OLD_San Francisco Public Defender's Office

San Francisco— A man with a neurological disorder that was approached and then forcibly pushed to the ground by a police officer while he attempted to board a paratransit van was acquitted of battery and resisting arrest on Wednesday, Public Defender Manohar Raju has announced.

Marvin Cosby, 60, was looking at a year in county jail had he been convicted. The jury quickly came to a unanimous “not guilty” decision, and all the jurors told the attorneys that they were moved by Mr. Cosby’s experience.

“What happened to Mr. Cosby was an outrage and a deep injustice,” said Semuteh Freeman, his public defender. “I felt as if I was defending Mr. Cosby’s humanity and dignity, given the charges in this case and the blatant use of excessive force by the police officers.”

The case hinged around an incident that happened on February 20 in SOMA. Mr. Cosby was waiting to board a paratransit bus so that he could get to his appointment with a neurologist. For reasons that weren’t made entirely clear in the trial, he was barred from getting on the van after he was approached by two police officers. He was then arrested and spent a week in jail.

The jury learned that the officers never notified Mr. Cosby that he was under arrest as they cuffed him, nor did they explain to him why he was being arrested. They told the jury that he seemed intoxicated, though Mr. Cosby’s neurologist testified that his ailment causes him to have slurred speech and repeated, involuntary movements that make him unsteady.

The jury viewed the officer’s body-worn cameras that showed Mr. Cosby repeatedly telling the officers that he had an appointment and even showing them his appointment slip. The jury saw officer Justin Vian-Reagan arresting Mr. Cosby and slamming him down onto the pavement and handcuffing him. Mr. Cosby was ultimately charged with resisting arrest and committing battery upon a police officer. He was never charged with public intoxication or trespassing on the bus.

“It cannot be that an elderly, disabled man attempting to take Paratransit to a doctor’s appointment can end up being thrown to the ground by police and arrested for resisting,” said Freeman.

The jury learned that Vian-Reagan had only been on the force for eight days and has since left the SFPD after an integrity write-up and less than a month on the force.

Deputy Public Defender Freeman asked the jury to consider how the most powerless people in society fare in the halls of justice—the black, the poor, the disabled.

After the not guilty verdict was read, many jurors told the attorneys that they didn’t understand why this case ended up in trial in the first place. “The members of the jury were clear: this was an unlawful arrest and the police used unreasonable force.”

“We public defenders are here for the Marvin Cosby’s of the world,” said Raju. “We speak for them in court when they cannot afford an attorney, ensuring that they get the same consideration and their constitutional right to a fair trial. I’m especially proud of Ms. Freeman, who deftly exposed the truth of this case in the courtroom. We are gratified and thank the jury that Mr. Cosby’s dignity has been restored and that he can get on with his life.”    

San Francisco– Two cases of people charged with domestic violence ended in acquittal this week after juries examined the evidence and decided that each one was based on false assumptions, Public Defender Jeff Adachi announced today.

Elijah Watson, 38, and Chenille Moldovan, 43, were both found not guilty after altercations with their partners lead to their arrests. Mr. Watson was charged with a felony and faced up to five years in prison; Ms. Moldovan had a misdemeanor charge and faced up to a year.

In Mr. Watson’s case, a skirmish in which his girlfriend was the aggressor led to bystanders assuming that he was the one at fault, Deputy Public Defender Bonnie Chan said. “This case involved a whole bunch of misconceptions based on gender roles,” Ms. Chan said. “It’s something that we deal with on a day to day basis in court. People assumed that he was the aggressor and caused her injury because he was the male, but the jury was able to put aside those stereotypes and make a proper ruling.” Mr. Watson testified that he attempted to remove car keys from his partner’s hand and she struggled with him and fell on her rear end. As he tried to help her up, she kicked Mr. Watson in the face with her high heel and continued to swing at him, the jury learned. Mr. Watson attempted to restrain her, and in doing so, the police were called.

“We’ve made significant strides as a society to understand and confront domestic violence,” said Adachi. “But our outreach has failed to address the very real problem of female on male violence, which also occurs. Police are trained to spot dangerous domestic situations, but they also err on the side of caution and tend to arrest anyone on a dime if even the slightest hint of discord is assumed. It’s often up to a jury to decide what really happened.”

Ms. Moldovan’s case, the dynamic was one of “power and control, intimacy or eviction,” said Deputy Public Defender Brandon Banks. “My client lived with the complaining witness, and though she was the one who called the police, she was still the one arrested because the complaining witness was more educated, well put together, and paid the bills,” he said.

The complaining witness came home to find Ms. Moldovan in his home, a place she had been living for quite some time, the jury learned. He demanded his keys back and an argument ensued. The witness claimed that she punched him in the face five times, though the District Attorney could offer no evidence that he was ever injured. In the end, the jury ruled in Ms. Moldovan’s favor and she was acquitted.

“These cases exemplify why it’s so important to have public defenders,” said Adachi. “Without a vigorous defense, both of these clients could have fallen to some of the prevailing assumptions and misconceptions that exist about domestic abuse cases. Each one needs to be examined and weighed closely by an impartial and fair jury, which is thankfully what happened in these cases.”

San Francisco—The jury hung 9 to 3 in favor of acquittal in a case involving a man who defended himself against a group of assailants on Valentine’s Day 2016, Public Defender Jeff Adachi announced today.

Richard Contreras, 30, was charged with two homicides, an attempted homicide, carjacking and assault after he fired at men in a group at the Twin Peaks lookout. He acted in fear for his life, the jury learned. 

Mr. Contreras testified that he had been assaulted several days earlier and was nearly killed; as a result, he began carrying a gun. He said that on that evening, he was on a date overlooking the view when he shouted out, “I’m alive, San Francisco!” According to him, the group of men heard him yell and began to yell back and taunt and intimidate him. He said that he saw a gun and heard shots, so he pulled out his gun and fired back, hitting two of the assailants and wounding a third. The men were gang members and Mr. Contreras has never been in a gang, he said. He scrambled to get away, and in order to do so, he stole a car and drove off. For this he was convicted of

carjacking, but not assault.

Deputy Public Defender Kleigh Hathaway said this was a case of self-defense, but she wasn’t sure how it would end. “This is an outcome that I was not convinced I could hope for,” she said. “But after talking to the jury, I’m very grateful that they found the courage to do the right thing. They understood that my client was outnumbered and about to be jumped by gang members, and he did what he felt he had to do.”

The District Attorney will most likely decide whether or not to retry the case next week.

“In taking the stand himself, Mr. Contreras explained what happened that terrible night and subjected himself to cross-examination,” said Adachi. “He also showed great remorse. I’m sure if he could turn back time, he never would have driven to Twin Peaks that night. Thankfully, much of the jury weighed all the details and evidence and voted with their conscience.”