In the July edition of the Vanguard, a magazine that identifies itself as the “official publication of the San Jose Police Officers’ Association,” is a step by step guide on how and why police should get a letter of apology during interviews in order to impact how cases are later adjudicated in the courts. The piece offers “techniques used by sales professionals,” explains why “defense attorneys hate” to see the letters, and how they can be “one more nail in the coffin of your case.”
Read and listen to the story of Ramon Vasquez, a 33 year old father of 2, who was released from Santa Clara County Jail back in 2008 for a crime he didn’t commit. His family came weekly to De-Bug meetings to get assistance for his case, and because of their persistence and community support, Ramon is home.
This is part of the “Time Saved” series. In court systems across the country, the term used to show that someone has done their time of incarceration is called “Time Served.” At De-Bug, we transform that term, and that time, to “time saved” through family and community organizing to change the outcome of cases. — Submission Post by Charisse Domingo
For six years, Noreen Salinas has fought for justice for her father Steve Salinas, who was tased to death by a San Jose police officer in 2007. Noreen walked into De-Bug the week of her father’s death asking for support, and she has been De-Bug family ever since, attending regular ACJP meetings. Throughout the years, she has become our moral leader in the effort to shelve Tasers, a lethal weapon that continues to take lives. We marched, rallied, held press conferences, all under the call, “Justice for Steve Salinas.” As of last Friday, after a jury unanimously delivered a verdict in favor of the Salinas family — we have made some of the promise of that chant a reality. As you will read in the Mercury News article, this is the first win of its kind in San Jose. And that a federal jury has found that the Taser was a contributing cause of death also is a major blow against Tasers nationally. Here is Noreen in front of the mural we made of her in the basement of De-Bug, holding the Mercury News article. The title though is misleading. When a city holds officers accountable for excessive force, and a mourning family is given some peace — that city doesn’t loose, it wins. Click the image to go to Mercury News article.
Former public defender Aram James, and co-founder of ACJP, has seen the inner-workings of the courtroom for decades. The Zimmerman verdict, he writes, is emblematic of systemic issues such as racial bias in jury selection that must be addressed if justice is ever to be achieved for black life like Trayvon Martin.
Over the last several weeks I have had a chance to see many hours of the Zimmerman trial on television and have paid close attention to many of the instant, self-described, legal scholars and commentators on both sides of the issues raised by this trial.
Spoken and unspoken throughout the trial, and the proceedings leading up to the trial, including the media coverage was a palpable racial tension from the start, going back to 2012 when the Sanford Florida police refused to arrest George Zimmerman for the murder of Trayvon Martin. And then we found, once the long delayed trial began, that the jury that was selected was made up all most exclusively of white folks. Continue reading
Submission by Robin Yeamans
The US Supreme Court recently ruled that in order to assert your right to remain silent, you must speak up and say you invoke the Fifth Amendment. In Salinas v. Texas, Mr. Salinas answered officers’ questions for an hour but became silent when police questioned him about shotgun shells found at the crime scene. At trial the prosecutor used Salinas’ silence to persuade the jury he was guilty, and he was convicted of murder.
Justice Alito stated in the Court’s ruling that the defendant’s “Fifth Amendment claim fails because he did not expressly invoke the privilege against self incrimination in response to the officer’s question.”
Justice Breyer, writing a minority opinion disagreed, pointing out, “But does it really mean that the suspect must use the exact words ‘Fifth Amendment’? How can an individual who is not a lawyer know that these particular words are legally magic?”
A public defender from San Francisco pointed out: “This ruling will hurt our most vulnerable citizens: the mentally ill, those with language barriers, people with little education and those who are under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of their questioning.”
The US Supreme Court, so careful to protect corporations’ supposed rights, are destroying the rights of others, literally ripping up years of precedent.
In court systems across the country, the term used to show that someone has done their time of incarceration is called “Time Served.” At De-Bug, we transform that term, and that time, to “time saved” through family and community organizing to change the outcome of cases. We quantify the amount of “Time Saved” by looking at the maximum exposure of incarceration based on the charges against an individual when they first approach us and subtract the total amount of incarceration time received by that individual after the family has intervened in the case through our organizing model. Sometimes charges get beat completely, some times charges get reduced, sometimes sentences get lowered as a result of the work. Continue reading
Thanks to KPFA for interviewing ACJP organizer Raj Jayadev for their Morning Show to share De-Bug’s perspective on public safety, the power of personal stories, and how communities can challenge the courts,police misconduct, and the growing inequities of Silicon Valley.
Xavier España is 19 years old, and though young, says he has already learned important life lessons that have focused him for his future. He is an Evergreen College student, a parishioner of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and works at his uncle’s auto body repair shop. Xavier is currently facing charges through the court system. This video profile was produced to show a fuller picture of Xavier’s life — the people, institutions, and opportunities that are invested in his success. The media was created so those deciding his fate are more informed of who he is, and the community he is apart of that are committed to ensuring he lives up to his remarkable potential.
There is currently a proposal to dramatically restrict inmates in the Santa Clara County jail system from receiving letters. Steeda McGruder, founder of Sisters That Been There, writes about the profound power of receiving letters while incarcerated, and shares correspondence from women currently behind the walls who write about the “life-saving” value of letters. Click image to read pieces on Silicon Valley De-Bug…
(Steeda shows the many letters she received from women in the system who reach out to get support. They say letters are there “lifelines.”)
Last week the Albert Cobarrubias Justice squad presented to the attorneys of the juvenile division of the Santa Clara County Public Defender’s Office. We were invited to share our experiences, perspectives, and our model of how families can play a role in partnering with defense attorneys to protect youth from the system. It was a very productive sit down as we brought some of our leading organizers who first got introduced to the system through witnessing their own children face the courts. Their is nothing more insightful than a mother’s observations. We also shared the video, made by Cesar Flores, that was used by a defense attorney earlier this year to further her point that her client was being over-charged. The young man was able to resolve his case without jail or prison time, as well as preserving his relief for immigration court. We look forward to continuing our partnering efforts to keep youth out of the system!
Albert Cobarrubias Justice Project 