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SF Jury Acquits Former Firefighter of Felony After Psychologist Escalated a Confrontation Over Paperwork

Office of the Public Defender
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SF Jury Acquits Former Firefighter of Felony After Psychologist Escalated a Confrontation Over Paperwork

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 6, 2022

CONTACT: SF Public Defender’s Officer | Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org | (628)249-7946

**PRESS RELEASE**

SF Jury Acquits Former Firefighter of Felony After Psychologist Escalated a Confrontation Over Paperwork

Former firefighter spent two years trying to fight this case, including 410 days in jail 

SAN FRANCISCO – Yesterday, a San Francisco jury acquitted former San Francisco firefighter Stephen Kloster of felony charges stemming from an altercation with his doctor. The doctor admitted getting into a fighting posture during a verbal confrontation with Mr. Kloster who had come to his office to inquire about important medical records he’d first requested from the doctor six years prior. Deputy Public Defender Kwixuan Maloof argued that Mr. Kloster acted in reasonable self-defense when he hit the doctor who had admittedly put up his fists and reportedly charged at Mr. Kloster. After spending the past 410 days in jail during the pandemic, Mr. Kloster will finally be released and able to resume caregiver duties for his elderly mother.

“Psychologists are trained to de-escalate, not to escalate and instigate combat,” said Mr. Maloof. “It’s obscene that Mr. Kloster was not only charged with serious felonies, but that his life and wellbeing has been completely upended by the criminal courts for nearly two years, while it only took a jury a day and a half to reach a reasonable decision.”

Mr. Kloster was charged with two felonies: assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury, and elder abuse because the doctor is over 65 years old. During the trial, the doctor testified that he knew that Mr. Kloster suffers from mental illness. The doctor also testified that the marks on his face in photos taken after the incident were likely razor bumps and not a result of being hit or strangled, as the prosecutor had falsely suggested to the jury, and that there was no reason to believe that Mr. Kloster was aware of his age. 

The felony assault charge against Mr. Kloster has now been dismissed, after the jury hung 6-6. He was found not guilty of all other charges, except for misdemeanor battery. 

Mr. Kloster spent 410 days in jail, including 274 days past his trial deadline. He is being released on time served, as he has already served nearly a year longer than his misdemeanor conviction would have required.

Mr. Kloster has been fighting the city of San Francisco for several years after he faced harassment and discrimination due to a work-related medical condition. He and his attorney in the civil employment lawsuit had tried for several years to gather medical records from the doctor in question as a means to show how Mr. Kloster has suffered psychologically from being severely ostracized and forced out of his career as a firefighter. These were the records Mr. Kloster was attempting to retrieve when he went to the doctor’s office on the date of the incident in November 2019, where again he was stymied by the doctor, which led to an argument. 

“This egregious delay of justice for Mr. Kloster is shameful. No one should have to wait this long for a court system that continues to violate the rights and liberties of the accused,” said San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju, who sued San Francisco Superior Court in September to open more courtrooms and prioritize the tremendous backlog of criminal trials that has built up during the pandemic. “Public Defender Mr. Maloof did his job quite well, and the jurors did theirs, but until we get more courtrooms for trials, more and more people like Mr. Kloster will continue to suffer from the courts not doing theirs.” 

The number of people whose trial deadlines have passed continues to grow exponentially. As of December 2021, there were over 200 people, nearly 25% of the jail population in San Francisco County, who stand accused of felony charges and whose trial deadlines have passed. Nearly 300 more people accused of felony or misdemeanor charges are out of custody and have also seen their trial deadlines pass. Meanwhile, many courtrooms sit empty.  

The defense team included Deputy Public Defender Kwixuan Maloof, Investigator Terry Collins, and Paralegal Marcy Diamond. 

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SF Jury Acquits Father-to-Be Who Defended Himself Against Hospital Security

Office of the Public Defender
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SF Jury Acquits Father-to-Be Who Defended Himself Against Hospital Security

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 22, 2021

CONTACT: SF Public Defender’s Office | Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org | (628)249-7946

**PRESS RELEASE**

SF Jury Acquits Father-to-Be Who Defended Himself Against Hospital Security

SAN FRANCISCO – Today, a San Francisco jury acquitted Gione Edwards, 27, of assault and battery charges in a case from April 2020 where a hospital security guard tried to prevent him from entering Kaiser to advocate for his pregnant partner. The charges carried the potential of two strikes against Mr. Edwards who has no prior convictions and is set to graduate from college soon. Deputy Public Defender Jack Lamar represented Mr. Edwards, whose legal trial deadline passed in March 2021, and expressed relief at the outcome. 

