Dana Stubblefield could be released from prison after 2020 rape conviction overturned

Dana Stubblefield’s 2020 rape conviction has been overturned by the Court of Appeal after prosecutors used “racially discriminatory language” during the trial. , who expects Stubblefield to be released within days.

Attorney Alan Sawyer told The Times that he and fellow attorney Kenneth Rosenfield, who represents Stubblefield, filed a motion in Santa Clara Superior Court on Tuesday asking for Stubblefield’s release. Sawyer said the hearing could be held this weekend.

“Now that the appeals court has overturned his conviction, this hearing will discuss his custody status and he has not been convicted of anything at this time, not even a parking ticket,” Sawyer said. “We anticipate that. “He should be released until finally, based on what they say is a transfer from the Court of Appeal to the Court of First Instance, they are formally notified of the revocation and instructed on how to proceed.”

Sawyer said he expects a retrial to be held in February, at which time a decision will be made on whether to proceed.

Stubblefield played 11 seasons in the NFL with San Francisco, Washington and Oakland, earning Defensive Rookie of the Year (1993) and Defensive Player of the Year (1997) honors while with the 49ers.

In May 2016, Stubblefield was accused of raping a woman at gunpoint the previous year. During the trial, Stubblefield’s defense attorney argued that the sex was consensual. In October 2020, a jury found him guilty of forcible rape, forced oral copulation and false imprisonment, and that he used a firearm when committing the first two crimes. He was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.

Last week, California’s Sixth Court of Appeals overturned Stubblefield’s conviction under the California Racial Justice Act of 2020, which prohibits judges, attorneys, law enforcement officers and others from “displaying bias against a defendant because of the defendant’s race, ethnicity.” or hostility”. , or nationality. “

The appeals court’s decision was based on language used in prosecutors’ closing arguments, which came nearly two months after a white Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd, a black man. began and sparked nationwide protests throughout the summer.

“In closing arguments, prosecutors claimed police decided not to search Stubblefield’s house [for a gun] Based in part on the fact that he is a prominent black man,” the opinion reads. “Prosecutors claimed the search would spark ‘a firestorm of controversy,’ adding, ‘Can you imagine a search of an African-American man in Morgan Hill –‘” defense attorneys objected. The trial court upheld the objection but did not warn or instruct the jury regarding this part of the prosecutor’s argument.

The opinion continued: “We find that prosecutors violated the Racial Justice Act, in part, Section 745 of the Penal Code. Prosecutors expressly allege that Stubblefield’s race was a factor in law enforcement’s decision not to search his home.” The statement It was suggested that if Stubblefield had not been black, the house might have been searched and a gun found, giving Stubblefield an undue advantage at trial because he was black.

Second, the claim that the search would ‘set off a firestorm of controversy’ implicitly refers to events that followed the recent killing of George Floyd, pandering to racially biased views of those events and based on Stubblefield’s race Connect it to these events. We find that the prosecution’s statements constituted “racially discriminatory language regarding Stubblefield’s race” within the meaning of Penal Code section 745(a)(2), and we conclude that his conviction was Seeked or obtained in violation of subsection (a). … We are requested to vacate the conviction and sentence, find them invalid as a matter of law, and order new proceedings pursuant to subsection (a).

The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office told The Times in a statement Tuesday that it was “looking into the comments.”

Rosenfeld told TMZ on Monday that Stubblefield was “overjoyed” that his conviction was overturned, and Sawyer added that their client was looking forward to being reunited with his family upon release.