Oral arguments hearing in Danny Masterson's criminal appeal set for June 25
The next big event in the life of Scientology celebrity and That ‘70s Show actor Danny Masterson has been scheduled for June 25 at 12:45 pm Pacific, and you can tune in to watch it.
That’s the time and date which has now been set for an oral arguments hearing by the Second Appellate District in Masterson’s direct appeal of his 2023 conviction on two counts of forcible rape that have him currently serving 30 years to life in state prison.
Hearings before the Second Appellate District take place in Los Angeles, but they stream online, and anyone can tune in to watch. Most recently, we all got to observe as the oral arguments hearing in the Danny Masterson civil lawsuit was held on March 3. (We’re still waiting for a ruling in that appeal, but it’s due by June 3.)
The stakes could not be higher for Masterson, who turned 50 years old on March 13 and has been in custody since he was convicted on May 31, 2023.
In January 2025, his appellate defense attorney Cliff Gardner filed an opening appeal brief. Our expert, attorney TX Lawyer, found it professional and well-written, but criticized its focus on the accounts of the Jane Doe victims.
In August, the California Attorney General’s office answered with a “respondent’s brief,” which TX Lawyer thought was a pretty overwhelming comeback to Masterson’s appeal.
Then in November, Masterson’s team finished the paperwork process with a “reply brief” that we brought you in full.
Separately, a habeas corpus petition was filed for Masterson by attorney Eric Multhaup, and in December Danny asked that the two separate approaches, his direct appeal and the habeas petition, be combined. But the court denied that request.
Since then, we’ve been waiting for the oral arguments hearing to be scheduled in the direct appeal.
Meanwhile, Scientology filed an amicus brief in December hoping to help out Masterson with his appeal, but the court refused to consider it. Then, this past week Scientology filed it again after trimming it down, and we’re waiting to see what the court does with it.
So, what are the issues that the justices will be dealing with in Masterson’s appeal, and that they may be asking questions about for either Masterson’s attorney Cliff Gardner, or whoever is representing California Attorney General Rob Bonta for the prosecution?
Let’s take another look at the points TX Lawyer made about the reply brief.
On the merits, the reply brief continues to argue that the statute of limitations still ought to bar Danny’s charges because he was supposedly charged with a sentencing “enhancement” rather than the crime of committing multiple forcible rapes. The brief more or less concedes that the case law cited by the state says otherwise, but then cites its own conflicting authorities that it says means Masterson should be in the clear. I’m not going to attempt to parse the case law, but I will note that the state’s cases are much more recent than the defense’s and seem more directly applicable to the statute he was charged with. But remember, this is the one and only issue that might get Danny out of prison for good, rather than just a new trial. It is what I will be paying the most attention to if we get to hear oral argument…
The remainder of the reply reiterates a bunch of the same complaints about Judge Olmedo’s evidentiary rulings. That Danny should have been permitted more evidence of the victims’ gold-digging civil lawsuit; Detective Myape’s opinion on “contamination” should have been excluded; Danny’s subpoenas for the victims’ communications shouldn’t have been quashed; Danny was prejudiced by the addition of Kathleen J. as a witness for the prosecution; Jane Doe 1 was already drunk before she arrived at Danny’s house. I still see nothing much to those complaints that is likely to result in a new trial. Judges have abundant discretion to decide what evidence is and isn’t admissible at trial, and even if they mess it up, it doesn’t necessarily get the defendant a new trial.
The actual Scientology content doesn’t start until the back end of the reply brief. It complains yet again that Scientology doctrine should have been off limits, and I still believe that’s incorrect. One of the key lines of defense was that the victims’ stories lacked credibility because they had not reported their assaults to the police right away. By making those arguments, the defense necessarily opened the evidentiary door for the state to explain why they had waited so long to report to the police, as well as the evidence that they had pretty promptly reported the incidents to Scientology and other Scientologists. And again, the jury wasn’t asked to determine the truth or falsity of anybody’s religious doctrines. They were just considering the accusers’ state of mind, which juries do all the time. The same thing applies to the complaint that the defense should have been allowed to present evidence disputing some of the harassment that ensued after the victims came forward, both because that evidence was only minimally probative and because it just doesn’t alter the victims’ state of mind at the time.
It’s going to be so interesting to see which of these issues the three justices actual seem concerned with, and ask questions about.
And June 25 will be here before you know it. Mark your calendars!
Bonus items from our tipsters
Puerto Rico: Come for the crypto, stay for the body thetans!
Katherine Olson joins the gang on Group Therapy!
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The HowdyCon agenda update!
We’re excited to announce Geoff Levin will be joining us as a speaker at this year’s HowdyCon. His documentary, Brothers Broken was recently released on all major streaming platforms and we’re looking forward to hearing from him in September.
The agenda has been updated to reflect Geoff’s addition to the line up, which you can view here.
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I still would like to know why Scientology is supporting Masterson. I’d like to see the orders from Miscavige.
Excellent update. Amazing I even understand this pretty much, thankyou for such understandable content Tony Ortega and TX Lawyer (who I'd hire if I ever had gotten to Appeals level work, it's fascinating even to consider how Appeals litigation works).
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I've wondered about writing a fiction story, based on what I observed of staff to staff violence that even to this day, disturbs me to remember (and the years of staff to staff violence at Int Base, "Flow 3" other to others in Hubbard lingo speak) disturbs me.
I speculated trying to write a fictional case, and make it realistic, trying to run a case against the "church" and seeing where this fictional case led, using expert legal observers' thoughts on the case itself, how it would be derailed, and so forth.