“This was an emotionally powerful case that took a lot of courage from Mr. Edwards and his community to stand up to these allegations knowing that so much was on the line for him,” said Mr. Lamar. “The jurors were remarkably fair and showed Mr. Edwards dignity and respect, which is not what can be said for the way Kaiser treated this young African American couple.” 

Mr. Edwards and his partner both work at hospitals and are familiar with professional standards and protocols. At the time of the incident, his partner was pregnant with what would have been their first child, but complications put the pregnancy at risk which is why she was attending regular appointments at Kaiser.

On the day of this incident in April 2020, Mr. Edwards’s partner arrived at Kaiser for her doctor’s appointment, but one of the nurses was under the impression that she did not have an appointment and so tried to block her from taking the elevator upstairs. The situation escalated and resulted in nurses and security guards escorting her out of the building. During this whole incident, she was on FaceTime with Mr. Edwards who lived nearby and walked over to assist. 

Mr. Edwards can be seen on camera waiting in line to go through security and COVID screening when a security guard came up and made the initial physical contact to block Mr. Edwards by touching his arm. As Mr. Edwards tried to get away from the security guard, a struggle ensued and the security guard fell on his face and sustained injuries. 

The defense team argued that Mr. Edwards was acting in lawful self-defense and that the injuries were accidental. The jury returned a verdict of not guilty on the two main felony counts, and hung 11-1 in favor of not guilty on a lesser misdemeanor charge, which has now been dismissed. Several jurors were compelled to hug Mr. Edwards after court. 

Mr. Edwards grew up in the Western Addition and is about to graduate from SFSU with plans to attend graduate school. He has always excelled in academics and athletics, and during the trial, the defense called several character witnesses from the community – including a former coach and a member of the San Francisco Fire Department – who spoke highly of his character and his achievements. 

“We are relieved that Mr. Edwards finally got his day in court and that the jury returned the right verdict so that he can get on with his life and future success,” said San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju, who sued San Francisco Superior Court in September to address the growing backlog of criminal trials while many courtrooms sit empty. “This case shows that even for people who are not in jail, but are waiting for the resolution of their cases, the amount of stress and disruption is palpable and unacceptable. I am proud of Mr. Edwards and the whole defense team for the fortitude they showed in taking this case to trial.” 

The defense team included Deputy Public Defender Jack Lamar, Investigator Fanny Suarez, Paralegal Melissa Campos, and Legal Intern Emery Welton.

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Statement from Public Defender Mano Raju on Mayor Breed’s Proposals for Expanded Police & Surveillance | December 2021

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Statement from Public Defender Mano Raju on Mayor Breed’s Proposals for Expanded Police & Surveillance | December 2021

December 14, 2021

We recognize that the Mayor and many of our elected leaders feel pressured to address issues that have been amplified in the press, but the Mayor’s proposal to massively expand police presence in San Francisco is regressive and harmful to those who are already underserved and overpoliced. It also cuts against the promises Mayor Breed made to divest from law enforcement in the wake of the police murder of George Floyd.

Piling more resources into policing and punishment — strategies that have consistently succeeded only in creating intergenerational trauma — have never been the solutions to public health crises, in the Tenderloin or elsewhere. Policing is a back end response — it does not address the underlying reasons why crimes associated with poverty status take place, issues including economic need, mental illness, addiction, disease, or trauma. Rather, we should focus our resources on sustainable, evidence-based solutions that keep people healthy and out of the legal system by providing meaningful services to those suffering from substance abuse disorders and alternatives to street level sellers – including housing, treatment, job training, and employment. 

Nor will the Mayor’s proposed police budget increase effectively address retail theft. The reality is, the actual rate of retail theft in 2021 is down in San Francisco compared to reported thefts in 2018 and 2019 according to SFPD data, and the overall shoplifting incidents reported to the police are below their levels before the start of the pandemic. Recently, SFPD released information highlighting an 82% drop in retail crime from the 16-day period prior — the period, in fact, which included the attention-grabbing videos of Union Square robberies. These problems are persistent because we have not addressed extreme economic need and inequity.  

We are particularly concerned about giving police live-access to surveillance which we believe would undermine critical privacy laws that protect civil liberties. San Francisco police are already utilizing racially-biased, unreliable and illegal facial recognition technology, and giving them more tools to do so would further harm people of color and exacerbate existing economic and power dynamics. Mayor Breed’s press release rightfully notes that recent legislation “created a clear public process and transparency relating to surveillance technologies.” This proposal, which would undermine said process, raises serious concerns. 

Expanding the carceral state is not the answer. We have tried that for decades and are still suffering the effects and human impacts of that. We must do better, and the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office is open and willing to participate in any process that attempts to address community health issues in a more holistic manner.

