Judge takes herself off case after `personal attacks'
A superior court judge has recused herself from a criminal case after a victim's supporters criticized her handling of the matter.
Doug Cole, a supporter of the victim, was among those who stood before Santa Cruz County Superior Court Syda Cogliati on Oct. 26 to spell out a litany of concerns related to how he felt she, and several judges prior, had handled a 2018 assault case involving defendant Ryan Schell. Schell had previously pleaded guilty to several charges that he attacked and detained his former girlfriend at her Scotts Valley home before shooting himself in the head as police arrived. Cogliati indicated at that earlier hearing that if Schell were to take responsibility for his crimes with a plea, her plan was to suspend a prison term and sentence him to five years of probation on Oct. 26.
After the victim and several supporters spoke, however, Cogliati changed course and said she would not hand down the planned sentence. She gave Schell and his attorney until Dec. 12 to decide whether to withdraw his guilty plea.
Cole, during his comments, showed visible anger at words he said the judge had uttered during a June 28 hearing. He quoted Cogliati, saying, “Of course, we must have sympathy for the victim in this case but we must also have sympathy for the defendant.”
Later in the October hearing, Cogliati denied that those were her words.
Later that same day, Cogliati filed an order recusing herself from the case going forward. She wrote her reasoning as such: “After the victim's supporters made personal attacks on me, I can no longer be fair and unbiased in this matter.”
After sharing his recent discovery of the judge's recusal this week, Cole said he believed he was criticizing Cogliati's performance, not her character.
Cogliati did not respond to a request for comment from this publication. According to Court Executive Officer Sasha Morgan, judicial officers cannot respond to questions about pending and active cases.