Racism In Clients

Jury rejects Criego's discrimination complaint

Attorney Criego suing boss – the public defender

Is Franz Criego a passionate defender of the oppressed? Or a renegade lawyer who speaks half-truths?

These opposing descriptions were offered Wednesday in opening statements of a civil trial in U.S. District Court that pits Criego against his boss – Fresno County Public Defender Kenneth Taniguchi.

Criego, 61, has sued Taniguchi and Fresno County for race discrimination, claiming Taniguchi promoted lesser-skilled trial lawyers over him because he is black. He also accused Taniguchi, 59, of retaliating against him for filing a federal discrimination complaint in February 2008.

Fresno Co. jail meeting mental health requirements

Contrary to criticism against the Fresno County Jail, mentally ill inmates receive care that meets the jail's legal obligations, a Fresno County grand jury has found.

While errors can occur in treatment, the jail is not guilty of a pattern of violating policies or the law, the grand jury said in a report released Tuesday.

The grand jury investigated after receiving a complaint about the treatment of inmates with mental illness. Treatment has been substandard, and that is cruel and unusual punishment, the complaint alleged.

A jury deliberated only a few hours Thursday before rejecting Franz Criego's race discrimination complaint against his boss – Fresno County Public Defender Kenneth Taniguchi.

In a unanimous vote, jurors said there was no evidence that Taniguchi treated Criego differently from the other employees in the office.

The panel also rejected a claim that Taniguchi retaliated against Criego for filing a discrimination complaint in February 2008.

Afterward, jurors said Criego hurt his case by repeatedly saying he didn't recall certain events when cross-examined by attorney Michael G. Woods, who represented Taniguchi and the county.

They also said Criego was confrontational on the witness stand toward Woods, as well as his own lawyer, Rayma Church.

But, they said, Criego is "a great lawyer."

After the verdict, Criego shook Woods' hand, but Taniguchi left the courthouse without offering one. "This wasn't about money," a disappointed Criego said. "It was about getting the respect I deserve. I was trying to right an injustice in the office."

Criego, 61, sued Taniguchi and Fresno County, claiming Taniguchi promoted lesser-skilled trial lawyers over him because Criego is black.

@Aboriginaloz Blog: What is Racism?

When people make claims like "I don't have a racist bone in my body" or "I treat everyone the same regardless of colour". I often wonder how much they have actually thought about racism before making that claim. Do they know that racism is not just overt prejudice and discrimination? Are they aware of any  assumptions they may have made about other races? Have these assumptions ever been tested, if so how? Do they consider that racism exists both in the intention and the interpretation? What knowledge and understanding do they have of the perspectives of people who experience, confront, interpret and/or combat racism on a daily basis?  Racism is not as simple as many people would like to believe. Many people think that if they do not want a statement to be offensive to whatever group they are talking about that this alone qualifies it as non-racist. This is most commonly referred to as the 'I'm not racist, but..." phenomena. It is one that is instantly recognised and understood by people with even the most remote understanding of the covert nature of contemporary 'racism'. "I'm not racist, but" is generally recognised as the assertion that the racist comment a person is about to make is  ‘acceptable’ due to one of two reasons: 1. They mean "I'm not racist except for this one thing that frustrates me about a certain race of people" or 2. "I'm not racist because this is something I believe to be true, so it isn't racist if it is true". Exceptions and justifications are just two of the many ways that people justify their own 'non-racism' to themselves without necessitating any serious consideration of what that actually means in practical terms. Other common methods of self-justification are omission, denial, victim-blaming, apathy, ambivalence, stereotyping, ridicule, ignorance and a variety of others, most of which working in conjunction to varying levels with all of us on various topics concerning race and culture. Many of these cannot be challenged without questioning some of the fundamental cultural assumptions we may have made in our earliest childhood. Challenging the views passed down to us by people we love and respect; the 'facts' we learnt at school; the bliss that comes from ignorance; the 'universal truths' we have built our entire world views upon. It can be a very challenging and confronting process to undertake.

Addressing racism, facilitating cultural competence in mental health and educational settings

Racism, a selected bibliography

Culture, religion, and childbearing in a multiracial society, a handbook for health professionals

New horizons in multicultural counseling

Clinical Psychology, 'Race' and Culture, A Training Manual