Woman's Lawyers File Appeal Asking To Dismiss Felony Counts By Associated Press - August 5, 2004POMONA, Calif. (AP) _ A former psychology professor at Claremont McKenna College accused of vandalizing her car and falsely reporting it as a hate crime has filed an emergency appeal asking a state court to dismiss the two most serious charges against her before her trial starts next week.
Despite objections from lawyers representing Kerri Francis Dunn that prosecutors had no probable cause upon which to file the charges in the first place, two judges have ruled that a jury should decide whether she is guilty or not guilty of two counts of insurance fraud.
Dunn's attorneys are asking a state appellate court to immediately intervene in the case and reverse the rulings of the two judges so Dunn will not have to "suffer through a trial'' on the two major counts.
"As a matter of law, the charges are insufficient,'' attorney Gary Lincenberg said.
Dunn, a visiting psychology professor, claimed that she discovered the vandalism of her car March 9 while she was on the Claremont campus preparing a lecture for a forum on racism.
The next day, she called her insurance company about the vandalism and items stolen from the car, authorities said. Police and the FBI began investigating, but Dunn became a suspect after two witnesses came forward and reported seeing Dunn vandalizing the car herself.
Her report of the alleged hate crime forced officials to cancel classes March 10 at the five undergraduate Claremont campuses and thousands of students staged sit-ins to protest what was believed to be part of a series of racial incidents at the colleges.
Dunn, who remains on leave from Claremont McKenna College, has denied any wrongdoing.
Prosecutors charged Dunn, 39, with two felony counts of filing a false insurance claim and a misdemeanor charge of filing a false police report.
The insurance fraud charges carry a punishment ranging from probation to five years in state prison.
Dunn's lawyers argue that going to trial would cause a personal hardship for Dunn and amount to a waste of time and expense for the court, the parties, jurors and witnesses.
Dunn's trial is set for Wednesday in Pomona Superior Court. |