March 5, 2001

EL CAJON – The arraignment of Charles "Andy" Williams, accused of killing two schoolmates, was postponed Monday while his lawyers prepare to challenge the law requiring he be tried as an adult.

Williams, 15, is accused of two counts of murder and 13 counts of attempted murder as a result of the March 5 shooting spree at Santana High School in Santee. Under Proposition 21, a California law approved by voters last year, Williams was automatically sent to adult court.

"Your honor, Andy Williams is a 15-year-old boy, facing charges in this court that historically he should be held accountable for in the juvenile system. Proposition 21 has created laws which are frankly unconstitutional. We believe the adult criminal system has no constitutional jurisdiction over this juvenile matter," said Randy Mize, Williams' lawyer.

Public defender Randy Mize tells judge defense is challenging Prop. 21. Cable-DSL / 56k Prosecutor Kristin Anton says facts of case merit Williams' prosecution as adult. Cable-DSL / 56k Public defender Mize says defense is only seeking justice for Williams. Cable-DSL / 56k Chuck Carbaugh, shown with Gary Strakonsky, both youth league coaches of Williams in Maryland, recalls the boy as an active participant in school activities. Cable-DSL / 56k Dr. Carol Lynn, aunt of shooting victim Bryan Zuckor, says trying Williams as a juvenile would not be just. Cable-DSL / 56k The FREE RealPlayer plug-in is necessary to play RealMedia.

Superior Court Judge Herbert Exarhos set a deadline of March 30 to file papers challenging the law. He then gave the prosecution two weeks to file briefs in response and another four days for the defense to file reply briefs. Williams' next court date is April 20, coincidentally the two-year anniversary of the Columbine High shootings in Colorado.

"Given the anticipated complexity of the ruling I will give my judgment on April 27th and there may or may not be an arraignment at that time," Exarhos said.

Williams has not entered a plea. If convicted as an adult on all charges he faces up to 400 years in prison. If tried as a juvenile, Williams could be released from the California Youth Authority after his 25th birthday.

Attorney Jo Pastore said the heart of the defense's challenge is that Proposition 21 is cruel and unusual punishment and violates the single subject rule, where initiatives may only address a single subject.

"It has changed the nature of juvenile law for the last 70 years. It's so big, so broad, so massive that even legal scholars don't understand the changes," she said following the hearing. "If you take 100 attorneys, each with 10, 20, 30 years of experience, you will get 100 different opinions.

"In my opinion, no one could understand what Prop. 21 meant," she said.

Williams did not speak in court, only nodding briefly to his attorney when Mize spoke to him. Williams, dressed in an institutional orange jumpsuit, was in court less than 10 minutes.

Deputy District Attorney Kristin Anton said at a press conference following the hearing that Proposition 21 is a relatively new law and hasn't been tested to a "great extent." She said part of the law had been challenged and ruled unconstitutional in the case of several Rancho Penasquitos teens accused of beating migrant workers.

"We believe this is the appropriate forum based on his conduct," Anton said. "(Williams) is accused of the most serious of crimes, multiple murders."

A relative of Bryan Zuckor, one of the two teens killed during the shooting, gave a brief statement expressing her desire to keep the case in adult court.

"The killer in this double murder, young or old, is not the victim," Dr. Carol Lynn Briens said. "The true victims are Bryan and Randy (Gordon), and the 13 schoolmates who were wounded."