$20 Million lawsuit against San Bernardino County results in Computer with 30-GB of Alleged Child Porn being Returned to its Owner INTACT

A $20 million lawsuit in a Los Angeles Federal Court against the County of San Bernardino has resulted in an unprecedented ruling to return a computer without any files being erased, including 30-GB of images, some of which the County Sheriff contends are child pornography.

After a 3½-year felony criminal prosecution, the plaintiff in the Los Angeles Federal Court lawsuit, Samuel Clauder, was completely exonerated on December 7, 2012, with a “finding of factual innocence.”

On November 6, 2015, Clauder and three of his attorneys appeared before Judge R. Glenn Yabuno with a motion to unseal the criminal case for use in ongoing litigation, and to require the County Sheriff to release the computer to Clauder’s attorney without erasing anything from its hard drive. Clauder was represented at the hearing by prominent San Bernardino attorney Timothy Prince, along with Clauder’s former criminal attorney Rajan Maline, and his divorce attorney Donald Haslam.

Judge Yabuno issued the unprecedented ruling in Clauder’s favor, unsealing his criminal records from the felony child porn case to be used only in his two lawsuits and divorce, and ordering the computer be returned to Clauder intact without anything having been erased from the hard drive.

Unhappy with the ruling, the County of San Bernardino set an “emergency” ex parte hearing on Friday, November 13, claiming that the images should not be released from the Sheriff’s custody. Clauder appeared with his attorneys again at the San Bernardino Justice Center, and the County demanded that Yabuno change his order and block the release of the computer seized from Clauder’ s former home which was used as evidence in the criminal case.

Yabuno refused, stating that Clauder and his attorneys should take possession of the property, but granted the County’s request for a temporary stay to allow the County to petition the District Court of Appeal in Riverside. A hearing on the status of the petition and the stay is set for November 25.

While working as a Congressional Representative staffer for United States Congressman Joe Baca (D-San Bernardino) in March 2009, Clauder was charged with felony possession of child pornography by San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael Ramos.

Clauder lost his congressional staffer job, became a national scandal and social pariah unfit for employment, suffered three nervous breakdowns, went homeless and destitute and lived on the streets, fled death threats, and, after returning from exile to fight for his innocence, was tricked by a San Bernardino judge into spending 50 days in county jail.

After being told in 2013 he could pick up his property at any time, Clauder went into the Sheriff’s Office on October 27, 2015, to do so and was told because of his lawsuit he would need a court order releasing it to him. One hour later, Clauder’s attorneys received an email from the county stating the computer’s hard drive would be completely erased before releasing it to him.

The following day, during a deposition of Clauder by the San Bernardino County Counsel, civil rights attorney Timothy Prince demanded the County not erase anything on the computer because it contains key evidence supporting Clauder’s lawsuit and because it was never proved in court that the computer contained anything illegal.

Clauder has a separate constitutional lawsuit pending in state court to revoke the immunity from prosecution which law enforcement officers and prosecutors enjoy when they break the law. Sacramento appellate attorney Steven Sanders represents Clauder in the constitutional case.

More information is available from attorneys Timothy Prince at (909) 888-1000, Rajan Maline at (951) 779-0221 and Steven Sanders at (916) 376-8738.