State high court decision on Jackson case pending

The state Supreme Court is in the process of determining whether it will review an appellate court’s decision to deny El Centro Councilman Jason Jackson’s appeal of a local court ruling.

The high court’s decision is anticipated to take place by Aug. 17, said defense attorney Raj Singh.

Jackson had appeared briefly in court on Wednesday for a review hearing, and will return on Aug. 20 to provide an update of the Supreme Court’s decision.

A stay remains in place for Jackson’s court-ordered 10-day jail sentence, pending the Supreme Court decision.

Jackson had previously appealed county Superior Court Judge Christopher Plourd’s decision to deny Jackson’s request to challenge the validity of his July 13, 2017, guilty plea.

That appeal was recently denied by the Fourth District Court of Appeal in San Diego. The appellate court denied Jackson’s appeal without authoring any decision explaining its rationale, Singh said on Wednesday.

Jackson’s appeal of the local Superior Court ruling had stemmed from Plourd’s previous denial of Jackson’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea.

Jackson had pleaded guilty to one felony count of animal cruelty, which was subsequently reduced to a misdemeanor charge with the court’s approval. As part of his misdemeanor conviction, Jackson was ordered to serve 10 days in jail.

Jackson had formally been charged with one felony count of animal cruelty in June 2016 after a horse in his care was discovered emaciated in February 2016.