Former No. 49 Dana Stubblefield will remain behind bars after judge rejects bail ruling

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Former San Francisco 49ers player Dana Stubblefield, whose 2020 rape conviction was vacated late last year, is currently free of charge after a judge declined to rule on bail Friday. He will remain in a California prison.

According to the Mercury News, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Hector Ramon said he could not grant bail or release the former football star because the case remains within the jurisdiction of the appeals court.

The Sixth District Court of Appeal found that racial bias affected Stubblefield’s trial and in December 2024 vacated Stubblefield’s conviction and overturned his sentence of 15 years to life in prison. But the appeals court transfer, a technical ruling that returns jurisdiction to a lower court, is not expected to be issued until next month, according to news outlets.

Stubblefield’s lawyers sought his release, claiming there was no reason to keep him incarcerated.

In a motion filed against Lamont earlier this week, attorneys said a judge has the authority to transfer the former NFL player to a county jail from Corcoran State Prison in California, where he has served nearly four years. According to news outlets, this would effectively return Stubblefield to the same status he was in pretrial, which they believe is his current legal status.

In court Friday, Ramon insisted jurisdiction would not return to local courts until the Court of Appeal issues a transfer order. Deputy District Attorney Tim McInerney’s office expressed support for Stubblefield’s continued detention, the Mercury News reported.

Outside court, Stubblefield’s attorneys opposed the decision.

“Everything has been emptied out as he sits here, he has not been convicted of a crime and a legally innocent man is sitting in jail as we wait the clock,” attorney Ken Rosenfield said.

The retired football player was sentenced in October 2020 to 15 years to life in prison after being convicted of raping a developmentally disabled woman who prosecutors said he lured to his home in 2015 with the promise of a nanny job. Defense attorneys said no rape occurred and Stubblefield said the woman agreed to sex in exchange for money.

In December 2024, the Sixth Court of Appeals ruled that prosecutors violated the California Racial Justice Act of 2020, a law passed during summer protests over the police killing of George Floyd. The measure prohibits prosecutors from seeking criminal convictions or sentences based on race.

The appeals court said prosecutors used “racially discriminatory language” and asked them to overturn Stubblefield’s conviction.

In 1993, Stubblefield began his 11-year NFL forward career with the 49ers, becoming the league’s Defensive Rookie of the Year. He later earned NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors in 1997 before leaving the team to play in Washington. He finished his career back in the Bay Area, playing with the 49ers in 2000-01 and the Raiders in 2003.