A decision on a sentence for Rita Campos, who was found guilty
of vehicular manslaughter in the death of Gilroy cyclist Bruce
Finch, was delayed at the request of the defendant’s attorney,
prompting displays of anger and rising hostility in the
courtroom.
A decision on a sentence for Rita Campos, who was found guilty of vehicular manslaughter in the death of Gilroy cyclist Bruce Finch, was delayed at the request of the defendant’s attorney, prompting displays of anger and rising hostility in the courtroom.
Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Ronald Toff repeatedly noted his agitation following the last-minute request, and tensions flared between the families of Campos and Finch in the courtroom Monday. But the judge said he was left with no other choice than to wait until Campos’ attorney could be present.
Richard Pointer, the attorney who has represented Campos throughout most of the court proceedings since the Oct. 5, 2008 collision that took Finch’s life, could not attend the hearing Monday because he was in a trial in another court. Filling in for him was attorney Michael Horner, who works in Pointer’s office and relayed the request for a delay to the judge.
Even though Pointer knew he was going to be in another trial several days before Monday’s hearing, the court was not notified of his need to postpone the hearing until it was about to begin, Toff said. He added that Pointer’s timing was “discourteous” to the victim’s family.
“I am very upset and distressed with Mr. Pointer,” Toff said during the hearing. “He knew this (other) trial was coming up, and he could have contacted the court.”
The request was granted because Campos “has the right to have her attorney here” for the sentencing hearing, Toff added, but he said he will not allow anymore delays in the sentencing.
Finch’s relatives should also be given the opportunity to make a statement at the sentencing, Toff said.
Monday’s hearing had been scheduled since May 24, when a jury found Campos guilty of vehicular manslaughter, a misdemeanor. The hearing was rescheduled for Aug. 18. Campos faces a maximum sentence of one year in county jail.
After Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Marcia Wallis exited the judge’s chambers Monday morning and told Finch’s family that the sentencing would likely be delayed, the victim’s brother glared at Campos from the other side of the courtroom.
Campos replied, “Why are you looking at me? I didn’t postpone it.”
During the hearing, the judge asked Finch’s supporters to be quiet following a brief outburst when Horner said he was uncertain if Pointer would be able to attend another proposed date for a future hearing.
And on the way out of the courtroom, Finch’s brother quietly called Campos’ boyfriend an unfavorable name as he walked by him. Campos’ boyfriend replied with an angry expletive.
Campos said on the phone after the hearing that she and her relatives decided to wait until Finch’s family was gone before they left the courtroom.
“They were acting like it was my fault” that the hearing was delayed, she said.
Wallis noted during the hearing that the trial process has been burdensome for Finch’s family, who has had to take time off work to attend hearings.
In May, a jury found that Campos drove negligently when her Honda Civic struck Finch at the intersection of Uvas and Little Uvas roads in west Morgan Hill. Campos was making a left turn onto northbound Uvas Road when Finch, 58 of Gilroy, who was riding a Trek bicycle, struck the front left fender of the car.
After the impact, Finch’s body ejected into the middle of Uvas Road. He was pronounced dead when paramedics arrived at the scene.
Jurors said after the trial that evidence presented by the District Attorney’s Office, which included more than 40 photographs of the accident scene and a reenactment of the accident, as well as the testimony of the California Highway Patrol officer who led the investigation, indicated that Campos failed to yield to Finch, who had the right of way.
No one witnessed the collision.
Finch’s family has declined to comment on the case publicly throughout the trial process.
