Copyright, Press-Enterprise 2008

Appellate court temporarily halts release of documents involving S.B County assessor's office

By John Berry
5/30/08

Monday's public release of records justifying last month's seizure of computers and documents at the San Bernardino County assessor's office was delayed Friday when a state appellate court called a temporary halt.

At about 6 p.m., the Riverside-based Fourth Appellate District, Division Two, issued a stay within hours of the San Bernardino County district attorney's office filing documents to block the unsealing.

No explanation was given.

That ruling came a day after San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge David Cohn ruled in favor of The Press-Enterprise, which challenged his April 7 sealing of the search warrant.

Cohn said he expected that the appellate court would delay the unsealing considering justices had 200 pages dropped on their desks Friday afternoon.

At the Thursday hearing, Cohn ordered the documents released at 10 a.m. Monday, a delay that gave prosecutors an opportunity to file an appeal.

Cohn said prosecutors from the Public Integrity Unit had failed to meet the "high burden" needed to seal documents from public view.

"We have elected officials and public employees who are the subject of an investigation," Cohn said. "Everyone at the assessor's office certainly knows that a warrant was executed at that location."

Sources have said that district attorney's office investigators and the county grand jury are looking into whether the assessor's office was illegally used for political activity.

In documents filed Friday, lead appellate prosecutor Grover Merritt called Cohn's decision "an unlawful order."

"Somehow, The Press-Enterprise newspaper managed to convince the Superior Court to unseal confidential ... search warrant materials," Merritt wrote. "This premature disclosure will irreparably harm ... a secret criminal investigation."

Merritt could not be reached to comment.

Press-Enterprise attorney Al Wickers said the First Amendment and California law support Cohn's decision.

Wickers said the latest set of prosecution documents are nearly identical ones filed in advance of Thursday's hearing in downtown San Bernardino.

The temporary halt would give justices a chance to review the case before making a decision, which could come as early as next week, Wickers said.

Ted Lehrer, spokesman for Assessor Bill Postmus, declined to comment.

Postmus spent six years as a county supervisor after he was first elected from the High Desert in 2000. He won the assessor's post in 2006. He has also been long active in politics. He is a past chairman of the San Bernardino County Republican Party.

The assessor's office has more than 230 employees and a $21 million annual budget. Its primary role is establishing property values to determine how much tax owners should pay.