PublicRecordsTimCrewsVWillowUnified

The Superior Court of
California, County of Glenn

Case Number:         10CV00786
Case Title:               CREWS, TIM VS
SUPERIOR COURT OF CAL
Case Type:              WRIT OF MANDATE
Filing Date:              01/05/10
Disposition Date:     09/02/10
JUDGMENT ENTERED

Judge: PETER B. TWEDE

Parties

CREWS, TIM
DOING BUSINESS AS:
THE SACRAMENTO
VALLEY MIRROR
PLAINTIFF        Attorney: BOYLAN, PAUL
NICHOLAS

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIF,
COUNTY OF GLENN
DEFENDANT     Attorney: MORRISON
& FOERSTER, LLP

Actions Date         Action Description
09/02/10         STATEMENT OF
DECISION W/POS AS TO COUNSEL

09/02/10         JUDGMENT W/POS TO
COUNSEL

08/26/10         R'S OBJECTION TO
PETITIONER'S PROPOSED
STATEMENT

07/13/10         COURT'S TENTATIVE
DECISION WITH POS MAILED TO
P/R ON 7/16/10

06/25/10         MINUTE ORDER
NOTICE OF POSTPONEMENT OF
TENTATIVE RULING

06/10/10         RESPONDENTS REPLY
TO PETITIONERS REQT FOR
POSTPONEMENT OF CT DEC &
REQT FOR POSTPONMENT

06/10/10         FAX FILING (P'S
REQUEST FOR POSTPONEMENT OF
THE COURT'S DECISION) 3 PAGES

06/04/10         FAX FILING
PETITIONER'S REQUEST FOR
STATEMENT
OF DECISION (5 PAGES)

06/04/10         R'S STATEMENT OF
ISSUES

05/24/10         2ND SUPP DECL OF
JANELLE BARTLETT IN SUPRT OF
RETURN TO PETN FOR WRIT OF
MANDATE

05/24/10         R'S RESPONSE TO
PETITIONER'S SUPPLEMENTAL
REPLY

05/14/10         SUPPLEMENTAL
DECLARATION OF PAUL NICHOLAS
BOYLAN IN SUPP OF P'S
SUPLMNTAL BY FAX 15 PGS

04/20/10         SUPPLEMENTAL
DECLARATION OF JANELLE
BARTLETT IN
SUPPORT OF RETURN TO PETN
FOR WRIT OF MANDATE

04/20/10         SUPPLEMENTAL
DECLARATION OF JAMES E. BODDY
IN
SUPPORT OF RETURN TO PETN
FOR WRIT OF MANDATE

04/08/10         FAX FILING (STIP &
ORDER CONTINUING 4/8/10 HRG)
$20.00 STIP/ORDER & $2.00 FAXG -2
PGS-

04/08/10         STIPULATION & ORDER
FAX FILED 4/8/10 CK 1442

03/29/10         DECLARATION OF TIM
CREWS IN SUPPORT OF
PETITIONER'S REPLY

03/29/10         DECLARATION OF
PAUL NICHOLAS BOYLAN IN
SUPPORT
OF PETITIONER'S REPLY

03/19/10         RETURN OF
RESPONDENT TO PETN FOR WRIT
OF
MANDATE

03/19/10         R'S DECL OF JAMES E.
BODDY IN SUPPORT OF RETURN
TO PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDATE

03/19/10         R'S POS RE: RETURN
TO PETITION FOR WRIT OF
MANDATE BY MAIL ON 3/19/10 AS TO
PLNTF

03/18/10         DECLARATION
OFJANELLE BARTLETT IN SUPPORT
OF
RETURN TO PETITION FOR WRIT OF
MANDATE

03/18/10         DECLARATION OF TINA
M BURKHART IN SUPPORT OF
RETURN TO PETITION FOR WRIT OF
MANDATE

02/02/10         P'S NTC OF MTN & MTN
FOR ORDER EXPEDITING HRG;
APPELLATE JUDGE; P&A; DECL
($50.00) LTR FAXED

02/02/10         P'S MOTION FOR
EXPEDITING HRG
FAX FILED 2/2/10 CK 1442

01/14/10         POS OF
SUMMONS/PETN IN PERSON 1/12/10
AS TO
JANELLE BARTLETT

01/08/10         WRIT OF MANDATE

01/05/10         CIVIL CASE COVER
SHEET (1 PAGE)

