Published: Feb. 10, 2011
Updated: 3:00 p.m.

Activist Nativo Lopez battles court psychologist

By SALVADOR HERNANDEZ
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTERNext Article »0Share7

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Nativo Lopez, an immigrant-rights activist and former Santa Ana school board trustee, again refused to cooperate with a psychologist trying to determine his mental competency to stand trial, authorities said.
His trial on voter fraud was delayed once again.

Lopez, a polarizing figure in Orange County politics, was first charged with eight felony counts of voter fraud in Los Angeles County in June 2009. His court case, however, has been delayed several times after he fired his attorney and then refused to cooperate with court psychologists.

In Feb. 2010, Lopez fired his attorney Edward R. Munoz, shortly after Munoz had mentioned to reporters that a plea deal was in the making.

But in the February hearing, Lopez told the court he was not the defendant. He was then ordered to have a mental competency hearing.

Jane Robison, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office said the court will be searching for and appointing a fifth psychologist to evaluate Lopez.

His court hearing is scheduled to March 10.

Lopez was charged with voter fraud after he changed his voting address from Santa Ana to Boyle Heights, where he had an office for Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana.

Prosecutors alleged, however, that Lopez continued to live in Santa Ana, and had therefore committed fraud when he registered to vote in Los Angeles County.

In 1996, The Orange County District Attorney's office investigated allegations that an organization he led, Hermandad Mexicana Nacional, had led new citizens to vote for Democrat Loretta Sanchez before their citizenship was finalized. No charges were ever filed.

Sanchez upset the incumbent Bob Dornan in that election.

In 2002, Lopez again ran into difficulties over hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal funding received by Hermandad Mexicana Nacional.

Prosecutors alleged the educational grants were instead used to pay the mortgage of the organization's Santa Ana headquarters. Hermandad Mexicana Nacional agreed to pay $600,000 in a settlement, but didn't admit wrongdoing.

Contact the writer: shernandez@ocregister.com or 949-454-7361

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