CNN
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The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office said it uncovered possible criminal wrongdoing by prosecutors after being tasked with reviewing dozens of death penalty cases to determine whether prosecutors intentionally excluded black and Jewish jurors.
Earlier this year, a federal judge ordered prosecutors to review all 35 of the district’s death penalty cases after evidence showed that prosecutors intentionally excluded black and Jewish jurors from participating in a 1995 capital crimes trial.
Investigators have now identified a “serious pattern of misconduct” affecting several cases, Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price said on Tuesday. She declined to give an exact number of cases, citing the ongoing investigation.
Her office believes some of her conduct “not only violated the Constitution but may have been criminal,” Price said during a press conference at her Oakland office.
The alleged misconduct was discovered by an Alameda County assistant district attorney while preparing the appeal of death row inmate Ernest Dykes, who was convicted of murdering nine-year-old Lance Clark in 1993.
CNN last week published images of notes believed to have been written by prosecutors during Dykes’ trial that included comments singling out potential jurors for whether they were black or Jewish. One potential juror in the Dykes file is described as a “little fat troll.” Like other black potential jurors – and only black potential jurors – her race is noted. Next to her name are the letters “FB,” apparently a reference to her gender and race. Another juror has the word “Jewish” underlined on the questionnaire. Further down, a handwritten note reads: “I liked him more than any other Jew. But no way.”
Ultimately, there were no black or Jewish jurors in the courtroom at the trial.
Now Clark’s family says prosecutors told them Dykes could be released from prison after uncovering evidence of jury tampering in his case. Prosecutors declined to comment.
The death penalty cases examined date from the mid-1980s to 2007. These cases include convicted mass murderers, serial killers, rapists and murderers.
Brian Pomerantz, a lawyer for Dykes and other capital crimes, believes some of those sentenced to death could now be released. “For some, that could be the solution,” he said. “And for some, that should be the solution.”
The families of the victims in the 35 cases must now face the reality that those convicted could be released, re-sentenced or face a new trial. Price said her office is in settlement negotiations with the prisoners’ attorneys and the state’s attorney general’s office.
The full review of the cases is expected to take until the end of the year, Price said.
Price faces recall in November and members of the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office voted “overwhelmingly” to recall him, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, citing an email the union sent to its members on Monday.
It is unclear how many prosecutors in the public prosecutor’s office are represented by the union and what percentage of members supported the dismissal.
When asked about the vote during Tuesday’s press conference, the district attorney said she believed the union’s actions were motivated by her office’s investigation into prosecutorial misconduct.
“The whole world is watching and is appalled by what we have uncovered as prosecutorial misconduct in this office, and our efforts to hold prosecutors accountable for this type of misconduct and other ethical lapses have met with resistance from the prosecutors’ union even before we arrived,” Price said.
CNN has asked prosecutors for a statement on the vote.
CNN’s Nick Watt contributed to this report.