01/05/10         VERIFIED PETN FOR
WRIT OF MANDATE ORDERING
ACCESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS
($355 + $9)

01/05/10         SUMMONS ISSUED (1
PAGE)

01/05/10         NOTICE OF CASE
MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE
*HRG SET 6/04/2010* MAILED

01/05/10         CLERK'S CERTIFICATE
OF MAILING RE: NTC OF CASE
MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE

Events Date         Time         Event
Description         Dept Code
Department/Judge
06/04/10         14:30         CASE
MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE
FILED 1/05/2010

Disposition Date: 06/03/10
VACATED

  SPT         HONORABLE PETER B.
TWEDE
06/03/10         11:00         COURT
TRIAL - SHORT CAUSE
*WRIT OF MANDATE*
-TELEPHONIC APPEARANCE-

Disposition Date: 06/03/10
CASE TAKEN UNDER SUBMISSION

  SAJ         ASSIGNED JUDGE
(WILLOWS)
04/22/10         11:00         COURT
TRIAL - SHORT CAUSE
*WRIT OF MANDATE*
-TELEPHONIC APPEARANCE-

Disposition Date: 04/22/10
HRD; CONTD 6/3/10

  SAJ         ASSIGNED JUDGE
(WILLOWS)
04/15/10         16:00         STATUS
REVIEW
*ALL TO APPEAR TELEPHONICALLY*

Disposition Date: 04/15/10
HEARD; COURT TRIAL CONFIRMED

  SAJ         ASSIGNED JUDGE
(WILLOWS)
04/08/10         14:30         STATUS
REVIEW HEARING
*VIA TELEPHONIC APPEARANCE BY
ALL*

Disposition Date: 04/08/10
VACATED & RESET PER STIP/ORDR
4/15/10

  SAJ         ASSIGNED JUDGE
(WILLOWS)
03/05/10         13:00         P'S NTC OF
MTN & MTN FOR ORDER
EXPEDITING HRG/APPT APPELLATE
JUDGE;P&A;
DECL OF PAUL BOYLAN *FILED
2/02/2010*

Disposition Date: 02/25/10
VACATED-APPELLATE JUDGE
APPOINTED

  SPT         HONORABLE PETER B.
TWEDE
02/25/10         11:00         STATUS
REVIEW HEARING
*BY TELEPHONE CONFERENCE
CALL*

Disposition Date: 02/25/10
HEARD; ORDERS MADE; CONTD
4/08/10

  SAJ         ASSIGNED JUDGE
(WILLOWS)

Superior Court of
California, County of
Glenn

Case Information Case
Number:         10CV00860
Case Title:         CREWS, TIM VS
WILLOWS UNIFIED SCHOO
Case Type:         WRIT OF
MANDATE
Filing Date:         09/20/10
Disposition Date:         12/27/10
     DISMISSED ENTIRE ACTION
W/0 PREJUDICE

Parties Name         Type
Attorney
CREWS, TIM
PETITIONER         BOYLAN,
PAUL NICHOLAS
     PETITIONER: SACRAMENTO
VALLEY MIRROR BOYLAN,
PAUL NICHOLAS
WILLOWS UNIFIED SCHOOL
DISTRICT
RESPONDENT

Actions Date         Action
Description
12/27/10         REQUEST FOR
DISMISSAL OF ENTIRE ACTION
WITHOUT PREJUDICE

