The county of Humboldt and its long-on-leave counsel have parted ways but Jeff Blanck is not leaving empty-handed after the two parties agreed to a $600,000 settlement, according to reports by the Lost Coast Outpost and the Times-Standard. Read those stories here and here. Blanck was placed on administrative leave by the board of supervisors […]
Jeff Blanck
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The County’s $3.5 Million Settlement
The county of Humboldt has settled the federal civil rights lawsuit stemming from the 2014 jail death of Daren Borges, agreeing to pay Borges’ family $3.5 million in damages and legal fees, and to make various changes to jail policy. Borges, 42, a homeless, schizophrenic poet and artist, was living in Eureka at the time […]
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Hearing Set in Public Defender Case Amid Settlement Offer, Allegations of Delay Tactics
The Humboldt County Superior Court has set a hearing next month to determine whether embattled Public Defender David Marcus meets the minimum state qualifications to hold his job. But Patrik Griego, the attorney who brought the lawsuit challenging Marcus’ hire, is worried the county is engaging in a pattern of “gamesmanship” intended to delay the […]
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Supes to Discuss Threatened Public Defender Lawsuit Tuesday
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors will convene in closed session Tuesday to discuss its newly hired public defender, whether he is qualified to hold his post and whether it should brave the threat of a lawsuit in order to keep him. As we reported Wednesday, local attorney Patrik Griego sent the county a letter […]