Staich v. Brown CA4/3

Filed 4/10/15 Staich v. Brown CA4/3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

IVAN VON STAICH,

Plaintiff and Appellant, G048449

v. (Super. Ct. No. 30-2012-00551494)

EDMUND G. BROWN, JR., as Governor, OPINION etc.,

Defendant and Respondent.

Appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court of Orange County, Glenda Sanders, Judge. Affirmed. Ivan Von Staich, in pro. per., for Plaintiff and Appellant. Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Jonathan L. Wolff, Assistant Attorney General, Thomas S. Patterson and Suzanne Antley, Deputy Attorneys General, for Defendant and Respondent. * * *

Ivan Von Staich’s grant of parole was reversed by the Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. He brought a habeas claim seeking reinstatement of the grant of parole before the trial court, which heard his case and issued a decision denying his petition. This court and the California Supreme Court both subsequently denied relief. Unsatisfied with this result, Staich sued the Governor for contempt, arguing the Governor had considered parts of his criminal record the trial judge in his original case had ordered removed from his prison record. He sought $1,000 as a fine for contempt, damages payable to him in an unnamed amount, and a reversal of the order denying parole. The trial court sustained the Governor’s demurrer without leave to amend, concluding issue preclusion barred Staich’s claim. We agree and therefore affirm. I FACTS In 1983, Staich was convicted of second degree murder with use of a firearm and attempted second degree murder. Twenty days after his release from a federal prison term, he killed his former girlfriend’s new husband and attacked the former girlfriend, leaving her with severe injuries. He was sentenced to 30 years to life. In 2011, a parole consideration hearing was held before the Board of Parole Hearings (BPH). Parole was granted, but the Governor reversed the grant of parole on February 12, 2012, finding Staich would pose a current danger to the public if released. The Governor noted the circumstances of the instant offense, as well as Staich’s social history, which included criminal behavior, juvenile arrests, threats, intimidation, and physical attacks. In a 2010 psychological evaluation, the Governor noted, the evaluator assessed Staich’s current level of insight into his intrapersonal functioning and his crime as inadequate. Additionally, the evaluator found Staich was not a totally creditable or reliable historian. The evaluator determined the risk of violence, if he was freed, was moderate to high.