11/12/10         FAX FILING NTC
OF MOT & MOT RE:
PEREMPTORY
CHALLENGE *5 PAGES*

11/12/10         PEREMPTORY
CHALLENGE (170.6) FILED BY
PLAINTIFF RE: PETER B TWEDE

11/05/10         WILLOWS
UNIFIED ANSWER TO AMENDED
COMPLAINT

10/13/10         FAX FILING
PROOF OF SERVICE VIA EMAIL
2 PAGES

10/07/10         FIRST AMENDED
VERIFIED PETITION FOR WRIT
OF
MANDATE; SUMMONS ISSUED

10/07/10         DECLARATION
OF PAUL NICHOLAS BOYLAN IN
SUPPORT
OF MEMO OF PTS & AUTH RE:
1ST AMENDED PET

10/07/10         P'S
MEMORANDUM OF POINTS &
AUTHORITIES IN
SUPPORT OF 1ST AMENDED
VERIFIED PETITION

09/20/10         PETITION FOR
WRIT OF MANDATE
*SUMMONS ISSUED* *15 PAGES*

09/20/10         PETITION FOR
WRIT OF MANADATE
CK#1461

09/20/10         NOTICE OF CASE
MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE

09/20/10         CIVIL CASE
COVER SHEET

Events Date         Time
Event Description         Dept
Code         Department/Judge
01/21/11         14:30         CASE
MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE
*PBT 170.6*

Disposition Date: 12/27/10
VACATED DISMISSAL FILED

     SPT         HONORABLE
PETER B. TWEDE

Man charged $56,000 for requesting records from school
district

If publisher Tim Crews loses his public records case, we all lose as well.
October 15, 2012
Jim Newton
LA Times

The ability of Californians to scrutinize their government may rest on the outcome of a little-
known case unfolding in a tiny Northern California town.

It began routinely enough. Tim Crews, the pugnacious, 69-year-old editor and publisher of
the Sacramento Valley Mirror, a twice-weekly newspaper that serves Glenn County, filed a
request under the California Public Records Act for records held by the local school
district. Specifically, Crews was looking for evidence that district officials might have spent
public money to influence the outcome of a local election.

District officials did what public officials in California all-too-often do when confronted with a
request they don't like. They stalled. At first, they refused to turn over anything. Then they
turned over some of the records Crews had asked for, but in a format that made it
impossible to search them. And when Crews asked for attachments referred to in some of
the emails released in the request, the district refused to hand them over.

Crews is nothing if not dogged. He kept at it, finally persuading a judge to review
thousands of the documents in chambers. The judge spent 45 minutes going through the
material and then declined, without explanation, to release any more of it.

Up to that point, the case was fairly unremarkable, one of thousands of disputed but
ultimately resolved Public Records Act requests that wind their way through public
agencies and courts every year. But then the judge in Crews' case, Peter Twede, did
something extraordinary: He concluded that Crews' request had been frivolous, and he
ordered Crews to pay not only his own legal bills but those of the school district. For the
privilege of obtaining documents that were his legal right to have, Crews was
ordered to pay more than $100,000, an amount later reduced to $56,000.

If the judgment stands — Crews has appealed — it would have a devastating effect on the
newspaper, which only has about 2,800 paid subscribers. "It would wipe us out," Crews told
me last week.

It would do more than that. If upheld by the appellate courts, the judgment would radically
alter the contours of the Public Records Act in California. Imagine if every time citizens
asked for records under the act, they faced the possibility of having to bear not only their
own legal expenses but also those that the agency might run up defending itself. Who
could afford such risk?

The consequences of Crews' case are so far-reaching that a number of organizations
have come to his defense, including the First Amendment Coalition (on whose board I
serve without compensation). William T. Bagley, who wrote California's public records law
while in the Assembly in the late 1960s, has also filed an amicus brief in support of the
editor.

Crews is used to conflict. He went to jail for five days in 2000 for refusing to identify a
source. It wasn't so bad, he recently recalled. "I watched a couple movies; wrote some
long, long columns." Over the last five years he's filed more than a dozen cases seeking
public records or claiming violations of the state's open meetings laws. It's easy to see why
some officials are annoyed by him, but he doesn't scare easily.

