Thread by @objkshn

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria The City was sued because of the Vehicle Habitation law in federal court and court issued an injunction preventing its enforcement. The law is clearly unconstitutional under federal precedent. But unconstitutional laws are also handy enforcement tools for the police. 1/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria Mara Elliott defended the lawsuit by repealing the law and then turning around and imposing a new one, equally as unconstitutional but not yet the subject of the federal lawsuit. But whenever the cases under the new law get to court, she dismisses. This way, ... 2/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria ... she avoids having to defend their constitutionality in court but the law has still served its purpose: it got the person to leave or to stay away or to have to come to court and be inconvenienced. It's not like they would be able to pay any fine imposed anyway. 3/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria Because you're curious, here's what the new Vehicle Habitation Law prohibits and what police can use as evidence of guilt. Have you ever napped in your car? Have you ever had food or food wrappers, water or water bottles? All possible evidence you are guilty. 4/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria Incidentally, Todd Gloria was not on City Council when these habitation ordinances came up for a vote. Barbara Bry was and she voted for the new law. It's for this reason that she will NOT get my vote for San Diego Mayor. But back to Mara Elliott. 5/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria It is true that many jurisdictions have similar laws but it is equally true that they are also unconstitutional. You see it's really hard for the person experiencing homelessness to challenge these laws. They require an integral knowledge of Constitutional law and a working 6/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria understanding of Criminal Procedure, the combination of which most persons charged with such violations do not possess. Infractions are criminal offenses. Infractions include traffic violations but also these "quality of life" violations charged against the homeless. 7/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria And in a separate thread, if you desire, I would be glad to expound further on the unconstitutionality of the criminalization laws, their counter-productivity and futility, and about things that governments can do that are cheaper and more effective, but you asked about Mara. 8/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria I have been a criminal defense attorney for 28 years and have requested discovery on the infractions I've defended for that same length of time. Mara was first City Attorney to take the position that she is not obligated to provide me with criminal discovery in those cases. 9/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria Here's a short lesson on the law you didn't think you'd get. I previously told you infractions are criminal. They are. In fact 80% of the criminal cases issued in California are issued as infractions. The black in this graph of criminal filings are the infractions. 10/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria California statute provides that the same procedures that apply to misdemeanors applies to infractions unless specifically stated otherwise. That includes discovery statutes. Penal Codes §§19.7, 1054.1 et. seq.

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria So to help persons who are experiencing homelessness challenge the laws and obtain discovery on their behalf to do so, I began defending them pro bono. That was in 2014. To date, I am the only criminal defense attorney in the county doing this. 12/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria I thought that as an attorney I'd be able to help them. But after over a year, the City Attorney Mara Elliott still has not provided discovery to me in these matters. I've requested discovery over the years in murder cases that have been more easily resolved than these. 13/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria Mara has taken the unique position, a position that her predecessors have not taken, that because her office does not appear in traffic court and does not physically have possession of the discovery I seek, she's not obligated to share it. She's wrong. 14/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria The law requires that the PROSECUTOR (and that is she) provide discovery not only in its possession but also in the possession of the prosecution "team" which includes law enforcement and third parties. 15/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria Mara Elliott and/or her deputies at her behalf held meeting with SDPD (and presumably the other city law enforcement agencies) and told them that from now on they would be responsible for providing discovery in infractions. There was no instructions on how this would occur. 16/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria This meeting was approximately November, 2017, less than a year after she was sworn into the position. She and her deputies essentially met with police to conspire to deprive criminal defendants of their civil liberties. That's a crime. 17/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria There was no announcement to the defense community that this would take place, so the only way we found out was when we delivered the Informal Discovery Request (IDR) as required under Penal Code 1054.1 and got a reply to instead ask the Police Officer. This is an example. 18/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria The prosecutor in San Diego has an obligation under the Charter to which she is sworn to prosecute the ordinances of the city. She cannot delegate her charter obligations to persons outside the City Attorneys office or non-attorneys. Excerpted below. 19/ docs.sandiego.gov/citycharter/Ar…

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria Indeed, asking a non-attorney to engage in the practice of law when not licensed to do so constitutes a the unlawful solicitation of a misdemeanor (for which her office has the jurisdiction to prosecute). 20/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria Ms. Elliott has Constitutional obligations under Brady including an affirmative duty to review evidence in all criminal cases so she can disclose exculpatory evidence. She cannot do this job if she refuses any involvement in the matter. 21/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria And Ms. Elliott has placed officers on the Brady List meaning they have compromised credibility. Ms. Elliott refuses to make this list public. Even the officers on this list may not be aware they are on the list. 22/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria Under Brady Ms. Elliott is required to disclose the details about the officer's compromised credibility when the case goes to trial. BUT how is she advising infraction defendants of this if she has absented herself from involvement in infractions? She's not. 23/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria This SDPD officer was referred to the Brady List for lying in an infraction to convict a homeless man of a crime that hadn't occurred, but yet he continued to testify in cases without the required Brady notification to unsuspecting defendants. 24/ voiceofsandiego.org/topics/public-…