Mano Raju, San Francisco Public Defender 

Charges Dismissed Against Motorist Brutalized by SFPD Officers After Accidental Collision in 2018 [VIDEOS]

Office of the Public Defender
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Charges Dismissed Against Motorist Brutalized by SFPD Officers After Accidental Collision in 2018 [VIDEOS]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 14, 2021

MEDIA CONTACT: San Francisco Public Defender’s Office | Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org | (628)249-7946

**PRESS RELEASE**

Charges Dismissed Against Motorist Brutalized by SFPD Officers After Accidental Collision in 2018

Police claimed the man’s motorcycle pinned an officer in a car door, but video surveillance being released today shows otherwise

SAN FRANCISCO – The trial of David Cordero of San Francisco, CA, concluded last month with a San Francisco jury returning a mixed verdict in a case where Mr. Cordero was facing several charges, the most serious being a felony assault of a police office, after his motorcycle accidentally clipped a police car door in 2018. On that charge, the jury hung 7-5 in favor of not guilty, and on Friday, December 10th, that charge was dismissed. Today, the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office is releasing videos of the incident in which several SFPD officers brutalized Mr. Cordero immediately after the accident.

“Police reports never tell the whole story, and in this case, it appears that officers conspired to tell a fabricated story in order to cover up and justify their brutal attack of Mr. Cordero,” said Deputy Public Defender Sylvia E. Cediel, who represented Mr. Cordero. “This trial seemed to be really eye-opening for the jurors, all of whom found the level of force used by the officers deeply disturbing.” 

The incident happened around 4:30am on August 12, 2018, while Mr. Cordero was taking a test ride on a motorcycle he’d been fixing up for several months in hopes of making it street-worthy. Police claim that they saw him speeding and running several red lights on Post Street.

Two police vehicles followed Mr. Cordero for several blocks without giving any indication that they wanted to pull him over. Instead, they called another police car to intercept him at the corner of Post and Hyde Streets, where Mr. Cordero was stopped at a red light in the left lane of a one-way street. When Mr. Cordero saw a police car come from around the corner and stop in front of him in the opposite direction of traffic, he tried to get out of the way by pulling off toward the sidewalk. That’s when an officer opened the passenger door and the motorcycle clipped the door. 

Three of the officers on scene, including the officer who opened the passenger door, reported and testified that Mr. Cordero had “pinned” the officer in the car door, indicating that the officer was trapped between the door and the car. However, surveillance videos showed that the officer in question moved out of the way before the door closed, contradicting the officers’ testimony given under oath. 

During the trial, Ms. Cediel showed the jury two surveillance videos of the incident which contrasted the police reports. They showed that the officer who moved out of the way immediately pulled Mr. Cordero off of his motorcycle and began punching and kneeing him while he was on the ground. Three more officers joined in and assaulted  Mr. Cordero to the point that he had to be transported to the hospital by an ambulance. In addition to punching and kneeing Mr. Cordero, an officer stepped on his ankle while he was handcuffed and attempted to pull his helmet off while the chin strap was still fastened. Mr. Cordero testified that officers also badly bent his thumb while escorting him to a police vehicle before he was transported by ambulance to SF General Hospital for medical staff to assess his injuries. 

The officers claimed that Mr. Cordero was resisting arrest in order to justify the unlawful assault on him. However, officers’ Body Worn Camera footage provided audio of the encounter, in which Mr. Cordero can be heard saying, “I’m not resisting,” “I’m sorry. It was an accident,” and “You’re hurting me,” which did not convince the officers to stop. 

The Public Defender’s Office is releasing those surveillance videos and a portion of the BWC videos today. 

The jury found Mr. Cordero guilty of driving without a license and driving on a suspended license; not guilty of possessing burglary tools after the defense called an expert to testify that the tools in his possession were commonly available to motorcycle hobbyists and were not, as an officer falsely testified, “shaved keys”; and hung 7-5 in favor of not guilty on the count of assaulting an officer and 6-6 on the count of resisting arrest, both of which have now been dismissed.  

“This is a case about credibility. But for the videos, the defense team would not have been able to show that the officers involved told a story that did not match the evidence. This is the type of systemic abuse that public defenders see regularly as we defend people against police reports that are presented as objective fact-based documents when they are not,” said San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju. “Cases like this are a cautionary tale and serve to inform the public who may become jurors that the words inked in police reports should be scrutinized and taken with skepticism.” 

The defense team included Deputy Public Defenders Sylvia E. Cediel and Christopher Garcia, Investigator Colin Olsen, Paralegal Margaret Miller, and Larry Roberts who provided technical support for the videos and court presentations.   