Still, with the future of his newspaper at stake, Crews is taking the threat seriously. The
paper has never missed a publication date in the 23 years he has been there, and it has
served as an important watchdog of local government, in the best tradition of community
newspapers.

All that is reason enough to be troubled by the action of the judge in the Crews case. But
the potential damage to the public extends well beyond Glenn County and even beyond
the Public Records Act itself.

If upheld, this ruling would fundamentally reorient the relationship between the people of
California and those who represent them. It would require members of the public to put
themselves at risk to learn about their own government. It would recast government
agencies and elected officials as immune from public scrutiny rather than accountable
through that scrutiny.

As the Public Records Act itself states: "The people of this state do not yield their
sovereignty to the agencies which serve them." For that reason alone, Crews deserves to
win and his paper to survive.

Attorney Paul
Nicholas Boylan

40% Government
20% Education
10% Criminal Defense
10% International Law

Contact Information
PO Box 719
Davis, CA 95617
Office: 530-297-7184

24 years since Paul Nicholas
Boylan was first licensed to
practice law.
State         License status
Year acquired         Last updated
by Avvo
California         Active
1989         11/05/2012

We have not found any instances
of professional misconduct for
this lawyer.
Education

School
California St Univ
Northridge
undergraduate
UC Davis SOL King
Hall                         law

Commissioner becomes
14th Glenn judge
Nov 19 2008
By Rick Longley
Willows Journal

Surrounded by family, friends and
colleagues, Glenn County
Superior Court Judge
Peter Twede took the
oath of office Friday to become
the 14th such judge in Glenn
County’s history.

“It is a rare occasion to swear in a
Superior Court judge here,” said
Judge Don Byrd, who presided
over the ceremony, as retired
Judges Angus Saint-Evens and
Roy G. MacFarland observed.

Byrd noted Twede did not want a
lot of attention, but he told him a
formal ceremony was necessary,
he said.

“Any judge will tell you this is a
wonderful spot to be put into,”
Byrd said. It is also a learning
experience and a lot of hard work.

MacFarland said he had put a
great deal of thought into his
advice on how to be a judge. In
fact, he had three pounds of
notes on the subject, but Byrd
threw them into the trash to
laughter from the audience.

In essence, MacFarland advised
Twede to follow “due justice” after
quoting the Latin term for the
phrase.

“I am quite honored with
Peter’s elevation and
election,” he said, also
observing Twede was nationally
recognized for his work as a
judicial commissioner in Glenn
and surrounding counties.

And he expressed satisfaction at
having “two young, eager judges”
on the bench in this county,
MacFarland said.

Before Byrd introduced Saint-
Evens, he recalled Saint-Evens
was the only judge to serve all
three positions in Glenn County
courts before they were
consolidated into a superior court
a few years ago.

Saint-Evens began in the Glenn
County Justice Court, moved up
to the Municipal Court and finally
the Superior Court in 1998. He
retired June 30. Twede was
elected to replace Saint-Evens
during the June Primary election.

“He has been a colleague, friend
and court bench officer for 30
years,” Saint-Evens said of
Twede. “I can’t think of leaving
the courts in better hands than
his and Judge Byrd’s.”

From there, the ceremony began
with Byrd administering the oath
with Twede’s wife, Judy, by his
side in the Superior Court room.

“This is a significant moment in
my life,” Twede said. “I want to
thank the people here to offer
their congratulations on
continuing my judicial career.”

Having worked as a commissioner
in Tehama, Colusa and Plumas
counties, Twede said it will be
difficult for his car not to turn
towards Chico and Quincy on
Wednesday mornings since that
is where he has traveled the past
11 years.

However, he believes the
transition will be seamless thanks
to the work of his court executive
officer and staff, Twede said.

Several Orland area local
government officials attended the
ceremony including Vice-Mayor
Bruce Roundy, Glenn County
Supervisor Tracey Quarne,
Supervisor-elect John Viegas and
Orland Police Chief Bob Pasero.

