by Michael Moore
I am writing this letter to bring attention to the systemic racism of Fresno County Court in the case of William Lollis. He is my brother, and I am appealing to the public on his behalf. In 2013, William was charged with Criminal Threat, P.C. 422. Racial prejudice was a defining feature of his trial and appeal process.
During a visit with his attorney, Beth Lee, an argument arose wherein she called him a “stupid Black son of a bitch, prick, motherfucker!” He promptly notified Presiding Judge Houry A. Sanderson and reported the incident to the California Bar Association.
Judge Sanderson asked Lee did she, in fact, make such a derogatory and racist characterization to her client. Lee affirmed the statement but said she was simply being sarcastic. Oddly, Judge Sanderson found this response to be satisfactory without further review.
Afterward Judge Sanderson turned her attention upon William for raising this objection. She became upset and accused him of provoking Lee’s outburst, unaware that in doing so she: 1) excused Lee’s behavior by neither reprimanding nor documenting her unprofessional conduct as an officer of the court, and 2) undercut Lee’s claim of sarcasm when she stated that Lee was “provoked” into using vulgar, demeaning language. Sarcasm, it is safe to say, is ironic and indirect, not laced with profanity and racial animus.
Court proceedings reveal a pattern of judicial bias as evidenced by falsified and “misplaced” records, denial of petitions for court documents, and favorable rulings for the prosecution. Case in point on the latter note: Judge Sanderson smoothed the way for DA Galston to add 40 illegal counts of Dissuading a Witness, P.C. 136.1(b), under the unauthorized case number F-13906192. Considering this ruling, it is little wonder that two years later the Court removed Judge Sanderson from a case for “prejudice” involving a Black defendant. (See People v. Snowden, 2015.)
William Lollis received a 92-year sentence as a consequence of prosecutorial misconduct and questionable rulings. He has been incarcerated 11 years for a nonviolent crime, eight years past the release date he would have received had he not been excessively sentenced as a result of unwarranted charges. The events and information contained herein are on record and can be accessed by transcript at the Fresno County Court, case number F-13902514.
Please help publicize this case on social, digital and print media platforms. The William Lollis family thanks you for your consideration and any efforts you may provide on this matter.
Respectfully,
Dominique Lollis, Otis Lollis, Fred Lee, Feness Flores, Carolyn Augustus, Areba Frierson and Marvin Rivers
