Letter to the Editor | City of South Pasadena Legal Team is Out of Control

 

South Pasadena City Council Members should know the answers to these questions at Wednesday’s Council Meeting:

1.) On Friday, Jennifer Pancake told the judge that she didn’t know if the other judge who signed the inspection warrant allowing city officials to enter Alison Smith’s home was told that the city was engaged in ongoing litigation with Alison at the time they requested the warrant. You should know the answer to this question. (Read the warrant application and supporting affidavit yourselves — the answer is no.)

2.) It’s exceptionally convenient that the city got an “anonymous” complaint against Alison Smith just as the city happened to be involved in litigation with her, and it’s exceptionally convenient that the complaint just happened to give the city the ability to inspect the portions of Alison’s property that were at the center of the ongoing litigation. In what form was the complaint submitted? Can the complaint be read by the council, or otherwise reviewed, or is it a mystical chimera that has returned to the fogs of Brigadoon? What was this complaint, and where did it come from? I continue to hope that the Public Integrity Division is going to come up with the answer to this question, because I have a pretty good suspicion about the identity of the “anonymous” person who filed the conveniently timed complaint. So do you.

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3.) Alison Smith claims that Craig Melicher submitted an affidavit in support of the warrant that alleged changes in Alison’s house, but it was based on photographs of a neighboring house rather than photographs of Alison’s house. Is this true? You should review the affidavit, look at the pictures with your own eyes, and see for yourself what your building official has told a court in your name. If you did to me what you’ve done to Alison, I would have filed a perjury complaint with the Public Integrity Division. You’re benefitting from Alison’s politeness, and it’s a shame.

4.) How does Jennifer Pancake know what cars were parked in Alison Smith’s driveway two years after the sewage leak?

The City of South Pasadena is abusing Alison Smith. This is abuse. Your lawyers have lost perspective and are taking the case personally. The legal process is out of control, and you have a duty to regain control from lawyers who show no ability to restrain themselves. This is now a moral question. When you find your lawyer saying things like gosh, your honor, I don’t know if that other judge was told about the litigation, you’ve painted yourselves into a corner. Staff isn’t going to fix it, and your lawyers aren’t capable of fixing it. You fix it.

Chris Bray
(South Pasadena resident)

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