Alhambra : Judge Dismissed From Case

Alhambra Municipal Court Judge Carlos Uranga has been disqualified from presiding over community activist Frank Arcuri’s hearing on an alleged violation of his probation.

Judge Victor E. Bianchini of El Cajon Municipal Court, to whom Arcuri’s complaint that Uranga was prejudiced against him was referred, ruled that Uranga had not demonstrated bias, but may have infringed on Arcuri’s First Amendment rights by forbidding the activist to “annoy or harass” Monterey Park Mayor Monty Manibog or Police Chief Joe Santoro.

Arcuri was convicted last December on charges of disrupting a public meeting, battery of a police officer and resisting arrest, which stemmed from an incident at a Monterey Park City Council meeting. In lieu of jail, Uranga placed Arcuri on probation on the condition that he not harass Manibog or Santoro.

Arcuri has been accused of violating his probation by publishing an article in his newsletter, the Monterey Park Voice, in which he claimed Santoro faced criminal charges for assaulting him. In his motion, Arcuri claimed that the prohibition against harassment was “overbroad” and “constitutionally impermissible.”

Arcuri will return to Alhambra Municipal Court Sept. 9 to appeal the terms of his probation before Judge Michael Kanner.