPUTIES FOUND PAPOLI'S BODY 75 FEET DOWN AN EMBANKMENT NEAR HIGHWAY 138 AND CRESTLINE ROAD ON NOV. 18. THE SAN BERNARDINO SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT SAYS THE COUPLE WERE ESTRANGED.
DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY JASON LISO PROSECUTES. GOODARZI IS REPRESENTED BY SCOTT SIMMONS.
“FROM THE INITIAL RESPONSE ON A STEEP MOUNTAIN EMBANKMENT TO THE EXTENSIVE INVESTIGATION THAT FOLLOWED, THIS CASE REFLECTS THE JOINT EFFORTS OF MULTIPLE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES.” SAID DISTRICT ATTORNEY JASON ANDERSON.
AMERICAN BOARD OF TRIAL ADVOCATES PRESIDENT WILLIAM SHAPIRO, OF ONTARIO, CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION OF FATAL MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTINGS IN A LETTER LETTER TO ABOTA LAWYERS LAST WEEK. THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ATTORNEYS INCLUDES MORE THAN 7,000 LAWYERS AND JUDGES ACROSS 94 CHAPTERS ACROSS THE NATION. THE LETTER BEGINS WITH THE FOLLOWING:
IN THE 250TH YEAR OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, THE SHOOTINGS IN MINNEAPOLIS TEST OUR NATION’S COMMITMENT TO THE INALIENABLE RIGHTS TO LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. ON JANUARY 7, RENEE NICOLE GOOD WAS PROTESTING THE PRESENCE OF U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT (ICE) IN HER NEIGHBORHOOD WHEN SHE WAS FATALLY SHOT BY A MASKED AGENT. ON JANUARY 24, ALEX JEFFREY PRETTI WAS ATTENDING A PROTEST RALLY WHEN HE WAS FATALLY SHOT BY AN ICE AGENT. THESE DEATHS STRIKE AT THE CORE OF OUR CONSTITUTIONAL ORDER. THE RIGHTS TO FREE SPEECH AND PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY LIE AT THE HEART OF A FUNCTIONING DEMOCRACY, WHERE THE RULE OF LAW PROTECTS ORDINARY CITIZENS WHO PARTICIPATE IN THE CHECKS AND BALANCES OF POWER. THOSE RIGHTS ARE IMPERILED WHEN PEOPLE FEAR THAT EXERCISING THEIR VOICE MAY COST THEM THEIR LIVES.
READ THE LETTER IN FULL AT IE LAW DOT NEWS
THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE RELEASED AN ADVISORY JAN. 27 THAT FEDERAL AGENTS CAN BE INVESTIGATED AND PROSECUTED BY LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AND PROSECUTORS.
THERE HAVE BEEN TWO SHOOTINGS OF MEN IN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY BY FEDERAL AGENTS.
"CALIFORNIA STANDS READY TO TAKE ALL NECESSARY STEPS TO INVESTIGATE POTENTIALLY UNLAWFUL CONDUCT BY FEDERAL AGENTS THAT OCCURS ON OUR SOIL, AND WHERE THE FACTS WARRANT, FILE CHARGES FOR VIOLATIONS OF THE CALIFORNIA PENAL CODE," ATTORNEY GENERAL ROB BONTA SAID, ACCORDING TO A PRESS RELEASE.
READ IT AT IE LAW DOT NEWS
IN CELEBRATION OF OUR NATION’S FOUNDING 250 YEARS AGO, INLAND EMPIRE LAW WEEKLY IS REVIEWING THE 27 REASONS FOR REVOLUTION SPELLED OUT IN THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
FINALLY, IN THE FIFTH REASON FOR INDEPENDENCE, WE GET TO THE NASTY TROUBLE OF TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION, WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THE VIRGINIA ASSEMBLY ATTEMPTED TO TELL THE KING TO BACK OFF, HOW VIRGINIANS LOST THEIR LEGISLATURE BY A GOVERNOR'S REVOCATION, AND WHY PATRICK HENRY SAID, “IF THIS BE TREASON, MAKE THE MOST OF IT." READ THE FULL STORY ON IE LAW DOT NEWS
EVERY WEEK, WE RECOMMEND ONE BOOK FOR YOU TO READ. TODAY'S RECOMMENDATION IS THE CASE OF ROSE BIRD: GENDER, POLITICS, AND THE CALIFORNIA COURTS.
