The general counsel for the State Center Community College District intervened on behalf of editors of The Rampage, Fresno City College’s student newspaper, during court proceedings yesterday, the first day of the trial against former instructor Brian Calhoun.
Attorney Greg Taylor objected to Calhoun’s lawyer’s statement about serving subpoenas to Rampage reporters. Taylor was joined in his objections by an attorney representing Kevynn Gomez, the alleged victim in the battery charge against Calhoun.
The objection came when the judge dismissed members of the media for the day since the judge and attorneys would be in chambers for the remainder of the first day of the trial.
The editor-in-chief of the paper, Troy Pope, had previously received an order to appear as a witness in the matter of the People vs. Allan Brian Calhoun on Sept. 25 but he was not used in the trial.
Calhoun is on trial for attacking FCC student Gomez in the Old Administration Building on March 22 2013. The altercation led to Calhoun losing his job as instructor.
The subpoena ordered Troy Pope, who is in his second semester as editor-in-chief, to appear in court on Tuesday, Oct. 1, the first day of the battery trial against Calhoun. The trial was supposed to start on Monday, Sept. 30 but was postponed because of a lack of available courtrooms.
The subpoena was served Wednesday afternoon.
Pope had covered news of the events leading up to the trial against Calhoun. He has written multiple stories about the altercation and the aftermath, including articles about Calhoun losing his job.
Schiavon stated that he was working for Calhoun’s attorney, Roger Nuttall.
Schiavon responded to an email about the service of the documents but said that all questions be submitted to Nuttall who could not be reached for comment on the matter.
Schiavon previously attempted to serve Pope with papers on Sept. 19 at the Rampage office at FCC, but Pope was not in the office that day.
Pope discussed the incident with his lawyer and knew that he would be served with the subpoena eventually.
“When [the process server] served me the court documents, I knew they were coming,” Pope said.
“I knew the best thing I could do was take the court documents and look him in the eye.”
Paul Boylan, an attorney who advocates for student First Amendment rights, said that because Pope knows and works with Gomez, he may be called in to be a character witness at the trial. Boylan said that the Rampage editor is covered by the “California Shield Law” which protects journalists from revealing their sources.
Boylan said this was the first time he had seen a student journalist being subpoenaed in his time practicing law.
The situation was also new to Pope.
“I have no idea. This is the first time I’ve ever been subpoenaed,” he said. “This is the first story I’ve ever worked on in two years that has ever gone into a courtroom.”