The SFPD officers involved in this incident are Officer Steven Oesterich, Officer Christopher Cotter, Officer Michael DeFelippo, Officer Brendan Williams, Officer Aaron Cowhig, and Officer Anthony Sharron.

The Public Defender’s Integrity Unit is in the process of filing complaints with the Department of Police Accountability on a range of issues including excessive force and dishonesty.

Mr. Cordero has a pending civil lawsuit against the City of San Francisco for the brutality he suffered during this incident.

WARNING – The following videos contain distressing images and audio. Click on the images to access the videos.

  1. Surveillance Video – Post Street – Rear View
Surveillance Video – Post Street – Rear View: Mr. Cordero’s motorcycle stops at a red light at the corner of Post and Hyde Streets. One police vehicle is behind him, but has not initiated a traffic stop. Another police car comes around the corner, facing the opposite direction of traffic, and stops in the intersection in front of Mr. Cordero. As Mr. Cordero tries to pull his motorcycle off to the side, the passenger door of the police car opens and an officer steps out. The motorcycle hits the police car door, and the officer moves out of the way. The officer who opened the door immediately pulls Mr. Cordero off his motorcycle and to the ground. That officer immediately begins hitting Mr. Cordero; other officers join and can be seen hitting and kneeing Mr. Cordero while he’s on the ground. In total, six SFPD officers from three police vehicles are on the scene.

2. Surveillance Video – Hyde Street – Side/Front View

Surveillance Video – Hyde Street – Side/Front View: An SFPD vehicle turns from Hyde Street onto Post Street, facing the opposite direction of traffic, and stops in the intersection in front of Mr. Cordero who is stopped at the red light. As Mr. Cordero — who is in the left lane of the one-way Post Street — tries to pull his motorcycle off to the side, the passenger door of the police car opens and an officer steps out. The motorcycle hits the police car door, and the officer moves out of the way. The officer who opened the door immediately pulls Mr. Cordero off his motorcycle and to the ground. Officers can be seen piling on top of Mr. Cordero and forcibly trying to pull off his fastened helmet.

3. SFPD Body Word Camera with Audio

SFPD Body Word Camera with Audio: Mr. Cordero is lying on the ground. He is handcuffed and surrounded by officers. He can be heard saying, “Please don’t hurt me,” and “You’re hurting me,” and “I’m not resisting.” As he is saying this, an officer comes and steps on his ankle, which evokes more cries from Mr. Cordero who continues to say, “You’re hurting me!”

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Supervisors Join Public Defenders to Address San Francisco Trial Backlog

Valerie Ibarra
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Supervisors Join Public Defenders to Address San Francisco Trial Backlog

On December 2, 2021, Public Defenders presented at a hearing called by San Francisco Supervisor Hillary Ronen to discuss the urgent need for San Francisco Superior Court to open more courtrooms and prioritize criminal jury trials to address the growing backlog of trials that have passed their legal deadline. The backlog has also left hundreds of accused people in jail while pandemic conditions continue, where people are being kept in their jail cells for 23 hours a day, have no access to the outdoors or regular programming, and have limited visitation. Supervisors Hillary Ronen, Dean Preston and Connie Chan acknowledged the crisis of liberty and offered to join the efforts to resolve it.

ABC 7 Bay Area’s Melanie Woodrow reported on the crisis. Click here to access the report:

As of December 1, 2021, there are 451 people whose pending case is past the legal deadline for trial, and 218 of them are in jail under pandemic conditions of 23-hour lockdown. All of them are accused, not convicted.
Click on the image above to access the GAO hearing and presentation on 12/2/21.

SF Jury Acquits Longtime Mission Resident Wrongly Accused of a Hit-and-Run 

Office of the Public Defender
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SF Jury Acquits Longtime Mission Resident Wrongly Accused of a Hit-and-Run 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 23, 2021

CONTACT: SF Public Defender’s Office | Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org | (628)249-7946

**PRESS RELEASE**

SF Jury Acquits Longtime Mission Resident Wrongly Accused of a Hit-and-Run 

SAN FRANCISCO — Last week, a San Francisco jury found 76-year-old Carlos Olivares Herrera, a longtime resident of the Mission District, not guilty of a hit and run accusation which appears to have been based on feelings more than facts. Deputy Public Defender Clemente Gonzalez represented Mr. Olivares in a trial which revealed a longstanding and unfounded animus by the person who filed the report against Mr. Olivares, but no actual evidence that a hit and run ever occurred. 

On August 6, 2021, Mr. Olivares had parked on Folsom near 22nd Street to buy a soda for his passenger when he noticed a local group giving away free bags of groceries. When Mr. Olivares inquired about the groceries, a volunteer first told him that he needed to get a ticket and wait, but then just gave him a bag. As Mr. Olivares walked back to his car, one of the organizers of the giveaway allegedly became incensed, so she ran after him to try to retrieve the bag. Although neither Mr. Olivares nor his passenger saw anyone coming after them, the woman claimed that the car hit her on the hip as it pulled into traffic.

