Lorenson v. Superior Court

Police officer Lorenson (defendant), who despised a local swindler named Pearson, allegedly conspired with associates to have Pearson's store picketed and then beaten and robbed by hired attackers; suspicious phone calls to the police station timed around the assault and the arrestees' subsequent unexplained immediate release, along with orders to destroy arrest records, supported an inference that Lorenson and others orchestrated the scheme, though no direct evidence of an actual agreement existed. Lorenson sought a writ of prohibition to block trial, arguing insufficient evidence of any conspiracy.