Judge Accused of Helping to Rig Death Sentence

The California Supreme Court is asking the attorney general's office to explain why a convicted murderer's death sentence shouldn't be reversed based on allegations that a now-deceased Alameda County judge colluded with prosecutors to ensure a capi-tal conviction by keeping Jews off the jury. The court on Wednesday issued an order to show cause based on defense lawyers' claims that convicted murderer Fred Freeman's 1987 trial was tainted when then-Superior Court Judge Stanley Golde allegedly told prosecutors to keep Jews off the jury because they would never vote to send someone to the gas chamber. Freeman's lawyers contend that John Quatman, who prosecuted the case as an Alameda County deputy district attorney, followed the judge's advice. They say he also has acknowledged in a declaration that the office's "standard practice" at the time was to exclude black women from capital case juries. [more]