Sheriff Larry Jones was there as
well.

“I’ve known him for 30 years. We
are neighbors,” Roundy said. “He
couldn’t be a more perfect fit
for the county. His experience
and knowledge will make him
an excellent jurist.”

[Maura Larkins to Vice-Mayor
Roundy: "A perfect fit"?
Exactly what kind of a county
is Glenn County?]

For his part, Quarne joked about
attending the ceremony.

“It was one of the most pleasant
experiences in my life,” he said. “I
was in the presence of four
judges and for once, I did not
have to write out a check.”

He added he has confidence in
those on the bench in Glenn
County.

Pasero said he thinks Twede will
be a good judge because he is
extremely fair and
balanced in his decisions.

[Maura Larkins comment: Just like
Fox News? I think judges are
supposed to behave differently
from media outlets.]

The police chief first met him
when Pasero came to Orland in
1983.

Jones also complimented Twede.
“He already has the experience
base by which to render sound
legal decisions,” Jones said, and
he should serve the county well.

Superior Court Judge Peter
Twede with his head thrown
back. The body language
suggests a feeling of
superiority, enabling him to
look down his nose at others.

The following article is interesting even though it confuses the City of Willows with
the Willows Unified School District and seems to be written by a public entity lawyer
or his assistant.

Newspaperman Tim Crews Hit With Over $56,000 In Fees
And Costs For Bringing What Trial Judge Believed To Be
Frivolous California Public Records Act Petition
by California Attorney Fees
September 18, 2011

Update from our 11/24/10 Post on Crews v. City of Willows.

   In our November 24, 2010 post, we discussed Crews v. City of Willows, a Third District
decision which affirmed a rejection of newspaperman Tim Crews’ attempt to obtain attorney’
s fees against the City of Willows under a California Publics Record Act proceeding. Mr.
Crews claimed that the City was not producing (or was too slow in producing) requested
public documents, but both the lower and intermediate appellate courts determined that he
had “jumped the gun” given that the City was producing documents on a rolling
basis. Now, we have an update for you readers.

   Recently, Glenn County Superior Court Judge Peter Twede ruled that Mr. Crews’ suit
was frivolous, which allows the lower court to impose fees and court costs against the
litigant seeking public records disclosure. That is what Judge Twede did, awarding more
than $56,000 in fees and court costs against Mr. Crews and in favor of the City. (This is a
risk that a litigant faces when the fee-shifting statute is mutual and allows fees to the
“prevailing party,” no matter whether prosecuting or defending a suit/proceeding. See
photograph below.)

   Earlier, Mr. Crews was awarded more than $100,000 in court costs in a similar disclosure
proceeding against the Glenn County Office of Education. Interestingly enough, Mr. Crews
claimed that he was a pauper in his opposition to the City of Willows’ recent fees/costs
motion, a claim that Judge Twede disregarded because it was extremely self-serving in
nature [Maura Larkins comment: "Extremely"? Is that the judge's opinion or the
opinion of the anonymous author of this article?]. Looks like we will be reporting on this
some more, because Mr. Crews’ most recent attorney is planning to appeal the recent fee
award to the Third District. For more on this story, see Tom Gascoyne’s September 15,
2011 article at newsreview.com.

Costly reporting
Valley Mirror publisher Tim Crews gets slapped with court fees
By Tom Gascoyne
Chico News and Review
09.15.11.

The battle over court fees related to public-records requests continues for Tim Crews,
publisher and editor of the Willows-based Sacramento Valley Mirror. A Glenn County
Superior Court judge has ruled that the newsman must pay more than $56,000 in court costs
related to a lawsuit he filed against the Willows Unified School District over allegations the
district did not respond in a timely manner to his requests.

And his former attorney says the judge’s latest ruling in the case could have a detrimental
impact on a newspaper’s ability to get such records in a timely manner.

It’s a complex story that goes back a couple years, with one party suggesting that Crews uses
court cases to fund his operations and the other stating that a rural county judge has little
respect for the state’s public-records law.

