San Benito County Superior Court Judge Harry Tobias weighed
former Sgt. Mike Rodrigues’ right to a fair trial and the local
citizenry’s right to consider their peer’s fate.
Judge makes the right call
San Benito County Superior Court Judge Harry Tobias weighed former Sgt. Mike Rodrigues’ right to a fair trial and the local citizenry’s right to consider their peer’s fate.
Rodrigues’ former attorney Christopher R. Miller – who’s being replaced with a public defender – had argued that media bias prompted a move for the upcoming trial to another county. He contended that the Free Lance coverage has been biased and how Internet blogs have included nasty comments about Rodrigues.
Rodrigues is charged on suspicion of raping three women in recent years. A grand jury in December indicted the 25-year sheriff’s office veteran on suspicion of several counts of rape.
Media coverage is varying, fair
There has been frequent news coverage of Rodrigues since June when he shot a drugged suspect – the district attorney ruled it was lawful – and more recently during the sheriff’s office probe and grand jury indictment of the former deputy. There is no evidence, however, that any newspaper stories have been biased against Rodrigues, as Tobias pointed out that every article in the newspaper on the matter has been based on public records.
And although Internet blogs have opened a new avenue for anonymous, often biting free speech, that type of communication is here to stay and likely will play some role, albeit small, in the level of public knowledge for many more criminal cases here and everywhere else throughout the world. It must be viewed – by the justice system and citizens – with a grain of salt.
Peers should decide Rodrigues case
The bottom line is that the argument made by Rodrigues’ attorney probably can be made for just about any major case, and this is the sort of trial on which local residents, if a 12-person jury can be found, have a right to decide.