Nearly an hour later, the woman called the police and told them that she had seen Mr. Olivares buy beer, steal the bag of groceries, and then speed away and hit her with the car — but she twice refused medical attention. When she located Mr. Olivares three hours later parked on the same block as the alleged incident, she called police back. When police arrived the second time, the woman was using a pair of crutches as she made her accusations, but refused further medical attention. Mr Olivares explained that someone had given him the groceries and denied being involved in any accident. Police found no evidence of alcohol impairment or possession, and his passenger still had the soda from earlier. Police discovered that Mr. Olivares had an expired license, which he freely admitted to a Spanish interpreter.  

Police arrested Mr. Olivares, who was charged with hit and run and driving with an expired license. Police never spoke with any witnesses from the food giveaway, nor made any attempt to obtain further evidence to support the charges.

During the trial, there was no physical evidence to show that the woman had been hit or injured other than the statements she gave to the firefighters who responded to the initial 911 call. However, she did testify that she had recognized Mr. Olivares from the neighborhood and that she had a longstanding animus toward him because, prior to August 6, she had seen him occasionally drinking beer at a local park. 

“This accusation was purely theatrical and bothersome because it exposed not only a real lack of community, but also how the power of police can be wielded so easily against someone like Mr. Olivares, who is low-income and whose first language isn’t English. Police never investigated Mr. Olivares’s side of the story,” said Mr. Gonzalez who cross-examined the woman. “I have no idea why someone, who was presumably trying to help her neighbors by handing out free food, would harbor such animosity against Mr. Olivares, but whatever the issue was, it could have been resolved through neighborly communication.” 

The jury deliberated for two hours before returning a verdict of not guilty on the hit and run. Mr. Olivares was found guilty of driving with an expired license and was fined $50. 

“We are grateful that a jury got to hear this case and made the right decision; it is always unsettling and a threat to all of our liberties when people weaponize calling the police instead of turning to each other over issues that could be resolved with more communication. Fortunately, Mr. Olivares had a Public Defender Team that was ready to expose the lack of evidence supporting the hit and run count,” said San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju, who sued the SF Superior Court in September to open more courtrooms to address the massive trial backlog.

The defense team included Deputy Public Defender Clemente Gonzalez, Camila Valdivieso, Joslyn Timmons, Leticia Garcia, Larry Roberts and Sercan Ersoy.

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SF Jury Acquits Elderly Man of Attempted Murder in Act of Self-Defense Against Ex-Wife

Office of the Public Defender
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SF Jury Acquits Elderly Man of Attempted Murder in Act of Self-Defense Against Ex-Wife

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 22, 2021

CONTACT: SF Public Defender’s Office | Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org | (628)249-7946

**PRESS RELEASE**

SF Jury Acquits Elderly Man of Attempted Murder in Act of Self-Defense Against Ex-Wife

Jury hangs heavily towards innocence on other charges

SAN FRANCISCO – A San Francisco jury acquitted 81-year-old Damien Alvarez of attempted murder and all lesser included charges of the attempted murder allegations. The charges stemmed from an incident where he and his ex-wife struggled over a knife that he was trying to prevent her from stabbing him with. Mr. Alvarez faced numerous other charges related to the incident, and the jury hung heavily in favor of his innocence on all remaining counts. Deputy Public Defender Martina Avalos argued that police failed to investigate the Mr. Alvarez’s injuries, and that Mr. Alvarez had acted in reasonable self-defense against his live-in ex-wife whom the jury did not find credible due to multiple untruthful statements she made under oath.

“While this was a distressing incident for both parties, it is clear that Mr. Alvarez was not the aggressor in this situation. He and his family have long suffered various forms of physical, emotional and financial abuse at the hands of his ex-wife,” said Ms. Avalos. “To retry this matter would be futile and only exacerbate the conflict between the parties. Repeated efforts to obtain a conviction in this case would have a traumatic impact on Mr. Alvarez who would yet again face serious consequences despite being found credible by this jury.”

Mr. Alvarez, who has no criminal convictions, is a retired shopkeeper and longtime resident of the Mission District. He has two grown daughters from a previous marriage, both of whom testified on his behalf. One of his daughters testified that when she was a teenager, her father’s ex-wife had slashed her face with a key leaving a permanent scar. The defense called other character witnesses from the community who testified not only to Mr. Alvarez’s good nature, but also that they had witnessed his ex-wife’s behavior toward him become increasingly aggressive and occasionally violent. For many years, Mr. Alvarez has shared his home with his ex-wife, who is 19 years younger than him and whom he has known for nearly 30 years. However, due to the pending charges against him, he has not been able to return to his apartment.

