TS -Names may be withheld in August case

Names may be withheld in August case
The Times-Standard
Friday, March 04, 2005 - 6:14:50 AM PST

EUREKA -- Names of members of the grand jury and confidential informants used in the case against Debi August are likely to be withheld, according to a statement by Judge John T. Feeney.

Earlier this week, answering a request from William F. Bragg and Gregory Rael, defense attorneys for August, Feeney said he was leaning toward holding back names of those individuals involved in documenting the case.

Saying they already know the names of grand jury members, Bragg and Rael said "the members of the investigating committee" are at issue.

"We are requesting to know who authored the documents and copies of the communication documents sent to and from the committee," said Rael.

The Humboldt County District Attorney's Office filed the case against August, a real estate agent and member of the Fortuna City Council, following a grand jury investigation that accused her of a conflict of interest when she went before the Fortuna Planning Commission last year to advocate for a subdivision plan for a friend.

The case also accuses August of improperly filing required annual financial forms with the state political practices office and of violating a grand jury secrecy admonition.

Charges were filed May 4, 2004; the trial is set to begin on May 2.

The prosecution, represented by the District Attorney's Office, is seeking only to remove August from her seat on the City Council for the remainder of her term, which ends in April 2006.

There will be another case management meeting at 4 p.m., on March 14.