Lawyer Michael Pekin’s aide pleaded not guilty to one
misdemeanor charge of practicing law without a license Tuesday.
Hollister – Lawyer Michael Pekin’s aide pleaded not guilty to one misdemeanor charge of practicing law without a license Tuesday.
Amanda Hernandez, 27, was in court for the first time as a criminal defendant Tuesday morning after San Benito County District Attorney John Sarsfield, who has had an ongoing legal feud with her boss for more than a year, filed a charge against her that could send her to jail for up to a year or stick her with a $1,000 fine.
But more important for the fledgling attorney, the charge could derail her dreams of becoming a lawyer even if it was dismissed or she was found innocent, she said. Hernandez has a law degree and passed the California State Bar, but has yet to receive her license, she said.
Hernandez’s criminal charge arose out of Hernandez’s conduct in Pekin’s ongoing civil case against San Benito County and former Supervisor Richard Scagliotti alleging corruption and involving the anonymous group Los Valientes. Hernandez conducted an interview and prepared a declaration for planning department employee Ken Speciale, which Pekin used in an attempt to obtain a restraining order against Planning Department Director Rob Mendiola – which a judge denied.
In the unsigned declaration, which contained some errors when it was presented to a judge, Speciale stated he had evidence that could implicate Mendiola in the corruption charge against Scagliotti.
Sarsfield charged Hernandez because, in the declaration she prepared, he believes she argued facts and law to a judge and intentionally submitted a document that portrayed her as being a licensed attorney.
Her attorney and Pekin’s son, Patrick Pekin, is representing her and said he may ask Superior Court Judge Harry Tobias to dismiss the case when they appear before him again next week. Tobias will preside over Hernandez’s pre-trial, which is when the attorneys will determine what type of motions they may file and other scheduling aspects of the case, Pekin said.
“I might just ask him to throw it out (at the pre-trial),” Pekin said. “It’s hard to imagine what kind of reasonable judge could assume she’s attempting to practice law. This is just another attempt of Sarsfield’s to try to beat us down with more and more charges.”
Both Michael and Patrick Pekin believe Sarsfield charged Hernandez simply because he has a personal vendetta against Michael Pekin, who publicly alleged the prosecutor was having an affair with his office manager last year.
But Sarsfield has scoffed at that notion and said he’s just doing his job – prosecuting people who have committed a crime.
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected]