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria Here is more information on my fight for discovery on behalf of the homeless persons I defend pro bono, from Mara Elliott in a local news article. No, this is NOT normal prosecutorial behavior. 25/ sandiegouniontribune.com/news/courts/st…

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria But that is not all. A week after Ms. Elliott was sworn into office, she was advising City Council they should agree to a contract to upgrade the streetlights to make them more environmentally friendly and to track traffic patterns. She lied. 26/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria A few YEARS after lying she slipped and revealed that these streetlights, paid for by community funds intended to repair potholes and community parks, had actually been extracting data to sell to third parties and allowed police to spy and monitor persons in real time. 27/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria When City Council called her on it and said, "hey you didn't tell us this was what we were agreeing to," she said, "you should've read it for yourself" (i.e. not trusted her) and it was my "first week on the job." 28/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria But it wasn't her 1st week in City Attorneys office. She was a career City Attorney in the Contracts division who ran on how her experience would make her ready to go Day 1. And she had full access to all files, per Jan Goldsmith, her predecessor when elected in November. 29/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria Since I've already discussed Mara Elliott's involvement with the streetlight fiasco, see this:

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria And that wouldn't be the last time that Mara would use the "first week on the job," excuse. She also used it to brush away her role in the Ash Street fiasco, essentially leaving the City without an attorney. 31/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria You see Jan Goldsmith was not the City Attorney and if Mara Elliott needed a period of time after she was elected before she became competent to represent the city, why didn't she state this when running? How long DID San Diego have to wait until she was "on the job"? 32/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria And Mara Elliott is no friend of minorities, despite being the first Latina and woman to hold the position. When she campaigned the first time it had been right after Ferguson. On October 11, 2016 she stated the following: 33/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria She talks about a lot she could do to rebuild trust? Yet she refuses to provide the body worn cameras in 80% of the criminal prosecutions (100% of the criminal infractions) for which she is in charge. Inexplicably. 34/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria Sounds like she supports diverting resources away from the police and to helping the neighborhoods collaboratively. But the programs she described here are Community Policing, not the Zero Tolerance Quality of Life enforcement that she delivered. 35/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria Four years later, Mara Elliott's office STILL HAS NOT ADMITTED that the data revealing racial profiling by San Diego Police Department and San Diego Sheriff's office. Why is she waiting? If she hasn't acted yet why would we expect she would after elected to a second term? 36/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria Here is the racial profiling she inherited, pre-dating her 2016 election, aclu.org/press-releases… and here is the racial profiling (she still hasn't conceded is a problem) revealed in 2019: voiceofsandiego.org/topics/public-… 37/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria And this brings us full circle to the infraction injustices that I started this thread discussing. Because after you've racially profiled, detained and searched a car and found nothing, often those persons get issued traffic violations to justify the time spent. 38/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria How can Ms. Elliott review the racial profiling that is taking place and control for it when she refuses to involve herself in the citations police issue as infractions? 39/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria And let's be clear: the City Attorney claims to issue the subpoenas to the police in this case AND the City collects a portion of the fine revenue generated. So Ms. Elliott IS involved in these cases. Just not in any way that would benefit the persons charged. 40/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria Here is a thread identifying, in painstaking detail, how Mara Elliott misled the public about how the Brady List operates in an Op Ed. She's not replied to a single allegation I've raised. 40/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria And what might have caused her to withhold body worn camera evidence from defendants? to give police unfettered reign in infraction court? to double down on police enforcement of homeless persons? POLICE UNION DONATIONS AND CAMPAIGN ASSISTANCE. 41/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria The CA State Bar is discussing whether to prohibit prosecutors from accepting money from police unions because of the conflict it creates. Mara, by taking the money, places herself opposite the reform prosecutors who are leading the charge against. 42/ npr.org/2020/06/18/879…

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria Thank you for asking the question. I hope I have answered it. I spent considerable time doing so BECAUSE IT IS JUST THAT IMPORTANT, not only to me personally, but to the homeless persons I defend and to minorities who continue to be oppressed. 43/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria Her opponent Cory Briggs has not accepted and has vowed never to accept funding from police unions. He will be prepared to accept responsibility Day 1 and won't claim "first week on the job" to avoid doing his job. He will re-allocate resources away from criminalization ... 44/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria ... of persons who are poor. He will admit San Diego has a racial profiling program and create policies to ameliorate it. he will provide all criminal defendants with the discovery they seek. He will seek to void San Diego's contracts with the streetlights and Ash street. 45/

@dark0ne23 @ToddGloria 📍You can follow him here @CoryBriggs
📍You can donate to him here: CoryBriggs.com
(remember, he has taken in less campaign money by refusing police union donations; he needs our support)
📍And you can vote for him in November (or sooner).
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