Appeal to oust DA from corruption trial continues
SAN JOSE >> An appeals court has ordered the local Superior Court and state Attorney General’s Office to prove why Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen’s office should be allowed to prosecute a watershed corruption trial over defense objections that Rosen’s past friendship and fundraising support from a defendant is a disqualifying conflict.
The new order issued Wednesday by the Sixth District Court of Appeal means that trial proceedings remain on hold for four people indicted on corruption and bribery charges on allegations they brokered an exchange of political donations for concealedgun permits from the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office.
In its order, the appellate court set a Dec. 10 deadline to submit or schedule “show cause” arguments from the AG’S office, which argued against the conflict claim on behalf of Rosen, and the county Superior Court, which sided with the AG in rejecting an initial trial court petition to exclude the DA from the case.
Joe Wall, attorney for defendant Christopher Schumb, said the order was a promising sign for the prospects of getting Rosen’s office recused.
“This is extremely positive. It shows the court is taking the issue to heart,” Wall said Wednesday. “The conflict is definitely real and significant, and it’s not going to go away.”
The appellate court issued an identical order for a parallel petition filed by attorney Harry Stern on behalf of co-defendant James Jensen, a sheriff’s captain and central figure in the prosecution’s case.
The DA’S office referred inquiries to the state Attorney General’s Office, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Wall filed an initial motion following the defendants’ arraignment in August, asserting that
Schumb’s friendship and fundraising support for Rosen, accompanied by a string of collegial and friendly emails, were proof that the district attorney’s office could not conduct a fair prosecution of the case. Rosen filed a response that downplayed his relationship with Schumb and also stated that he returned campaign donations once Schumb became a subject of the corruption probe.
On Sept. 17, Judge Eric Geffon rejected the conflict argument and ordered that the case go forward. All four defendants invoked their speedy trial rights, and Wall re-filed the petition with the appellate court, which on Oct. 30 — three days before trial hearings were set to begin — halted the trial while it evaluates the defense claim.
The original August conspiracy and bribery indictment alleges that Jensen, Schumb, attorney Harpaul Nahal and local gunmaker Michael Nichols arranged to get up to a dozen concealed-carry weapons permits to agents with the executive security firm AS Solution, in exchange for $90,000 in donations to groups that supported Sheriff Laurie Smith in a contentious 2018 reelection campaign against a former undersheriff, John Hirokawa.
All four men pleaded not guilty.