ROSE ELIZABETH BIRD WAS FORTY YEARS OLD WHEN IN 1977 GOVERNOR EDMUND G. “JERRY” BROWN CHOSE HER TO BECOME CALIFORNIA’S FIRST FEMALE SUPREME COURT CHIEF JUSTICE.
APPOINTED TO A COURT WITH A STELLAR REPUTATION FOR BEING THE NATION’S MOST PROGRESSIVE, BIRD BECAME A LIGHTNING ROD FOR THE OPPOSITION DUE TO HER LIBERALISM, INEXPERIENCE, AND GENDER. OVER THE NEXT DECADE, HER NAME BECAME A RALLYING CRY AS CRITICS MOUNTED A RELENTLESS EFFORT TO GET HER OFF THE COURT. BIRD SURVIVED THREE UNSUCCESSFUL RECALL EFFORTS, BUT HER OPPONENTS EVENTUALLY SUCCEEDED IN BRINGING ABOUT HER DEFEAT IN 1986, MAKING HER THE FIRST CHIEF JUSTICE TO BE REMOVED FROM THE CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: VOICE OF AMERICA AIRS FOR THE FIRST TIME, ON FEBRUARY 1, 1942
VOICE OF AMERICA, THE RADIO BROADCASTER DESIGNED TO BRING TRUE JOURNALISM INTO NAZI-CONTROLLED GERMANY, SENT OFF ITS FIRST BROADCAST THIS DAY 84 DAYS AGO. THE BROADCAST, IN GERMAN, DELIVERED ITS TAGLINE: "THE NEWS MAY BE GOOD, OR BAD. WE SHALL TELL YOU THE TRUTH."
CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT CHIEF JUSTICE PATRICIA GUERRERO SAID SHE IS TAKING A MORE PROACTIVE STANCE TO PRESERVE ACCESS TO THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM AS THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CONTINUES TO MAKE ARRESTS IN COURTHOUSES.
AT A PRESS CONFERENCE ON THURSDAY, GUERRERO — THE HIGH COURT’S FIRST LATINA CHIEF — EXPRESSED CONCERN OVER THE “CHILLING EFFECTS” OF FEDERAL IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT IN CALIFORNIA COURTHOUSES AND SAID THE JUDICIAL COUNCIL HAS BEEN CLOSELY MONITORING THE SITUATION.
“THE TYPE OF IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT ACTION THAT WE’VE SEEN INSTILLS FEAR IN WITNESSES, LITIGANTS THAT CREATES PROBLEMS FOR THEM BEING ABLE TO ACCESS THE COURTS,” SHE SAID.
READ IT AT IE LAW DOT NEWS
CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC SENATORS ADVANCED A MEASURE JANUARY 27 THAT WOULD MAKE IT EASIER FOR PEOPLE TO SUE FEDERAL AGENTS OVER CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATIONS, A BILL SHAPED BY FEARS OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT PRACTICES.
THE BILL FROM SENS. SCOTT WIENER AND AISHA WAHAB, BOTH BAY AREA DEMOCRATS, TOOK ON ADDITIONAL SIGNIFICANCE AFTER FEDERAL AGENTS GUNNED DOWN ALEX PRETTI, A U.S. CITIZEN AND ICU NURSE, IN MINNESOTA JANUARY 24. SENATORS DISCUSSED THE MEASURE ON THE FLOOR FOR MORE THAN 90 MINUTES BEFORE VOTING ALONG PARTY LINES, 30 TO 10, TO SEND IT TO THE ASSEMBLY.
IT’S AMONG SEVERAL BILLS LAWMAKERS ARE MOVING FORWARD IN THE NEW YEAR TO CONFRONT AN ESCALATION OF AGGRESSIVE IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT TACTICS AND TO PROTECT IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES. THEY INCLUDE BILLS THAT WOULD TAX FOR-PROFIT DETENTION COMPANIES, PROHIBIT LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS FROM MOONLIGHTING AS FEDERAL AGENTS AND ATTEMPT TO CURB COURTHOUSE ARRESTS.
READ ABOUT THE MEASURES AT IE LAW DOT NEWS
THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE HAS OPENED A CIVIL RIGHTS INVESTIGATION INTO THE KILLING OF PRETTI.
DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE CONFIRMED THE INVESTIGATION BY THE FBI ON FRIDAY, BUT SAID IT WASN’T NEWSWORTHY.
“THIS IS WHAT I WOULD DESCRIBE AS A STANDARD INVESTIGATION BY THE FBI,” BLANCHE SAID, SPEAKING AT A NEWS CONFERENCE ANNOUNCING THE RELEASE OF MORE FILES RELATED TO JEFFREY EPSTEIN AS ORDERED BY CONGRESS.
READ IT AT IE LAW DOT NEWS
FEDERAL AGENTS ARRESTED INDEPENDENT JOURNALISTS DON LEMON AND GEORGIA FORT FOR COVERING A PROTEST AT CITIES CHURCH IN ST. PAUL, WHERE A PASTOR IS ALSO AN OFFICIAL WITH U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT.
LEMON, A FORMER CNN ANCHOR AND NBC CORRESPONDENT, WAS ARRESTED THURSDAY NIGHT AS HE WAS COVERING THE GRAMMY AWARDS IN LOS ANGELES, HIS ATTORNEY SAID IN A STATEMENT. THE ARREST COMES AFTER A MAGISTRATE JUDGE REJECTED A PREVIOUS REQUEST BY PROSECUTORS TO CHARGE HIM.
READ IT AT IE LAW DOT NEWS
THOUSANDS OF FRESNO-AREA TRUCK DRIVERS IN LIMBO AMID LEGAL FIGHTS WITH CALIFORNIA AND THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
ON THURSDAY MORNING, REPRESENTATIVES OF THE JAKARA MOVEMENT, A FRESNO-BASED SIKH CULTURAL ORGANIZATION, GATHERED AT THE MODERN TRUCK PARKING LOT IN NORTHWEST FRESNO TO SHARE UPDATES ON THEIR CASE AND ITS IMPACT ON IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE CENTRAL VALLEY.
THE LAWSUIT WAS FILED IN ALAMEDA COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT IN DECEMBER BY THE SIKH COALITION, THE ASIAN LAW CAUCUS, AND THE LAW FIRM WEIL, GOTSHAL & MANGES LLP — ON BEHALF OF THE JAKARA MOVEMENT AND FIVE ANONYMOUS IMMIGRANT COMMERCIAL DRIVERS.
ACCORDING TO THE LAWSUIT, THE DMV BEGAN SENDING CANCELLATION NOTICES ON NOV. 6 TO IMMIGRANT COMMERCIAL DRIVERS WHOSE LICENSES HAD EXPIRATION DATES THAT DID NOT MATCH THEIR FEDERAL WORK AUTHORIZATION DOCUMENTS.
READ IT AT IE LAW DOT NEWS
COPS HAVE TO TREAT MARIJUANA IN YOUR CAR DIFFERENTLY AFTER NEW CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT RULING
WHEN IT COMES TO IMPAIRED DRIVING AND THE STATE’S OPEN CONTAINER LAW, A ROLLED AND READY JOINT IS MORE LIKE A CAN OF BEER IN GIVING POLICE CAUSE TO SEARCH A CAR THAN A FEW CRUMBS OF MARIJUANA, ACCORDING TO THE CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT.
THE COURT’S REASONING: YOU CAN SMOKE A JOINT AND DRINK A BEER, BUT LOOSE MARIJUANA ISN’T READILY CONSUMABLE.
READ THE NEW GUIDANCE AT IE LAW DOT NEWS
CALIFORNIA CITIES JUST SAW THEIR LOWEST HOMICIDE RATES IN DECADES. IT’S NOT CLEAR WHY
FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW, GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM IS CELEBRATING CALIFORNIA’S DECLINING HOMICIDE RATE WHILE USING IT AS A CUDGEL AGAINST HIS POLITICAL FOES.
AFTER A SPIKE DURING THE EARLY DAYS OF THE PANDEMIC, HOMICIDES ARE IN FACT DOWN NATIONWIDE.
THE REASON WHY IS FAR LESS CLEAR. READ IT AT IE LAW DOT NEWS
SUITS FILED IN LOS ANGELES AND FEDERAL COURT ARE CAUSING THE RELEASE OF INTERNAL DOCUMENTS IN WHICH FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM EMPLOYEES DISCUSS HIDING CHILDREN’S ONLINE ACTIONS FROM PARENTS AND HOOKING PEOPLE ON INSTAGRAM.
