Bakersfield.com: Kern County news, events, classifieds, shopping, & search

Ruling on Brothers' records stands

This story originally appeared September 18, 2003

By CHARLES ADAMSON, Californian staff writer
e-mail: cadamson@bakersfield.com | Thursday, Feb 15 2007 4:19 PM

Last Updated: Thursday, Feb 15 2007 4:19 PM

A Superior Court judge denied a motion on Wednesday by the Bakersfield City School District to reconsider releasing personnel records detailing allegations of violence and sexual misconduct by Fremont School Vice Principal Vincent Brothers.

Kern County Judge Kenneth Twisselman II had already ruled on Sept. 5 that school district records of a complaint made in February 1996 would be released to The Californian. He ruled it should be opened because the complaint was substantial, well-founded and it was in the public's interest to know how the district investigated and dealt with such a complaint.

The district plans to appeal the decision. The records will remain sealed until at least Oct. 2, or longer depending on the appellate court's decision.

When asked why the district was appealing, school board president Al Gutierrez said Wednesday that he was shocked by Twisselman's Sept. 5 ruling.

"We don't want to set precedent and not be able to protect our employees," Gutierrez said. "We have a hell of a lot more employees than Mr. Brothers."

Brothers is the only suspect police have named in the slayings of his wife Joanie Harper, 39; their children Marques, 4, Lyndsey, 2, and Marshall, 6 weeks; and Joanie's mother, Earnestine Harper, 70. The five were found shot and stabbed to death in their central Bakersfield home July 8.

BCSD's attorney Urrea Jones, of Pasadena-based law firm Jones & Matson, attempted to convince Twisselman that releasing the documents would violate Brothers' right to a fair trial if he is charged with the slayings of his family members. And, according to Jones, it would impede the district attorney's ability to effectively prosecute such charges.

"This could so inflame the passions of the community that a fair trial could not be had," Jones told Twisselman.

Jones also tried to convince the judge that such complaints must be provably true in order to be released to the public.

"There is no reasonable cause to believe the complaints were true," he wrote in his motion.

The Californian's attorney, Duffy Carolan, said it wasn't the court's job to determine the truthfulness of the allegations and Jones was trying to argue issues that Twisselman had already ruled on.

Jones & Matson took over the case after the district removed Miller Brown & Dannis following Twisselman's Sept. 5 ruling against the district.

"You can't just come into court when the court has already made its decision and rehash old issues," Carolan said. "The court doesn't resolve the truth of the allegations. It just determines whether they were well-founded."

Jones refused to comment to reporters in the courthouse, quickly leaving the building after the ruling.

Twisselman declined a request by The Californian that he declare that BCSD violated the public records law by not giving the paper straightforward answers regarding the records request.

BCSD had sought to keep Brothers' personnel records secret and The Californian in turn filed suit July 24 under provisions of the California Public Records Act. Brothers was vice principal at Emerson Middle School when the complaint of alleged violence and sexual misconduct was made.

The Californian's executive editor, Mike Jenner, said he was pleased by the ruling. Twisselman "clearly weighed Vincent Brothers' privacy rights against the public interest, and decided the public interest was served by disclosure."