In an unexpected move, accused murderer Robert Orabuena had the
judge presiding over his prosecution removed from the case
Thursday.
Exercising an infrequently used legal measure of the state’s
Civil Code of Procedure, Orabuena had Superior Court Judge Steven
Sanders disqualified from hearing the case because Orabuena was
reportedly still angered by Sanders’ earlier ruling that removed
his previous attorney, Greg LaForge.
In an unexpected move, accused murderer Robert Orabuena had the judge presiding over his prosecution removed from the case Thursday.
Exercising an infrequently used legal measure of the state’s Civil Code of Procedure, Orabuena had Superior Court Judge Steven Sanders disqualified from hearing the case because Orabuena was reportedly still angered by Sanders’ earlier ruling that removed his previous attorney, Greg LaForge.
Orabuena, of Gilroy, is charged with second-degree murder and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated stemming from an accident on July 4 in which a Salinas man, who was riding a motorcycle, died.
LaForge was originally appointed by the court to represent Orabuena because Orabuena could not get an attorney on his own.
The court disqualified LaForge out of concern of a possible conflict of interest and Hollister defense attorney Arthur Cantu was appointed to represent Orabuena.
“My client was so upset with the previous ruling that he did not feel that Judge Sanders could be fair in this case,” Cantu said.
Cantu, however, did not share his client’s concerns about Sanders’ ability to fairly adjudicate the case.
“In all my dealings with the court, Judge Sanders has been nothing but fair with both sides,” Cantu said. “My client could not be swayed from this course of action.
State law allows defendants at least one challenge of a judge they feel can not be fair.
The prosecution had no real recourse in the matter and could not block or challenge the maneuver. The case is now being sent to San Benito County Superior Court’s Department Two, where Judge Harry Tobias is scheduled hear the matter at 9 a.m. on Wednesday.
Because of the move to disqualify Sanders, all other proceedings in the case were put on hold, which Cantu said prevented him from challenging the prosecution’s case and asking for the second-degree murder and gross vehicular manslaughter charges to be dropped.
“Every charge in the complaint and amended complaint from the prosecution hinges on my client’s alleged level of intoxication,” Cantu said. “The test results from the Department of Justice clearly show that my client’s alcohol level at the time of the accident was 0.00.”
He said the test results from a urine sample taken from Orabuena shortly after the July 4 fatal collision on Fairview Road shows more than a lack of alcohol in his system.
“The test screened for opiates, methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana and PCP and found there was zero presence of any of those drugs in his system,” Cantu said. “That unequivocally proves that my client was sober at the time of the accident
Prosecutors said they are not trying to “drag” the case out or unfairly prosecute Orabuena but that they were waiting for the final results from a more extensive battery of tests that can detect trace amounts of other drugs and chemicals.
“The prosecution is now on a fishing expedition in a lake with no fish left,” Cantu said. “They need to go ahead and cut bait now.”