“WE’RE BASICALLY PUSHERS... WE ARE CAUSING REWARD DEFICIT DISORDER BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE BINGING ON INSTAGRAM SO MUCH THEY CAN’T FEEL REWARD ANYMORE,” WROTE ONE EMPLOYEE.
READ IT AT IE LAW DOT NEWS
MOST OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S LEGAL DISPUTES INVOLVING THE FIRING OF HIGH-LEVEL OFFICIALS DEAL WITH THE SCOPE OF PRESIDENTIAL POWER.
ON JAN. 21, 2026, THE U.S. SUPREME COURT HEARD ORAL ARGUMENTS IN ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT CASES OF THIS KIND TO DATE. IT WAS BROUGHT BY LISA COOK, A MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE. THE FED SERVES AS THE U.S. CENTRAL BANK AND SETS MONETARY POLICY – INCLUDING A KEY INTEREST RATE THAT INFLUENCES BORROWING COSTS.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP FIRED HER ON AUG. 25, 2025, BUT A LOWER COURT TEMPORARILY REINSTATED COOK TO HER ROLE ON SEPT. 9.
BASED ON THE ORAL ARGUMENTS, A MAJORITY OF THE COURT’S JUSTICES SEEM INCLINED TO PROTECT THE FED’S INDEPENDENCE BY TREATING THIS CASE AS AN EMPLOYMENT DISPUTE. AS A LAW PROFESSOR WHO SPECIALIZES IN EMPLOYMENT LAW AND FOLLOWS THE SUPREME COURT, UNIVERSITY OF OREGON PROFESSOR ELIZABETH TIPPETT, CAN EXPLAIN HOW THAT MIGHT PLAY OUT.
READ IT AT IE LAW DOT NEWS
SOME HEADLINES FROM AROUND THE NATION TO END THIS PROGRAM, ALL OF WHICH CAN BE FOUND AND LINKED TO THEIR ORIGINAL STORIES AT IE LAW DOT NEWS:
JUDGE ORDERED 5-YEAR-OLD RELEASED, BUT DATA SHOWS ICE IS DETAINING MORE KIDS
DOJ MISCONDUCT COMPLAINT AGAINST D.C. FEDERAL JUDGE DISMISSED
A JUDICIAL MISCONDUCT COMPLAINT AGAINST CHIEF U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE JAMES E. BOASBERG OF D.C. HAS BEEN DISMISSED BECAUSE THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT FAILED TO SHOW THAT HE EXHIBITED BIAS AGAINST THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION.
BULLET NARROWLY MISSES REDLANDS RESIDENT IN APARTMENT SHOOTING, POLICE SAY
TOP LOS ANGELES FEDERAL PROSECUTOR BILL ESSAYLI, WHO HAS DOGGEDLY SUPPORTED TRUMP’S AGENDA, FACED BLISTERING CRITICISM FROM GUN RIGHTS GROUPS, INCLUDING THE NRA FOR RESPONSE TO MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTING
BILL ESSAYLI ASKS PUBLIC TO SPREAD MISINFORMATION TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA RAPID RESPONSE NETWORKS
DR. OZ TRAVELS TO L.A. SEEKING FRAUD. NEWSOM SAYS HIS FINDINGS ARE ‘BASELESS AND RACIST ALLEGATIONS’
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM CALLED ON THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES TO INVESTIGATE “DR. OZ’S BASELESS AND RACIST ALLEGATIONS AGAINST ARMENIAN AMERICANS IN CALIFORNIA.”
CALIFORNIA GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM SAYS HE IS LAUNCHING AN INVESTIGATION INTO WHETHER TIKTOK IS SUPPRESSING CONTENT CRITICAL OF PRESIDENT TRUMP.
A FEDERAL JUDGE SAYS SHE WON’T HALT THE IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT SURGE IN MINNESOTA AND THE TWIN CITIES AS A LAWSUIT OVER IT PROCEEDS
FIDIAS “JUN” REINA JR., FORMER GENERAL MANAGER AND CFO OF CAPITAL PUBLIC RADIO’S NPR STATIONS IN SACRAMENTO, CA, HAS BEEN CRIMINALLY CHARGED WITH MULTIPLE FELONY COUNTS OF EMBEZZLEMENT, GRAND THEFT