Final Status Conference For Rector, Wardens, and Vestry Retrial

I attended this at the Los Angeles Superior Court this morning. Mainly it gave some hints on which witnesses will be called. Those named include Mrs Bush (the most likely candidate under any circumstance), Andrew Bartus, Karen Valentine, and William Ledbetter. The last three are apparently based on the fact that they did not receive ballots in the August 6, 2012 election. My understanding is that all three became Catholic prior to the election and, ceasing to be Anglican, were no longer members in good standing of the parish.

Other than that, there was some dispute over whether Messrs Lancaster and Anastasia would stipulate that another member of the parish had passed away prior to the election, eliminating the need for the elected vestry's counsel to provide a certified copy of the death certificate. Judge Strobel strongly urged Lancaster and Anastasia to work things out without the death certificate. Lancaster and Anastasia also made a motion intended to forestall a putative threat by the elected vestry's counsel to seat the entire vestry at the counsel table during the trial. Counsel for the elected vestry said they never made any such threat, and the matter seems to have been dropped.

Other than that, the whole thing ended quickly, and the trial will start Wednesday, September 23. I plan to attend.