(When the late Jeff Hawkins called me out of the blue, in October 2005, he said the violence at Int Base was insane, it disturbed me so much I didn't know what to do. I called Prof Kent in Canada. Prof Kent was so alarmed he said the police need be called immediately. I asked on the internet who the correct police force to call was, and the chat answer was Riverside County Police. I called them, two calls, and the advice from police officers is that likely prosecutors might not wish to bring charges, and that a civil case might be the avenue that the victims of the abuse take, and "....get a good lawyer...." advice, with an ironic chuckle, was what one officer advised.)
That was twenty years ago, when Int Base staff to staff "alleged" assault and battery was still ongoing heavy heavy, instances almost daily, and just before the "Hole" travesty of human "top cult staff to staff traumatization."
Jeff Hawkins said Int Base legal response would be an emphatic "he said she said" scene, with ALL still at Int Base loudly denying any staff to staff violence, and 100% denial loudly that Miscavige was initiating the staff to staff assault.
It leads right into Hubbard doctrine, the "black eye" 1982 Knowledge Reports policy, doctrinally it leads right into Hubbard's own long history in Sea Org of himself allegedly punching, kicking, throttling people, even up to Mike Douglas who Kima his wife before she died, said Mike was throttled by Hubbard, that is alleged assault and battery right there, just two years before Knowledge Reports Hubbard writing is issued. (Mike and Kima were the Annie and Pat Broeker team top Hubbard most trusted entourage people to Hubbard! And Hubbard throttles Mike in anger, Kima said, do one of Mike's mistakes. Mike and Kima "blew" escaped. They likely were the last, except for Mary Sue, tempering influences on L. Ron Hubbard. Kima and Mike, like all top entourage people close to Hubbard, just couldn't take it anymore. )
LRH telling numerous times to "spit on" such and such person, even spit on his daughter (Diana), the order Janis Grady heard directly from Jill Goodman that when Jill was on "watch" to Hubbard, as she was as a Commodore's Messenger the same postion that Janis was, that LRH ordered Jill go spit on Diana, Hubbard's daughter, for a violation of Hubbard management policies which Diana was guilty of in Hubbard's mind. Jill attempted to do the spitting, as ordered by Hubbard, and Mary Sue went ballistic. (This is all in the important Peeling the Onion Youtube channel of Mark Fishter [himself battered and assaulted by Miscavige] and Janis Grady Gillham, herself locked up confined under key, AT the compound where Hubbard was in California.)
Back to my 2005 experience, after Jeff Hawkin's phone call alarmed me so much, and I called Prof Kent, and he said call police so I called he police at Riverside County, this was long ago in Oct 2005. When I explained what Jeff Hawkins told me, the police officers were not impressed, that that was the only level of violence that was being reported, was this slapping and punching, LOL They knew it'd get tangled up and the prosecutor wouldn't take it on, and at that time, 2005, and to get a good civil lawyer to sue.
It's taken a LONG time to bring cases so I in my ignorance have to applaud all those who do bring cases against Scientology and against Scientologists or against Scientologist staff members individually, and for sure the Hubbard indoctrination can influence the minds of the more fanatical followers to do alleged illegal acts like assault and battery of this "more minor" category.
(It made me also wish there was a way to delve into and summarize ALL of the old Guardian's Office era actions they did, and get those exposed, especially actions which lead to people dying or almost dying. A few have been exposed over the years."
Also, I've thought, were I more skilled, to write a summary of all the alleged worst of the worst, into a book, for posterity. A summary non fiction book that is.
Bill Franks, the late, back in 2005 or 2006, and Bill in the radio interview with Tom Smith, Tom a former GO staffer, Bill said he read Guardian's Office paperwork about even murders, a handful, allegedly, engineered by GO.
Doctrine behind goading persons with an intel operation, to commit lethal action against someone else, "legally" is stated to be one of the failed options that Manuela the female partner and supporter of Simon Bolivar. Hubbard in the "Responsibilities of Leaders" says one of her failings was not to get a young officer to get into a confrontation with Simon Bolivar's "SP" rival, and thus end that "SP" rival's life by duel with a goaded young officer to do the killing.
This type of on the edge "legal" lethal activity, is exactly what is IN Scientology doctrine, and this policy is a KEY one all Scientologists read today.
This level of Hubbard influence on the minds of followers, if that Hubbard influence is taken seriously, is this Hubbard "KSW" type of level of "lethal" seriousness, the "we'd rather have you dead than incapable" level of fanatical seriousness, WHICH that level of seriousness has continued and during periods of Miscavige's "reign" as leader of Scientology, that all has happened, in the form of the years of the 2000s when the Int Base alleged assaults and batteries were ongoing.
Hubbard doctrine tragically contains this level of fanaticism, it encourages intel operations up to this lethal level, should any "SP" come into direct confrontation which might destroy Scientology, and the leaders of Scientology choose to employ the "Responsibilities of Leaders" Hubbard doctrinal writings to employ a "legally lethal manipulated operation" against an enemy.
This is unfortunately dark worst stuff, but it's in Hubbard doctrine, sadly.
That will be behind it all, that doctrine will be there, for the next Miscavige, or the next "KSW" fanatical leader in the future, of Scientology.
I wish this only be read on Wednesday, not Sunday.
Chuck Beatty
ex Scientology cult idiot lifer staffer, 1975 to 2003
PS: The gist of Gerry Armstrong's golden pieces of advice, is do legal declarations and do things in the legal arena. That's a hurdle, for us smaller minds that just haven't the ability/gumption or whatever.