[3 articles]
Supes to Prod State for $2 Million in Defense Costs for 'San
Francisco Eight' Murder Case
http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2009/12/san_francisco_eight_reimbursem.php
By Peter Jamison
Mon., Dec. 7 2009
This just in: Public Defender Jeff Adachi has persuaded a few members
of the Board of Supervisors to help his office recoup millions of
dollars in defense costs racked up in the failed prosecution of eight
alleged former militants charged with murdering a San Francisco
police officer in 1971.
In September, SF Weekly reported that the state owed the city $1.7
million to defray the legal fees of the eight defendants, all of whom
have relied on the city public defender's office for attorneys.
(Because of conflict-of-interest rules, the public defender hired 13
outside lawyers in the case.) The charges were brought by the state
attorney general's office -- and not by San Francisco District
Attorney Kamala Harris -- and Adachi insists that the state must
reimburse the city as a result.
According to a statement released by Adachi's office this evening,
Supervisor David Campos and Supervisor Eric Mar will introduce a
resolution tomorrow urging the state to cough up $2 million in
reimbursement money. (That's higher than the $1.7 million we reported
as of September, based on city records.) Adachi has also asked State
Sen. Mark Leno to introduce special legislation to recoup the money.
"This prosecution was initiated by the state. It's only fair that the
state bears the cost of the defense," Adachi said in the statement.
The case involved eight former members of the Black Liberation Army,
a 1970s radical group, who prosecutors said stormed the Ingleside
police station in 1971, shooting and killing Sergeant John Young. But
the case against the men collapsed, resulting in dismissed or reduced
charges against seven of the eight. (The last defendant, Francisco
Torres, still has charges pending in San Francisco Superior Court.)
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Public Defender Jeff Adachi seeks $2 million reimbursement for City
in San Francisco 8 case
http://www.sfbayview.com/2009/public-defender-jeff-adachi-seeks-2-million-reimbursement-for-city-in-san-francisco-8-case/
by Tamara Barak Aparton
December 9, 2009
As San Francisco grapples with a looming budget crisis, Public
Defender Jeff Adachi is seeking $2 million in state reimbursement to
the City for its defense of eight men charged in a 1971 homicide case
involving a police officer.
On Tuesday, Dec. 8, Supervisor Eric Mar and Supervisor David Campos
introduced a resolution at the San Francisco Board of Supervisors'
meeting, urging state officials to pursue reimbursement in the case,
known as the San Francisco 8, or SF 8.
Adachi has also asked state Sen. Mark Leno to introduce special
legislation asking for the state's assistance in recouping the $2 million.
In 2007, the California Attorney General filed charges against eight
former Black Liberation Army members Herman Bell, Ray Boudreaux,
Henry Jones, Jalil Muntaquim (also known as Anthony Bottom), Richard
O'Neal, Harold Taylor and Francisco Torres in connection with the
officer's killing. The charges had been previously dismissed against
several of the men in 1975.
Earlier this year, two of the accused accepted plea bargains made by
the Attorney General. Both received probation. The charges against
five others were dismissed. Only Torres' case is still pending.
The city's right to reimbursement is based on the fact that the
California Attorney General took on the 36-year-old case after the
San Francisco District Attorney's office declined to prosecute. The
extraordinarily complex case involved 100,000 pages of documents and
necessitated an extensive, multi-state investigation.
"This prosecution was initiated by the state. It's only fair that the
state bears the cost of the defense," Adachi said.
Other counties have successfully recouped costs in expensive cases
brought by the state. For example, Assembly Bill 139, passed in the
2005-2006 session, reimbursed Stanislaus County for 100 percent of
costs expended in the Scott Peterson trial.
--
Tamara Barak Aparton is communications and policy assistant to the
San Francisco Public Defender's Office and can be reached at (415)
575-4390 or [email protected].
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Public Defender Wants $2 Million Owed to City on Ingleside Murder
Case for his Office, Not General Fund
http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2009/12/adachi_wants_sf8_money.php
By Peter Jamison
Fri., Dec. 11 2009
We caught up with Public Defender Jeff Adachi at City Hall this week
for a brief chat about his wave-making announcement on Monday that
he's seeking the aid of local and state legislators in recouping $2
million racked up by the city defending eight men in a decades-old
murder case. The notorious "San Francisco Eight" prosecution, which
began in 2007, has resulted in dropped or reduced charges against
seven of the men so far.
Adachi's argument is that since the state attorney general's office
brought the charges -- and not the San Francisco district attorney's
office -- the state should have to refund the city the roughly $2
million it spent on legal fees for the defendants, none of whom could
afford private attorneys. But there's a twist to this story. Adachi
doesn't just want the city's dollars refunded -- he's hoping that
supervisors see fit to steer the money, if the state coughs it up,
directly to his office.
Most of the attorneys and investigators hired to defend the San
Francisco Eight were paid for by the city's indigent defense fund.
The money in that pot comes from the city's general fund, and not
from the public defender's office. So if Adachi prevails in his
attempt to get the money back for the city -- and can convince
elected officials to reward him for his efforts -- the recouped legal
fees could amount to a $2 million windfall for the public defender's
office, which is struggling with staffing and budget issues.
"We're asking that the money be refunded to the city and county,"
Adachi told SF Weekly. "Obviously, I'm hoping that the funds will be
used to help my office defend the 28,000 other people we have to
defend this year. ... certainly, $2 million would go a long way."
The eight men who were charged in the case are alleged former
militants in the Black Liberation Army. Their charges stemmed from
the shotgun killing of San Francisco Police Sergeant John Young
during an attack on Ingleside Police Station in 1971. Only one of the
defendants, Francisco Torres, still has pending charges.
.
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