It was at that apartment, on the evening of June 3, 2021, that Mr. Alvarez’s ex-wife shocked him by packing up all of his belongings and telling him he had to move out. Mr. Alvarez testified that she was being “verbally violent” toward him to the point that he retreated to his bedroom. When he came back into the living room, he saw that she had placed a large kitchen knife on the table next to her, so he tried to take it away for fear that she might attack him with it, which is when the struggle ensued.

When police arrived after midnight, both of them had blood on their clothes. The woman was transported to the hospital, but police handcuffed Mr. Alvarez, who was shoeless and in his pajamas, and sat him on the curb outside before taking him to jail. Police did not interview any neighbors nor did they order any forensic experts to collect blood samples from the apartment to see if some of the blood was his.  

Mr. Alvarez was later charged with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, assault likely to cause great bodily injury, battery on a domestic partner and criminal threats. 

The prosecution relied solely on the statements and testimony of the ex-wife, who made statements on the witness stand that were evasive and false – including multiple different accounts of what had happened the night of June 3rd; and at one point claiming that she had never been in an argument with Mr. Alavarez nor anyone in his family; and even admitted to fraud. She denied that she was actively suing him for 10 million dollars in civil court in an attempt to force Mr. Alvarez to sell the home he built and bought for his daughters before his marriage to the complaining witness.  

After numerous setbacks, including losing three jurors, the jury deliberated for three days and returned a verdict of not guilty on attempted murder, not guilty on attempted manslaughter, and hung 7-5 in favor of innocence on the three assault charges. 

“Jury trials are essentially the only opportunity to present a fuller picture of a situation than what’s written in a police report. That’s why it’s imperative for the SF Superior Court to make more courtrooms available for trials, so that our zealous defense teams can help people like Mr. Alvarez and his family fight back against these unfounded charges,” said San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju, who sued SF Superior Court in September to address the backlog of hundreds of cases that are past their trial deadline. 

The defense team included Deputy Public Defenders Martina Avalos and Maria-Avalos Cruz, Investigator James Faulkner, Paralegal Margaret So, and Law Clerk Mengyu Yang.

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Judge Rules CDCR Inflicted Cruel & Unusual Punishment on Incarcerated People at San Quentin During COVID-19 Pandemic

Office of the Public Defender
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Judge Rules CDCR Inflicted Cruel & Unusual Punishment on Incarcerated People at San Quentin During COVID-19 Pandemic

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 18, 2021

MEDIA CONTACT: 

SF Public Defender’s Office | Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org | (628)249-7946

**PRESS RELEASE**

Judge Rules California Department of Corrections Inflicted Cruel and Unusual Punishment on Incarcerated People at San Quentin During COVID-19 Pandemic

Historic ruling comes nearly 18 months after a COVID outbreak claimed 29 lives, but offers little relief

SAN FRANCISCO – On Tuesday, November 16, 2021, Judge Geoffrey Howard of Marin County Superior Court made a final ruling in the case against the California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation (CDCR) and San Quentin State Prison, affirming that prison officials acted with deliberate indifference and violated the constitutional rights of nearly 300 petitioners who filed writs of habeas corpus during a massive COVID-19 outbreak in the summer of 2020. Still, the judge gave no relief to those incarcerated there, saying the initial emergency has passed due to high vaccination rates amongst the prison population.

Background

In the summer of 2020, hundreds of incarcerated people filed emergency petitions decrying inhumane conditions after a fateful decision by CDCR in May 2020 to transfer 121 people from California Institution for Men – then the state prison with the highest COVID-19 rate in California – to San Quentin, without properly testing them first and without properly quarantining them once at San Quentin. There were no COVID-19 cases at San Quentin before the transfer. As a result of the transfer – and because prison officials refused to heed the call of an independent team of doctors and epidemiologists to urgently reduce the incarcerated population – over 2,600 people living and working at San Quentin tested positive for COVID-19 and 29 died, making it one of the worst outbreaks in the country. The crisis led to months of lockdown where people were confined to tiny cells around the clock and stoked extreme fear for those trapped inside and their families.

The cases came to court as individual “habeas corpus” petitions – emergency filings alleging unlawful incarceration under the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution’s prohibition against “cruel and unusual punishment.” Over 300 petitions were joined together for the evidentiary hearing in Marin County Superior Court and the petitioners were represented by a coalition of public defenders, prisoner rights attorneys, and law firms. 

