THE CHAPMANS GO TO COURT WITH AN "INSIDE EDITION" CAMERA IN TOW

There were cameras pointing at cameras that were pointing at people who had gathered outside the courtroom Tuesday morning to watch Andrew Luster get sentenced.

The reason two of the cameras were there was because of  Duane "Dog" Chapman and his wife Beth who said they wanted to justice to be served were there.

Oh, yeah and the Chapmans are also starring in a new reality TV show, "Dog and Beth: On the Hunt."

The case has drawn national attention and after Luster fled to Mexico, Chapman who later got to star of the reality TV show "Dog the Bounty Hunter" captured Luster.

Chapman who didn't miss a photo op with fans at the courthouse said Luster's mother Elizabeth Luster was as "mean as a rattlesnake."

Chapman told me that Elizabeth Luster who stood less than 10 feet away hated him.

"Why?"

"Because I arrested her son. I tried to talk to her but she won't talk to me," said Chapman who complained that Elizabeth was giving him dirty looks.

So what did you think of Luster's 50-year sentence? a reporter later asked Chapman.

"Don't rape anyone in California, especially any under-aged girls," he concluded.

THE JUDGE TOOK NEARLY 30 MINUTES TO TOTAL UP LUSTER'S SENTENCE FOR HIS SEX CRIMES.

Retired Judge Kathryne Ann Stoltz, who parts her hair in the middle and sometimes has her eyeglass near the tip started tabulating Luster's sentence for the sex crimes at 11:40 p.m.

She told those in the court that sentencing felons in California is a complex process and it gets "more complicated" if the sentencing is for sex crimes.

In this case, every time Luster had to adjust the camera, lights, change the music or change clothes while he was committing these despicable sex acts it counted, by law, as a separate felony act when he resumed the assaults.

 So when Luster stopped and started the rapes, each time he started again, another felony count was tacked on to the charges.

The judge, basically, had to figure out how many stops and starts there were and in graphic detail describe, for the record, what happened in the video and what Luster was doing with objects and to the victims.

In other words, by law, she had to be very specific because Luster is entitled to know why the court came up with a 124-year-sentence 10 years ago.

That's what an appeals court stated in granting him an evidentiary hearing.

While totaling up the counts against Luster, the judge said:

"There are a lot of these. This is going to take some time."

A while later, she asked the court reporter who is taking down what she is saying for the record: "Am I going to fast for you?"

No, the court reporter replies.

The judge empties her lungs, telling those in the courtroom: "We're coming to the end folks. Don't lose heart."

At 12:05, she said:  "We are coming to an end here. You'll be happy to know."

"Did I do (count) 68 yet?" she asked and then said she was skipping to count 70.

She finished at 12:10 and came up with 50 years, giving Luster 977 days of good time credits and actual time served behind bars.

She also gave him credit for time while Luster was on an electronic monitor before he cut it and fled to the Mexico, rejecting the prosecutor's argument that he wasn't entitled to credit during this time.

Prosecutor Michelle Contois told the judge that Luster wasn't actually confined, was allowed to have visitors and for 12 hours a day, he was "off-the-radar, literally."

But the judge pointed out to Contois  that in 2003 the probation office felt he was entitled to be given credit towards his sentence for the time he served while wearing an electronic monitor.

The judge said she sentenced Luster to 17 years for raping one victim; 12 years for another and 18 years for the third victim.

COURTHOUSE OBSERVER WHO SAT AT LUSTER'S TRIAL 13 YEARS AGO SAID SENTENCE IS FAIR

Mickey Schlein, the 80-plus-year-old courthouse observer, who sat through Luster's trial 10 years ago said he thought Luster's sentence was fair.

 "I thought he was going to get 40 years," Schlein, of Ventura, said.

THE JUDGE GOT A NICE PAYCHECK FOR WORK ON THE HEARING AND CASE

Retired Judge Kathryne Stoltz who once presided at Los Angeles Superior Court, is paid $657.93 for each day she is on the bench or is working on the case, according to Cathal Conneely, who is the spokesman for the California Supreme Court.

Conneeley said this is what all state retired judges make a day when preside over cases.

They also get a pension.

