STOCKTON (CA)
The Record
By Kevin Parrish
Record Staff Writer
January 16, 2014
STOCKTON – A Southern California lawyer, after appearing in San Joaquin County Superior Court in the morning, stood in front of the Diocese of Stockton offices Wednesday afternoon to accuse local Catholic officials of deceit and obstruction of justice.
Irvine-based attorney John Manly used his visit to Stockton as an opportunity to tie the ongoing civil case against the Rev. Michael Eugene Kelly to bankruptcy, a process in its infancy.
The diocese’s Chapter 11 protection plan was formally filed at noon in Sacramento following months of communication with Catholic parishioners and consideration by Bishop Stephen Blaire.
“The filing is no coincidence,” Manly said. “There is an automatic stay (suspension) with bankruptcy. You can’t take depositions.”
On Wednesday, the deposition of Douglass Wilhoit, president and CEO of the Greater Stockton Chamber of Commerce, was scheduled but never took place.
“I had been subpoenaed, but then I was told ‘not today’ because of the filing,” Wilhoit said. …
Rally today
• What: A rally sponsored by Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests
• Where: Outside offices of the Catholic Diocese of Stockton, 212 N. San Joaquin St.
• When: 11 a.m. today.
• Why: To urge Bishop Stephen Blaire to apologize for keeping the Rev. Michael Kelly in ministry “during a civil child-abuse trial” and to turn over additional evidence
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