Cespedes

I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff and appellant Ronny Cespedes appeals from a judgment denying his

petition for writ of administrative mandamus (Code Civ. Proc., § 1094.5) seeking judicial

review of the decision to terminate his employment as a full-time police officer with the

1 City of Montclair (city). The trial court denied his petition for failure to exhaust all

available administrative remedies prior to seeking judicial review.

On appeal, Cespedes does not contest that the administrative process provided for

appeal of his termination to the Montclair City Council, and he does not contest the fact

that he failed to avail himself of this remedy. Instead, Cespedes argues that his failure to

exhaust his administrative remedy was excused because (1) appealing his termination to

the city council would have been a futile act; (2) the city council had a financial interest

in the outcome of his administrative proceeding, such that it could not sufficiently act as

an impartial tribunal to afford him due process; and (3) the procedures for any appeal to

the city council were too uncertain or inadequate.

We conclude that Cespedes’s claims for excuse, other than futility, have…