On Oct. 13, LA City Councilmember Price filed a demurrer in response to the 10 criminal charges brought against him by the District Attorney’s Office. A demurrer serves as a legal challenge to the sufficiency of the Complaint.
Following a hearing Friday, Michael V. Schafler, partner at Cohen Williams LLP and counsel for Price, released the following statement:
“Today’s demurrer demonstrates the many ways in which the charges against
Councilmember Price are legally deficient. First, there is no allegation that
Councilmember Price acted willfully or knowingly with respect to the conflict of interest or financial disclosure charges, which are necessary elements. Second, the embezzlement charges fail to state a cognizable offense, and are time-barred if brought under any other pertinent statute.”
“However, even if our demurrer, which is based only on the face of the Complaint, is denied, the problems with the prosecution’s case are undeniable. They will only
become clearer once the prosecution is required to put forth evidence of probable cause that Councilmember Price is guilty of a crime. We anticipate the prosecution will be unable to meet that burden, and we believe that this case never should have been filed.”
The arraignment for Price has been rescheduled and is now set to take place Dec. 15.