Attorneys for petitioners include the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, the Marin County Public Defender, Keker, Van Nest & Peters LLP, Law Offices of Charles Carbone, Law Office of Matthew A. Siroka, Sanger Swysen & Dunkle, SSL Law Firm LLP, and the First District Appellate Project.

An evidentiary hearing finally began in May 2021 where Petitioners’ attorneys spent over two weeks calling incarcerated witnesses and medical experts who testified to the horrific conditions inside the prison and the urgent pleas from the medical and public health community that went unanswered by prison officials. The judge has now made a final ruling in this consolidated case.

Ruling

The judge ruled that an overwhelming body of evidence showed that prison officials had violated the petitioners’ constitutional rights to live free from cruel and unusual punishment — including the transfer of untested people into San Quentin, the lack of screening and quarantine upon arrival, and the prison’s practice of keeping two people in cells too small for one person, even when one was symptomatic. Prison officials also acted with deliberate indifference by ignoring their own protocols and the advice of the medical community which urged better safeguards and a reduction of the prison population to mitigate the health risks and the strain on local hospitals. All of these failures resulted in 75% of the population contracting the disease, from which 28 incarcerated people and 1 correctional officer died.

Separately, the judge ruled that the months-long lockdown itself violated petitioners’ constitutional rights: “Because [CDCR] did not reduce the population as recommended, it effectively consigned hundreds of [incarcerated persons] to unwarranted, unnecessary, solitary confinement. And not just for a day or two. Where [CDCR] had the ability to move [people] to other facilities or release them, the court can conceive of no argument to support forcing [them] to remain in a cell smaller than 50 square feet, with two bunks, and a cellmate, for virtually 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for months on end. Doing so enhanced [their] exposure to COVID-19. For the duration it lasted, it also amounted to solitary confinement in violation of common standards of decency.”    

The judge also reflected on how the Respondent (San Quentin and the CDCR) “historically does not safeguard inmates’ health and safety if left to its own devices.” And he cautioned that, “the record raises serious questions about whether the Respondent has learned the right lessons from the 2020 COVID-19 debacle at San Quentin.”

Read the Final Order in the San Quentin Consolidated Writ Proceeding – Groups-1-3Download

Reactions

“The scathing judicial indictment of CDCR’s actions last year is warranted and it is too little, too late,” said Danielle Harris, a Managing Attorney at the San Francisco Public Defender Office, representing the petitioners. “This hideous example of systemic violence towards marginalized and oppressed people was wholly avoidable. If the Governor who presided over this deadly disaster still will not act to drastically reduce the prison population at antiquated places like San Quentin, the Legislature must urgently do so.” 

“Prisoners subject to preventable death and disease are now being told ‘oops, sorry’ by the courts. Justice requires more — especially when this pandemic is not over,” said Charles Carbone, one of the lawyers representing the San Quentin petitioners.

“This opinion should be read and shared widely, because it contains the very important stories of the human beings who were trapped inside the prison as the virus ran rampant, and the horrors they experienced,” said attorney Tom McMahon, previously with the Marin County Public Defender.  “Members of the public need to be aware of this tragedy, and asking why it is that CDCR’s morally outrageous, unconscionable and unconstitutional actions have no consequences.”

In a joint statement,  J. Bradley O’Connell, Assistant Director, and L. Richard Braucher, Staff Attorney, of the First District Appellate Project, said: 

“Judge Howard’s thorough ruling describes the many ways in which CDCR exhibited ‘deliberate indifference’ to the health and safety of the people in its care. CDCR ignored experts’ urgent recommendation for a 50% population reduction, though it had no informed basis for believing that its lesser measures would be sufficient. And as he pointedly stated, CDCR does not appear to have ‘learned the right lessons from the 2020 COVID-19 debacle at San Quentin.’ It ‘appears intent’ on pursuing the same strategy. We strongly urge the State of California to change course and to take the necessary actions to forestall another disaster, including substantial reduction of the population at this antiquated and highly dangerous prison.”

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Above: An excerpt from the conclusion of the ruling describes numerous ways that San Quentin State Prison and CDCR acted with deliberate indifference and violated the Petitioners’ Eighth Amendment Rights.

SF Jury Acquits Man Who Called 911 After Arguing with an Aggressive Repair Shop Owner

Office of the Public Defender
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SF Jury Acquits Man Who Called 911 After Arguing with an Aggressive Repair Shop Owner

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 10, 2021

CONTACT: SF Public Defender’s Office | PubDef-MediaRelations@sfgov.org | (628) 249-7946

**PRESS RELEASE**

SF Jury Acquits Man Who Called 911 After Arguing with an Aggressive Repair Shop Owner

SAN FRANCISCO – Today, a San Francisco jury acquitted a man (whose name we are omitting by request) on charges stemming from an argument he had with an aggressive owner of a car repair shop. Deputy Public Defender Alexa Horner represented the accused customer and showed the jury video surveillance of the encounter in which the shop owner showed verbal and physical aggression toward her client who ended up pushing the owner away in self-defense.  

