Ex-Mayor's Attorney 'Very Confident' Bell Corruption Case Will Be Dropped
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — The infamous "Bell 8" are back in court on public corruption charges in the hopes of setting a date to convince a judge to drop the case against them.
KNX 1070's Ed Mertz reports there are signs of optimism coming from the legal team representing Oscar Hernandez, the former mayor of the city of Bell.
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"We're very confident," said attorney Stanley Friedman.
The eight defendants and their attorneys filled a courtroom Thursday as the case resumed following a state Supreme Court ruling that requires prosecutors to show public officials were criminally negligent or knew they were breaking the law in public corruption cases.
Friedman is among those defense attorneys who claim prosecutors have not meet that burden of proof.
"In my view, the prosecutor did not show bad intent," he said.
But deputy district attorney Edward Miller, one of three prosecutors on the case, said he remains confident that there will be a trial.
"We believe that standard could be met," said Miller.
Defense attorneys will argue to dismiss charges in November.
