Lawyer files rare actual cause motion to disqualify Compton judge

COMPTON -- The defense attorney for a Los Angeles rapper filed a rare motion Friday to disqualify a Los Angeles County judge from presiding over his gang murder conspiracy retrial after the judge called an earlier motion of his "unprofessional" and "inflammatory."

San Francisco attorney John Hamasaki filed the Code of Civil Procedure Section 170.1 motion alleging actual cause to disqualify Superior Court Judge Laura Walton based on purported bias he said the judge exhibited against Hamasaki and his client following the rapper's two-month murder trial earlier this year.

"I am not asserting that the court is consciously biased or prejudiced against Mr. [Darrell] Caldwell and myself," Hamasaki wrote in his 15-page motion. "Rather, I believe based on the facts below, that the statements and actions of the courts [sic] demonstrate the court should be disqualified and another judge assigned to hear this matter."

On Oct. 3, Walton blasted Hamasaki's motion to dismiss the remaining counts against Caldwell after he was acquitted of murder, but the jury hung on other charges."The defense's factual summary was very unprofessional and intentional and inflammatory," Walton said at the Oct. 3 hearing. "I almost stopped reading before I even got to the arguments about the evidence. I almost stopped reading."

Walton ultimately denied Hamasaki's motion to dismiss on Oct. 3.

Hamasaki said he didn't consider disqualifying the judge until after that hearing and after his client expressed concern about the judge's statements to him.

"It's unpleasant to have a judge say that to you," Hamasaki said. "I've never had a judge say that or anything like that to me before. At the same time ... it's not my feelings that are at play."

170.1 motions are rare, according to Deputy District Attorney Phil Stirling, who is the lead prosecutor on the case. Stirling said he believes he has only seen three 170.1 motions filed in his 27-year career.

Hamasaki said this is the first time he has filed one. The motions are rare in part because of the serious implications it has for the judge. Unlike the more common 170.6 peremptory challenge motions, which are used often by attorneys wishing to get a case reassigned, the 170.1 motion requires a finding that the judge is personally biased or has an improper personal interest in the outcome of the case.

Hamasaki said he didn't consider filing the 170.6 on procedural grounds.

Stirling said this motion is just the latest play in the defense team's "game" to influence the outcome of the case.

"The 170.1 motion is simply an inappropriate attempt to scare the court," Stirling said. "Judge Walton is and always has been extremely fair to all parties, and any ruling or comment that she previously made was based upon the evidence or that which was occurring in front of her."

Hamasaki accused Walton of tipping her hand as to her personal belief that the defendant was guilty when she said of the verdict, "The jury, for the most part, got it right," during her Oct. 3 ruling to deny Hamasaki's motion to dismiss the remaining counts. Hamasaki also alleged Walton appeared to dislike him, noting the defense team frequently said that the judge "hated" Hamasaki throughout the first trial.

Throughout the case Hamasaki represented the defendant, Caldwell, also known as Drakeo the Ruler, alongside Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Frank Duncan. Duncan had moved to be dismissed from representing Caldwell, but the court declined to make any rulings on the matter until the 170.1 motion was resolved.

Hamasaki, who works primarily in San Francisco, has been critical of the Los Angeles County court system, taking to Twitter, podcasts and newspapers with his experience of what he calls "a very LA case."

"This is the first real case I've dealt with in LA, and I've learned a lot about the Los Angeles criminal justice system and policing and prosecutors down here which has been horrifying," Hamasaki said on hip-hop podcast "No Jumper" published Oct. 3.

Caldwell was acquitted of murder in July though the jury hung on several charges, including gang conspiracy to commit murder. The charges stem from the shooting death of Davion Gregory. Caldwell's co-defendant, Mikell Buchanan, was convicted of first-degree murder, among other charges, after the prosecution presented evidence that Caldwell drove Buchanan and another man to a party in Carson where Buchanan shot at Gregory and others. All three men were alleged to be members of the criminal street gang Stinc Team.

Walton continued the matter to Nov. 8 when she will likely issue a response to the 170.1 motion.