A three-judge appellate panel Thursday heard oral arguments in
the appeal of Michael Rodrigues, the former San Benito County
Sheriff’s Office sergeant convicted in 2009 of raping three women.
The oral argument proceedings represent the final stage before the
judges make a decision in the case.
A three-judge appellate panel Thursday heard oral arguments in the appeal of Michael Rodrigues, the former San Benito County Sheriff’s Office sergeant convicted in 2009 of raping three women. The oral argument proceedings represent the final stage before the judges make a decision in the case.
Rodrigues filed his case with the Sixth District Court of Appeal in November 2009, days after his sentencing and about two months after a San Benito County jury found him guilty of raping the three women – one of them in 1999 and 2000, and the others both in 2006. Rodrigues, 50, had spent 25 years at the sheriff’s office before his arrest in December 2007 following grand jury indictments in the case.
The appellate court panel in San Jose heard the Rodrigues case at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, according to the appellate calendar. From here, the three judges have 90 days to issue a majority opinion, said Patrick Clancy, a Bay Area attorney with a law firm called the Innocence Legal Team.
The sixth district appellate court handles cases from Santa Clara, San Benito, Santa Cruz, and Monterey counties.
Look back for more information or see the Free Lance on Tuesday.
Video from the jury’s reading of the verdict against Rodrigues in 2009:
