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Gold9472
12-29-2006, 07:06 PM
Lawyer falls to death at hotel
Seaside: Police suspect Paul Sanford committed suicide

http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/16326502.htm

By JULIA REYNOLDS
Herald Staff Writer

In what police describe as a "probable" suicide leap, a prominent Monterey Bay Area attorney fell at least nine floors to his death at the Embassy Suites Hotel Monterey Bay in Seaside the morning before Christmas.

Shortly before 9:30 a.m. Sunday, officers found the body of Aptos attorney Paul Sanford in the west end of the hotel lobby, where he had landed on a large ventilation grate.

Police Capt. Steve Cercone said horrified guests were eating breakfast in the atrium at the time, and a number of witnesses saw Sanford fall from somewhere between the 9th and 12th floors.

"I'm at a loss for words," said Sanford's friend and business associate, Monterey attorney Shawn Mills. "Paul really had his fingers in a lot of different pies. He was from the East Coast, and I used to call him our 'West Coast Kennedy.'"

In addition to running his criminal defense practice in Capitola, Sanford was active in community organizations and hosted several independent radio shows in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties.

For several years, he was programs supervisor at the Volunteer Center in Santa Cruz and a teacher at the Monterey College of Law, where Mills said Sanford was an alumnus who mentored many students.

Sanford recently purchased his mother's home in Pebble Beach, and Mills said his friend planned to retire there one day.

Sanford was also active in the national arena. He appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court in 2004 beside Elk Grove resident Michael Newdow when he argued unsuccessfully that the words "under God" should be stricken from the Pledge of Allegiance.

A passionate believer in "a dynamic Constitution," Sanford always carried a copy of the U.S. Constitution in his pocket, Mills said.

"He was a champion of the downtrodden, he represented homeless people in Santa Cruz, and fought for free speech," Mills said. "He did a run across America. You name it he's done it. This is a real shock and a loss to the community."

Mills said Sanford decided in recent years to add journalism to his many occupations.

Almost immediately, he caused a stir after he joined the White House Press Corps in 2005, making waves as the first reporter to ask then-White House press secretary Scott McClellan whether the leaking of CIA agent Valerie Plame's name might be considered an act of treason.

"There has been a lot of speculation concerning the meaning of the underlying statute and the grand jury investigation concerning Mr. Rove," Sanford asked. "The question is, have the legal counsel to the White House or White House staff reviewed the statute in sufficient specificity to determine whether a violation of that statute would, in effect, constitute treason?"

McClellan was apparently flustered by the question and replied that "those are matters for those overseeing the investigation to decide."

The White House incident sparked controversy after Beltway bloggers incorrectly described Sanford as a reporter for the Air America radio network. At the time, he was associated with Watsonville radio station KOMY, an Air America affiliate, and Sanford told reporters he never claimed to work for Air America.

Sanford eventually filed suit against station owner Michael Zwerling after Zwerling was reported as saying Sanford had not been authorized to represent the station as a reporter, a statement Sanford refuted.

Mills represented Sanford in that suit, which was scheduled to begin in Santa Cruz County Superior Court in February. Mills said he did not know if the case will continue after Sanford's sudden death.

Although the dispute with Zwerling caused Sanford a great deal of stress at the time, Mills said his friend was feeling fine about it and believed he would soon be vindicated in court.

Sanford and Mills also have hosted the "Paul and Shawn Show" on Saturdays at Seaside radio station KRXA, where they covered last fall's election and interviewed former Salinas mayor and now Assemblywoman Anna Caballero, Pacific Grove Mayor Dan Cort and others.

In 2002, Sanford inadvertently found himself at the center of a controversy in Santa Cruz County when his independent election fundraising was characterized in the Santa Cruz Sentinel as last-minute "developer" contributions on behalf of supervisor candidate Mark Primack. Primack lost to incumbent Mardi Wormhoudt by fewer than 600 votes.

Friends and associates expressed disbelief at the news of Sanford's death and that it was ruled a suicide, saying Sanford seemed happy and had made many plans for this week and in coming months. Mills said he and Sanford recently decided to open a shared law office to serve Monterey and Santa Cruz counties, something Sanford was looking forward to doing.

He and Sanford spoke on the phone "around four or five times a day," Mills said, and the two had just spoken on Thursday, "tweaking a marketing plan" for their new law practice before Mills went out of town for the Christmas holiday.

"I just don't know what happened since Thursday. There was nothing on the horizon there to know this was going to happen," Mills said. "We were going to get together this week."

Mills said he had spoken to Sanford's wife, Paula, and that she also was in shock. He said Sanford, a father of two, was a devoted family man.

"This is a horrible thing for his family. He would never have intentionally put his family through that trauma. Something's not right, it doesn't make sense."

Police said that before Sanford fell, hotel housekeepers saw him pacing the hallway of an upper floor. Cercone said Sanford's car was parked next to the hotel, and he was not checked in as a guest.

Police declined to state exactly why they ruled the case a suicide.

Mills said he and Sanford often met at Chili's restaurant next to Embassy Suites Hotel Monterey Bay because the KRXA studio was nearby.

Mills said Sanford should be remembered for his volunteer work in the local community. "People don't like to work for free, and Paul worked for ideology. He didn't like the attention a lot. The attention he's going to get now would upset him."

beltman713
12-29-2006, 08:06 PM
"Probable"

Gold9472
12-29-2006, 08:06 PM
"Probable"

Anyone know if he was currently involved with something against the administration?

beltman713
12-29-2006, 08:08 PM
Don't know, I know he was the one who asked if revealing a CIA agent's identity was treason.

Gold9472
12-29-2006, 08:13 PM
I remember that. Doesn't mean anything now cause Karl was found to be "innocent."

BASE701
12-29-2006, 09:34 PM
Sounds like he got mixed up in the wrong crowd. I'd say he was killed.

YouCrazyDiamond
12-30-2006, 05:02 AM
Yeah, I'd say it is quite "probable" this was a professional hit, or at least a case of murder.

Chana3812
12-31-2006, 11:10 AM
I'D SAY PAUL WAS DEFINITELY STIRRING THE POT WITH BUSHCO, BUT SURELY THERE IS SOMETHING MORE RECENT THAT HE DID THAT CAUSED HIM TO BE "SUICIDED"




Santa Cruz calls for Bush probe

Letter to House judiciary panel largely symbolic

San Francisco Chronicle (http://sfgate.com/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/09/10/BA296721.DTL)
September 10, 2003
Maria Alicia Gaura
Wouldn't it be fun if communities ALL over the United States did this?

The Santa Cruz City Council became the first in the country Tuesday night to demand a congressional investigation that could theoretically lead to President Bush's impeachment for the war in Iraq.

At least it could lead to impeachment if there was the slightest chance that a Republican-dominated House Judiciary Committee would comply with demands from tiny, lefty Santa Cruz.

And not even the most ardent supporter of last night's 6-1 vote in Santa Cruz gives that possibility much hope.

But the coalition of peace groups that placed the item before city officials Tuesday are hoping that other communities will follow Santa Cruz's lead, creating a ripple that will be felt in Washington, D.C.

Councilman Tim Fitzmaurice said that the U.S. news media, Congress and citizens suspected that the Bush administration had misrepresented the reasons for going to war but were afraid to speak up and demand the kind of government investigation now taking place in England.

"It's time for us to just open up this can of worms," Fitzmaurice said. "We're just doing our little part to break the ice."

The city's official position consists of a letter to the House Judiciary Committee outlining "concerns expressed by many residents of Santa Cruz about President Bush's actions regarding the recent war in Iraq.

"Please determine if one or more of the following represent impeachable offenses by the President," the letter asks.

The letter lists six questions, regarding the administration's alleged disregard of international treaties, use of arguably misleading information to make the case for war and suspected constitutional infringements to aid in the pursuit of terrorists. The letter also asks whether use of depleted uranium on the battlefield, the treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and a program to deploy new nuclear weapons are warranted.

"In my opinion, this list could go on for page after page after page," said Councilman Scott Kennedy, who agreed that the list be limited to six items for brevity's sake.

Of the approximately 75 people attending Tuesday night's council meeting, only three spoke against the measure. And one of those, Paul Sanford, a professor at Monterey College of Law, said he considered the administration's position to be "morally bankrupt and indefensible."

But Sanford, who carries a copy of the Constitution folded up in his wallet at all times, said that nothing in the city's litany of accusations met the standard of "high crimes and misdemeanors" required for impeachment.

Another dissenter, Sylvia Mullen, said the council was "living in an academic utopia completely oblivious to the deterioration of the community in which we live," and she urged them to leave national issues alone.

The lone vote against the measure was cast by Councilman Mark Primack, who agreed that the council should limit its efforts to local issues, despite his own reservations about the war. But Councilman Mike Rotkin argued that even small governments should vigorously promote the views of their residents. And Councilman Ed Porter applauded his city's activism, especially in light of polls showing that 70 percent of Americans believe that Iraq was involved with the attacks of Sept. 11 -- a connection that has never been proved.

As for Mayor Emily Reilly, "I am so grateful to live in this community," she said.

The City Council previously voted to oppose the war in Iraq and the USA Patriot Act. E-mail Maria Alicia Gaura at mgaura@sfchronicle.com.