Is Pamela Dempsey the new Daniel Shinoff?

Attorney Pamela Dempsey sat for a week and a half in the San Diego Hall of Justice recently, getting paid by the taxpayers for sitting and listening to a powerful indictment of illegal actions committed by her client, Chula Vista Elementary School District.

Dempsey didn't have much to say. She isn't stupid. Her body language revealed how well she knew that her client was obviously in the wrong. After the first couple of days, she and Assistant Superintendent Tom Cruz stopped the traditional practice of standing and facing the jury for the entire time that the jury was walking in or out of the courtroom. Sure, they stood, but they tended to look away, or talk to each other. On December 4, 2007, I saw Dempsey turn toward the jury and immediately bend over coughing. This is a good sign, I think. It shows she knows the difference between right and wrong.

Why didn't she insist that the district settle this case? Because she gets paid to sit in court. Also, the CVESD board, which shows no signs of having a conscience, would probably just get another attorney.

The individuals mentioned above, however, are just bit players in a show written and directed by San Diego County Office of Education-Joint Powers Authority and other public entity groups who work with Keenan and Associates insurance brokers to use taxpayer dollars to support and cover up illegal behavior by school boards and administrators.

My day in court

Remember the joke about the principal who never bothered to observe the teacher in the classroom? Wait--that wasn't a joke, that was my life. It describes most principals I've known.

It seems that Danielle Coziahr's second principal was typical in this respect. What sets him apart is his attitude toward women with babies. He seems to have erected a glass ceiling above Coziahr the first time he met her, when she had her baby in one arm and her other arm extended to shake Alex Cortes' hand. He stepped back and observed her with disdain before finally shaking her extended hand.

As I listened to Danielle's testimony today, I was embarrassed for Assistant Superintendent Tom Cruz, sitting there in the courtroom with his Parham & Rajcic attorney, Pamela Dempsey. I feel that Mr. Cruz is basically a decent guy, with one weakness; he carries water for the wrong people. [NOTE: I WAS FORCED TO REVISE MY OPINION OF MR. CRUZ AS I LISTENED TO LATER TESTIMONY IN THIS CASE. I THINK HE IS A LEADER, NOT JUST A FOLLOWER, REGARDING DISTRICT WRONGDOING. OF COURSE, LEADERS WOULD HAVE NO POWER IF IT WEREN'T FOR ALL THEIR WILLING FOLLOWERS, SO PERHAPS FOLLOWERS ARE JUST AS RESPONSIBLE FOR WRONGDOING AS ARE THOSE WHO GIVE THE ORDERS.]

I hope that CTA is paying Coziahr's lawyers. They certainly ought to.

Tomorrow Alex Cortes tells his side of the story. That should be interesting.