Class-action suit against Mosley will be appealed

Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2004 | 11:21 a.m.

A federal class-action lawsuit alleging that District Judge Donald Mosley violated hundreds of defendants' civil rights will be appealed, according to court documents.

The lawsuit focuses on the case of Jeanette Faye Sadoski, who alleges that Mosley violated her civil rights by toughening her sentence and exposing her to double jeopardy.

Sadoski's attorneys filed a notice of appeal last week after reviewing the minutes of a Jan. 5 hearing before U.S. District Judge Robert Jones. According to the minutes, Jones will issue a written order in the case and plans to grant a motion to dismiss.

Jones has yet to issue a written order in the case, according to filings at the federal court clerk's office.

Sadoski's attorney, Clark Garen, said he wasn't surprised to be heading to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

"I always thought that is where this case was going to end up, and I'm hopeful that the appeals court will grant the needed relief," Garen said.

The suit calls for Mosley, who has served on the bench for more than 23 years, to review all of his criminal cases to determine if he illegally resentenced any defendants, and asks that he be prohibited from resentencing defendants without an order from a federal judge.

Sadoski alleges that Mosley changed her sentence for theft from a misdemeanor to a felony after another charge came to light. Nevada law specifically allows a judge to reduce sentences but does not address lengthening them.