In 2009, Crews sued the Willows Unified School District and then-Superintendant Steve
Olmos. Crews was searching for evidence of misspending by the district, and he contended
the district was not meeting his request for public records in a timely manner as prescribed by
the state’s Public Records Act.

The law says, right in its introduction: “If an agency improperly withholds records, a member
of the public may enforce, in court, his or her right to inspect or copy the records and receive
payment for court costs and attorney’s fees.”

But Glenn County Superior Court Judge Peter Twede ruled that Crews had jumped the gun
and made a motion, also called a writ, before the district had finished its task of providing the
records. Therefore, Twede ruled, Crews’ suit was frivolous.

“There was simply no reason to serve the writ so long as the respondent [the school district]
continued to provide the data in the exact format demanded by the petitioner [Crews],”
Twede wrote in his judgment.

Crews’ tendency to muckrake has made him less then popular in some Glenn County circles,
especially among government leaders who are often his target. Willows City Manager Steve
Holsinger has suggested Crews is more interested in making money than ferreting out the
truth. But Crews claims court-awarded fees go only to his attorneys, and that he keeps his
paper operating by serving not only as editor but also its deliverer (he’s aided by a copy
editor). “We have volunteers, and we’re very frugal,” he said during an interview last January.
“We have no heat in our office.”

For this case, Crews referred this reporter to his former attorney, Paul Boylan, and current
attorney, Karl Olson. Boylan said the district took a long time responding to the requests.

“[The paper] wanted the information sooner rather than later, and as an impetus to show they
were serious they filed a lawsuit,” Boylan said. “The Willows Unified School District continued
to provide documents very, very slowly, and many, many months later they finished. And
when they finished I took a look at the documents and found out some were missing, as were
attachments to emails.”

Crews and Boylan were granted a hearing on the matter. Twede, Boylan said, told the district
that it didn’t have to provide all of the requested records but did have to include the email
attachments.

“Now, under normal circumstances that makes the party making the request [Crews] the
prevailing party in a lawsuit like this,” Boylan said. “But Judge Twede didn’t think so. He
thought because the action was filed before all of the records were produced that somehow it
made the lawsuit frivolous, and he awarded fees to the school district.”

Boylan said that, as far as he knows, the ruling is unprecedented.

“My take is that we are on the cutting edge of some new law, basically,” Boylan said. “Judge
Twede is saying in essence that a party that comes to him—or to any court, for that matter—
cannot file an action until after the public agency that has records has finished providing
those records.”

The Public Records Act includes this: “Prevailing plaintiffs shall be awarded court costs and
attorney’s fees. A plaintiff need not obtain all of the requested records in order to be the
prevailing party in litigation. A plaintiff is also considered the prevailing party if the lawsuit
ultimately motivated the agency to provide the requested records. Prevailing defendants may
be awarded court costs and attorney fees only if the requestor’s claim is clearly frivolous.”

Twede apparently thought so.

“What’s really at issue here at this point,” said Boylan, “is not just whether or not Mr. Crews is
going to have to pay attorneys’ fees, but whether or not a party is allowed to file a lawsuit
before a local agency produces whatever records they are going to produce. As a matter of
fact I do it all of the time, but I’m not going to do it anymore, not until this issue is resolved.”

In his judgment Twede writes that on Jan. 24 Crews filed a declaration “that he was, for all
intents and purposes, a pauper without funds of any sort nor any sources of funds with which
to pay any award of fees should the court be so inclined to make such an order.”

Twede called the declaration “exceptionally self-serving” and said it was filed without Crews
offering any proof of being a pauper. And he refers to a 2007 case in which Crews was
awarded court costs from the Glenn County Office of Education in the amount of $100,000.

Crews and Boylan have said there were actually two checks written as requested by the
county Office of Education. Both men’s names were on the checks, they said, but both went
directly into Boylan’s bank account. “I had to pay the taxes on it,” Boylan said this week.

Crews’ current attorney, Olson, said an appeal should be filed by next month.