The Judge is "Hands On" in the Andrew Luster Case

When prosecutor Michelle Contois asked Luster whether he believed more harm was done to him than what he did to his victims, Judge Stoltz quickly jumped in and said: "Whooooooa!"

She told Contois that this was argumentative and that wouldn't be allowed, afterwards, she quipped that she had objected and sustained her own objection.

Stop Seeing My Sister, Andrew

Andrew Luster testified that a Sheriff's deputy at the jail had threatened him if he didn't stop seeing his sister. But Luster said he continued to see her.

The judge after listening to both defense attorneys and prosecutor Contois question Luster wanted to know why the deputy didn't want Luster to see his sister.

"Nobody is going to ask him why?" the judge asked the lawyers. "Okay, I'll ask him why."

She then turned to Luster who was on the stand and asked "Why?"

Luster said the deputy's sister visited him and he explained to her what happened.

"She still wanted to maintain a relationship with me and I with her," Luster told the judge.

They are not Experts, the Judge Ruled

The judge ruled that Attorney Ron "who represents the Star in First Amendment issues" Bamieh and Former Judge Arturo Gutierrez turned criminal lawyer could testify at Luster's trial but not as experts.

Gutierrez testified that sentences that of eight to 12 years that were offered to Luster were "average" for similar crimes during that time when he was on the bench.

Former Senior Deputy District Attorney John Blair testified that the plea bargain offer was made by Luster's lawyers and as with any plea offer at that time, he said he wrote a memo to his superiors on June 5, 2001 stating that Luster was willing to plead guilty to two counts of rape.

"They asked me to put something in writing, which I did," said Blair who is now a court commissioner in San Diego.

Bamieh, a veteran prosecutor, was brought in to impeach Blair's credibility and the District Attorney's Office claim that they never offered Luster a plea-bargain offer.

Bamieh testified on the policies and procedures of the district attorney during the time Michael Bradbury was the county's chief prosecutor.

 Bamieh testified that there was no way a memo would have been written until after defense lawyers had agreed to take a deal and the prosecutor  "pitched the deal" to Bradbury who was sometimes at the "ranch" or out golfing.

Bamieh testified that he was paid a $5,000 retainer fee by the defense for his agreement to testify as an expert. He said he did more than eight hours of legal work at $350 an  hour.

As he left the courtroom after his testimony, I asked him: "Hey Ron, how much did you get in total?"

"Lots of money, just do math," he replied and walked out.

Attorney Richard Sherman and Investigator Bill Pavelic Were Also Getting  "Lots of Money."

Luster testified that he paid Attorney Richard Sherman, who he said charmed and bamboozled him, $5,000 a month, and he paid Pavelic $15,000 a month.

Sherman who is dead told Luster that the prosecutors who he called the "evil minions" and Judge Ken Riley were running a rigged game in the courtroom and convinced him go to Mexico with Patrick Campbell who could help him hatch a plan, Luster testified.

Luster said he first met Campbell who, Luster testified, was dressed all in black at Sherman's house. Campbell told him that he was a mercenary, running guns and helped over throw some countries and talked about diamonds in Sri Lanka.

(Yeah, and, I am a Walrus)

 Anyway, Campbell, still dressed in all black, took Luster into a bedroom and had him strip down to his underwear to see if he was wearing a wire.

Campbell told him about how he could help him flee to Mexico for $200,000 and a small fee of this (I would assume a finder's fee) would go to Sherman who often employed Campbell.

Also Campbell said he needed an additional $80,000 for an East Coast buddy but promised Luster that he would get this fee back, Luster testified.

Luster went to Mexico and never saw a dime of the $80,000, and defense lawyers say that Campbell is nowhere to be found.

Back on the Planet Earth

Former season prosecutor Bill Haney recently joined criminal attorney Philip Dunn's law firm as a full-fledged partner.

Dunn who had a wide grin when I bumped into him in the courthouse said he was very happy to hire Haney. He said there was a lot of work to do at his office, and Haney with all his experience would be a good fit.

Newly Appointed Judge to be Sworn into Office on Friday

Former prosecutor Gilbert Romero will be sworn into office at 4:00 p.m. on Friday in Courtroom 22 at the Hall of Justice in Ventura.

The oath office will be administered by Judge Patricia Murphy.