ER - Two protestors call Dikeman a "racist"; he disagrees

Two protestors call Dikeman a "racist"; he disagrees
News Articles | from the Eureka Reporter |
by Christine Bensen-Messinger | May 20, 2006

Two county residents stood outside of the Humboldt County Courthouse Friday morning with signs encouraging people not to vote for Humboldt County District Attorney candidate Worth Dikeman because they say he is “racist.”

“Mr. Dikeman is very prejudice against Native Americans,” said Ellie Bowman, who lives on the Rohnerville Rancheria in Loleta.

Dikeman said he respected the women’s right to freedom of speech, but saw it as a personal attack launched by the people running his opponent Paul Gallegos’ campaign.

“I think this is a (Richard) Salzman, (Alison) Sterling-Nichols trick,” he said. “It is a personal attack and it is the sleaziest of tactics.”

But the women said they were not involved in Gallegos’ campaign and Gallegos’ campaign manager Nichols agreed.

“They’re not representing the campaign, but I have seen the quote that they found offensive and I can understand why they are upset and, of course, support anyone’s first amendment right to speak out,” she said.

Bowman and Madison Ayala, who lives on the Table Bluff reservation, handed out fliers to passersby titled, “Why I am here protesting at the courthouse today.”

The fliers included quotes the women said came from statements Dikeman made after excusing Native American jurors from the jury of a Fortuna man, Richard Craig Kesser, and his codefendants, Jennifer Gayle Leahy and Stephen Chiara. Kesser and his fiancée, Leahy, were convicted in 1992 of hiring Chiara to murder Kesser’s ex-wife.

“My experience is that Native Americans who are employed by the tribe are a little more prone to associate themselves with the culture and beliefs of the tribe … and that they are sometimes resistive of the criminal justice system,” a quote allegedly from Dikeman states.

But Dikeman said his quotes were taken out of context and he does not exclude jurors based on race, religion or sexual preference.

“Bad jurors come in all shapes, sizes, nationalities and colors,” he said. “It’s wrong to systematically exclude a group and I don’t do it because it’s wrong.”

The motion for a new trial based on the allegations that Dikeman excluded Native Americans based on their race was denied by the Humboldt County Superior Court Judge who heard it, the 1st District Court of Appeals, the Federal District Court and the 9th District Circuit Court of Appeals, he said.

Last year, a fifth motion to grant Kesser a retrial was heard by a group of 9th Circuit Court of Appeals judges in a petition debunk, which means more than the normal three judges hear the motion. A decision has not yet been released, he said.
While she was leaning toward voting for DA incumbent Paul Gallegos already, Bowman said now there is no question in her mind for whom she will vote, and she is planning to encourage others to vote for Gallegos as well.

“I’ll be out here everyday, rain or shine, until the election,” she said.

Ayala said she used to be uninterested in the DA’s race, but now she is planning to encourage others to vote for Gallegos.
“It more hit home for me because he said, ‘All Native American’s are unfit (to serve on a jury),’” she said, adding that she is Native American and goes to school and works. “He’s outing one race and that’s not fair. I don’t want a District Attorney who’s racist.”

But Dikeman said he does not exclude jurors based on their race and never would.

“It is wrong to systematically exclude groups from the jury pool. I don’t do it,” he said. “I haven’t done it and I will never do it.”