“Although the video surveillance has no audio, the body language clearly shows why my client felt threatened,” said Ms. Horner. “We are relieved that the jury used their common sense and followed the law to find him not guilty by virtue of self-defense.”

In April 2021, Ms. Horner’s client, a customer of the repair shop, experienced some problems with a car part that the repair shop had installed previously. When the customer returned to the shop to address the matter, he found himself talking to the owner who was on the other side of a plexiglass divider. The surveillance video showed the owner flailing his arms, waving the work order, and pounding his fists on the counter, all while the customer stood calmly on the other side. At one point, the owner appeared to push the plexiglass so hard that it bent forward and hit the brim of the customer’s hat, so the customer put up his hands to push it away. At that point, the owner came around the counter with his hands raised, and the customer pushed the owner once in an act of self-defense. 

Ms. Horner’s client, who had never been arrested before, was charged with assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury, battery, and elder abuse because the man he pushed is over 65 years old — although there was no way for the customer to have known his age. There was also no evidence of great bodily injury resulting from the push. 

The accused man’s statements and testimony remained consistent with the evidence, and the defense called character witnesses who spoke to his non-violent and honest nature. In contrast, when the shop owner testified, he made statements that were in direct conflict with the evidence. 

“Our defense team worked skillfully to uncover what really happened in this situation and present it to the jury,” said San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju. “I am grateful that this man got his day in court and proud of the strong representation that Ms. Horner and her team provided.” 

The defense team included San Francisco Deputy Public Defender Alexa Horner, Investigator Terry Collins, Paralegal Susan Larsen, and Intern Jonathan Ibarra-Paz. Video Expert Paul Endo enhanced the original surveillance video that the defense team presented in court. 

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SF Jury Takes Only 5 Hours to Reach a Not Guilty Verdict for a Man Who’s Been Waiting 17 Months to Fight False Accusations in Court

Office of the Public Defender
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SF Jury Takes Only 5 Hours to Reach a Not Guilty Verdict for a Man Who’s Been Waiting 17 Months to Fight False Accusations in Court

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 28, 2021

MEDIA CONTACT: Valerie Ibarra |Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org | (628)249-7946

**PRESS RELEASE**

SF Jury Takes Only 5 Hours to Reach a Not Guilty Verdict for a Man Who’s Been Waiting 17 Months to Fight False Accusations in Court 

SAN FRANCISCO – Yesterday, a San Francisco jury deliberated for five hours and returned a verdict of not guilty on all counts for a man who was falsely accused of committing three unsolved burglaries in April 2020. Deputy Public Defender Yali Corea-Levy represented Eric Forks in this case in which Mr. Forks had hard proof that he was not the culprit, yet he was forced to wait seventeen months for his day in court due to the court’s refusal to open up trial courtrooms to full capacity. 

In April 2020, three burglaries happened over the course of two days. Two hours after the third burglary, Mr. Forks – who regularly looks for discarded items on the street – was driving by and saw someone he knew standing with a TV that Mr. Forks ended up taking home. Because his car was seen on surveillance picking up the TV, which had actually been stolen from one of the properties on that block, police traced his license plate and arrested him at his home where they did not find any of the other items reportedly stolen. He was charged with a misdemeanor for receipt of stolen property, but also charged with five felonies related to the burglaries. The problem with the police’s theory of the case was that Mr. Forks, who was on probation at the time, was wearing a GPS ankle monitor – a 24-hour surveillance device attached to his body – and none of the data placed him at the scene of the crimes at the time of the burglaries. No one else has been charged for these crimes.

“It was terrifying to see how bad coincidences can make a completely innocent person look guilty and how much power the criminal legal system can wield over someone who is already in a vulnerable position,” said Mr. Corea-Levy.

San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju said, “Mr. Forks has had these serious charges hanging over his head for nearly a year and a half, and the jury took less than a day to review all the evidence and acquit him. San Francisco Superior Court needs to open up more courtrooms for jury trials because there are hundreds of people, both in and out of custody, whose rights to a speedy trial are being violated and who are suffering under the stress of waiting for their trial.”

San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju filed a lawsuit on September 14, 2021, against the SF Superior Court demanding that they open more trial courtrooms for juries to hear criminal cases.

The defense team in this case included Deputy Public Defender Yali Corea-Levy, Investigator Fanny Suarez, Paralegal Rod Ciferi, and Intern Daniela Muehleisen.  

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