Hoagland

Two days before the trial court announced its decision in the case of City of Bakersfield v. Miller (Kern County No. 81886, the judgment in which was later affirmed by the Supreme Court—City of Bakersfield v. Miller, 64 Cal.2d 93 [ 48 Cal.Rptr. 889 , 410 P.2d 393 ]), the defendant herein, Kenneth W. Hoagland, City Attorney of Bakersfield, and one of its attorneys of record in that case, wrote a letter in the nature of an informal brief to the Honorable John Locke, Judge of the Superior Court of Tulare County, who had been assigned to try the case by the Chairman of the Judicial Council. A copy of the letter was served by mail on Messrs. Vizzard, Baker, Sullivan & McFarland, who were at that time, attorneys of record for Milton Miller. Mr. Miller alleges that facts were misrepresented in the document with a fraudulent intent on the part of Mr. Hoagland to deceive and mislead the trial judge so that he would decide the case in the city’s favor, and that the judge relied upon the letter although no opportunity was given to Mr. Miller to answer it. The letter was dated May 25, 1964, and the minute order for judgment was made on May 27,1964.

There can be no question but that at all of…