Santa Clara City Council Member Anthony Becker’s attorneys continue to try and shape a defense to the perjury charges leveled against their client. In doing so, the Public Defender’s Office has set its sights on what happened inside the District Attorney’s Office in August 2020.
In a motion filed in court last week and heard on Aug. 16 by Judge Benjamin Williams, the defense requested any email communications sent within the District Attorney’s Office that were related to a grand jury report about former Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Captain James Jensen.
Jensen took a bribe in exchange for Carry Concealed Weapon permits. He was found guilty of bribery and conspiracy charges in July.
In the case, it was revealed that details from a 2020 grand jury report investigating the issue were leaked before the final document was released. Jensen’s lawyers tried to disqualify the District Attorney’s Office in the case, saying it was members of the District Attorney’s Office that leaked the grand jury transcripts.
While the court did not rule in favor of Jensen, it did state that the leak was a “serious issue” and that it “think[s] that [it] should be investigated.”
However, an investigation reportedly never occurred. No charges stemmed from the leak.
“This subpoena is in part to conduct that investigation when the District Attorney’s Office failed to do so,” wrote Deputy Public Defender Avanindar P. Singh in his motion.
“It is already known that somebody leaked the 2020 report; it is not known who,” Singh said later in the motion. “The absence of investigation or an investigation without prosecution both lend support to a selective prosecution argument.”
Much of Becker’s defense appears to rely on proving that the charges filed against him were politically motivated rather than aimed at carrying out justice. Becker’s attorneys have consistently said the 2022 “Unsportsmanlike Conduct” report was leaked to the San Francisco Chronicle and that no charges have stemmed from that leak. The idea being that the District Attorney’s Office is selectively prosecuting Becker while ignoring other people who have committed the same crime.
This new motion offers another avenue of selective prosecution.
“In this case, there are two potential theories of selective prosecution,” wrote Deputy Public Defender Avanindar P. Singh in his motion. “The first is evidence that someone else had leaked the grand jury transcript prior to when Mr. Becker allegedly transmitted it. The second is the district attorney’s failure to prosecute or investigate someone, almost certainly within their own office, for committing the same violation of the government code two years earlier.”
For its part, the District Attorney’s office has argued that this has nothing to do with the Becker case and that communications within the District Attorney’s office are confidential. Singh has asked the judge to “… decide whether the defendant’s right to a fair trial outweighs any privilege applicable to a particular record.”
Judge Williams did not rule on the motion at the Aug. 16 hearing. He is expected to make a ruling at the end of the month.
Recent Becker Trial Posts:
Mayor Gillmor’s Response to PRA Request Causes Judge to Reverse Rulings
Impacted Court System Forces New Delay in Becker Trial
Judge Denies Series of Defense Motions as Start of Becker Perjury Trial Nears
Jude Barry: The Related Company Lobbyist Subpoenaed in the Becker Trial
Curious isn’t it Unsportsmanlike Conduct when:
Grand Jury accusing the “SC 49er 5” of certain things has ‘friends’ of LG on the Grand Jury?
Isn’t it Unsportsmanlike Conduct when LG and KW roll their eyes and say things under their breath like “Not surprised 5 to 2” “of course its 5 to 2”, “of course you met with the Niners”?
Isn’t is Unsportsmanlike Conduct when LG and KW complain about the niners giving a bottle of water to 2 council people when they did a tour? And blasting them over that what seemed forever, till it seemed to ‘die’.
Isn’t Unsportsmanlike Conduct when candidates that never lived in the city until the election period are brought in to run and are then supported by LG and her Developers friends. I think they were called Carpet Baggers. And now I see KW accusing a candidate in her area a carpet bagger when he’s lived in her district over two years and announced he had moved to that area.
Isn’t it Unsportsmanlike Conduct when LG & KW were Initially “appointed council members” and had the advantage of being called ‘incumbent’ on a Ballot sheet?
Isn’t Unsportsmanlike Conduct when LG and her family own property in the old Quad and the parking lots are maintained by the City. What other building owners in SC have that ‘agreement’?
Isn’t it Unsportsmanlike Conduct when the Mayor forgets she has property in the Old Quad near a project they are voting on and the City Attorney has to remind her of that property and she now recuses herself? How does one forget the investment properties they own? or maybe she has too many and hasn’t even admitted to them all?
Isn’t it Unsportsmanlike Conduct to sell Loyalton when LG claimed “we never sell property” but she agrees to selling the land because she “liked who was buying it”?
Isn’t Unsportsmanlike Conduct when LG gets her ‘friends’ to call in constantly and ask ‘Becker’ to resign? I seem to remember people calling in asking Caserta to resign. Speaking of which who really did release those documents? why have we never learned that?
Isn’t Unsportsmanlike Conduct when the DA is endorsing candidates that are on LG’s preferred ticket this year? Why does a DA do that?
Isn’t it Unsportsmanlike Conduct when LG supports a blogger, most likely ‘financially’ and probably with ‘tips & story ideas’?
Isn’t Unsportsmanlike Conduct when LG & KW refuse to meet with the Niners since forever, but insist they know what is going on and falsely manifest things?
Isn’t it Unsportsmanlike Conduct when LG & KW hardly EVER have any texts or emails when any Public Record requests are made? Perhaps they really do not do anything for the city then? Given there appears to be no record of them ever meeting with anyone. Yet at an Ethics meeting Jain was able to bring to the fore that that was not the case and that LG was meeting with the Special advisor to the Mayor because he admitted they were but LG claimed they never do. So who’s the liar?
Isn’t Unsportsmanlike Conduct when LG & KW never communicate with SVV? At a guess they are asked to comment ? Could we have SVV please confirm this is the case?
Isn’t Unsportsmanlike Conduct when a so called “Ethics advisor” who was not rehired by the city is now considered acceptable, when in fact the city already has an advisor different to the Good Doctor who is, in fact, hired by the city to advise. Does not the city have a current contract with the Makkula center? And if so are we saying the advisor we the city hire is not good enough? but 2024 Candidates have to use the one LG & KW and the Special Advisor to the Mayor prefer?
Isn’t Unsportsmanlike Conduct when the Mayors business is the property management company for some properties run by City Government organizations? Not sure how often the contract for these buildings come up or if there is competition? how are these contracts bid?
Isn’t Unsportsmanlike Conduct when a Pizza Store Owner has a title that really means “he’s a Co-op Owner expert” but is used to give him some sort of credibility and we see content with just the title “Special Advisor to the Mayor” but no specifics about the title being that it refers to being a co-op Expert? And how that same person seems to be an expert in everything from critiquing other city counselors to videoing council, to building Agriculture centers, to knowing whats best for the elderly, to knowing whats best for Ethics, to knowing whats best for low income housing. Doesn’t live in the city, claims to have a business in the city that he advertises as San Jose / Santa Clara. Where is this business located? One day its SJ one day he needs it to be SC. Or are we just taking advantage of Silicon Valley power – in which case how sportsman like is that?
And I’m sure we could find a dozen more Unsportsmanlike Conduct by many of these cohorts. How does one investigate the DA? call in the FBI? Maybe ask the Oakland residents?