Julie Hamill of Hamill Law did her deposition of Barbara Ferrer on Wednesday the 3rd. Which, to correct the record, complained of a violation of free speech protections in the CA Constitution. Not federal first amendment violations.
It went about how you'd expect. Shepard Mullin threw as many roadblocks as they could, including keeping out plaintiff party Sarah Beth Burwick, who livetweeted the experience on Twitter.
But it didn't stop Julie from getting critical information on how LA Health Department simply feels like they are not accountable to the public. The news went viral, including updates from Fox reporter Bill Melugin.
So what can you do? One of Julie's takeaways was that Ferrer is being defended by the County Board of Supervisors, who hired the very high priced Shepard Mullin Law Firm to defend her. Which means they're the ones who feel unaccountable - and intend to do quite the opposite of firing her.
This places the target not on Ferrer, but on the Board of Supervisors - the initial intent of this petiton.
You should contact the supervisors and ask them why they intend to have a health department that is not accountable to the public. Tell them how you feel about her lockdown rules - which are now THEIR lockdown rules. Do they agree with these rules? Do they feel, as an elected official, that these were rules they were elected to implement?
Keep in mind each of these Supervisors represents their own supervisorial district. Click here to find out who represents you.
Kathryn Barger (5th district) - probably our friendliest voice on this issue. She can give us some answers.
Janice Hahn (4th district) - could also be friendly on this issue.
Holly Mitchell (2nd district) - not as friendly - also uses "health racism" language. She also serves some of the neighborhoods hardest hit by transient camps. Pointing out the health hazard hypocrisy might hit her hard.
Hilda Solis (1st district) - not friendly, but is getting heat for her positions.
Lindsey Horvath (3rd district) - probably the least friendly. She barely beat the more moderate Hertzberg in the 2022 election, and is fully on board with all this stuff. But she's open to embarassment. She tried to hide her ties to DSA radicals like LA Times owner's daughter, Nika Soon-Shiong.
Your donations made the difference!
Julie has confirmed that we helped her cover her deposition expenses. Which shows the value of organizing! If you'd still like to donate, you can reach her here.