OAKLAND — A judge barred Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price’s office from prosecuting one of her loudest political critics in a misdemeanor case that has become a focal point in the recall effort against her.
Alameda County Superior Court Judge James Cramer ruled that Price’s office has a “significant conflict of interest” in prosecuting Amilcar “Butch” Ford, a former employee of hers who was charged over the summer with violating a little-used section of the state’s business and professions code. As a result, the case will now be handled by the California Attorney General’s Office.
In making his ruling, Cramer said Price had “every right” to speak out against Ford and his alleged actions. But he raised concerns about how often — and with how much vigor — Price spoke publicly about Ford, citing several press releases issued about Ford’s case since charging him in July. It was particularly unusual, given Ford only faced a misdemeanor.
“I’m not saying she has expressed an opinion that a member of the public cannot express — she has every right to do so,” Cramer said. “The problem here for me is that the elected district attorney has made repeated comments about the defendant in this case, Mr. Ford.”
He noted one moment in particular, after Ford had his fingerprints and picture taken at the Santa Rita Jail as part of the county’s standard booking process. Cramer highlighted how Price appeared to revel in the moment.
“In the middle of announcing that a defendant in a misdemeanor was booked, the DA’s office uses imagery focusing on the word ‘conviction,’” said Cramer, adding that the move “makes it crystal clear, to me at least, what the DA and the DA’s office wants in this case.”
After the hearing, one of Ford’s attorneys hailed the decision as vindication of months of concerns about Price’s apparent bias against Ford.
“This is a bogus charge — this is the most frivolous charge I’ve ever seen” in 20 years as an East Bay defense attorney, said the attorney, Ernie Castillo.
Leah Abraham, the prosecutor in charge of the case, declined to comment outside of the courtroom, as did a spokesperson for the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office.
A message to the state AG’s office seeking comment was not immediately returned.
Ford has repeatedly sparred with Price over the years — even appearing at a rally in April on the steps of the René C. Davidson Courthouse in downtown Oakland calling for her to be booted from office. He was under paid administrative leave at the time, which Price had placed him on in the early days of her tenure.
Later in April, Ford left the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office for a job as a prosecutor under San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins. He has since become a prominent supporter of a recall effort to oust Price from office.
On July 17, Price announced a single charge against Ford of defending after public prosecution as the prosecutor. If convicted, Ford could end up being disbarred.
It stemmed from a declaration he filed while still employed by Price — one that supported police union attorney Michael Rains’ bid to disqualify the district attorney from a case against Jason Fletcher. Fletcher, a former San Leandro police officer, faces a manslaughter charge in the 2020 on-duty shooting death of Steven Taylor.
In the sworn declaration, Ford described multiple conversations he had with Kwixuan Maloof, then the head of Price’s Public Accountability Unit. It included one instance where Maloof allegedly said, “I came here to charge cops. They better be ready. They better Google me,” according to the court declaration.
Abraham argued time and again Wednesday that Ford had been treated fairly by Price’s office from the moment that he had been charged. She took credit for the idea to prosecute Ford after hearing about his declaration from a colleague in the Public Accountability Unit. She then sought approval from Price to file the charges — citing fears of a blow to morale among other prosecutors in the office. From that moment on, Abraham added, Price had “no prosecutorial discretion over the case.”
“Mr. Ford is not a victim of a political witch hunt, as he’d like this court to believe,” Abraham said. “The case started with Mr. Ford’s very own conduct.”
But Michael O’Connor, another of Ford’s defense attorneys, railed against that notion — citing years of comments by Price that framed Ford as “hostile, rude and insubordinate.” He submitted reams of statements by Price, her office and her political campaign targeting Ford, including a Facebook post the day he was charged lamenting “so many families left devastated” by the prosecutor. Other posts depicted people wearing shirts emblazoned with the words “Butch Ford strikes again.”
“Politics is one of the big issues here, if not one of the biggest issues,” said O’Connor, adding that “everyone in this case knows she has a personal interest.”
In announcing his decision on Wednesday, Cramer stressed that his ruling was not intended as any statement about the facts of the case, or whether Ford is guilty of the charge. A hearing has been set for Jan. 9, where the state Attorney General’s Office is expected to make its first appearance in the case.
A trial has tentatively been set for late January.