The attorney for Capt. James Jensen—who faces up to 11 years in prison if convicted on charges of falsifying gun range tests and residency documents for concealed weapon permit holders—now wants to get the cow back into the barn, which ain’t gonna happen.
Lawyer Harry Stern filed a motion this week to seal the grand jury transcripts.
He claims, without citing evidence, that the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office leaked the material to Metro Silicon Valley and its digital news channel, San Jose Inside.
“It is as if the San Jose Inside was given an all-access backstage pass,” Stern flatteringly wrote about our news gathering amazingness. We wish all attorneys had a degree in English Literature, as Stern does, and could turn a phrase that well.
The DA failed to appreciate the humor in Stern’s narrative and responded with a dry stack of declarations from its prosecutorial team flatly denying that any of them leaked.
In arguing to remove DA Jeff Rosen’s office from prosecuting Jensen and three others accused of participating in a bribery conspiracy, Stern directs low blows towards prosecutors but takes the high road on first amendment issues.
“Defense counsel supports a free and independent press; our quarrel is not with the media,” he wrote in the 14-page filing.
Metro and San Jose Inside won’t be discussing who did or didn’t provide the documents as it’s our strict policy to protect confidential sources.
obvious flexing
my kids know better
Maybe someone can also leak you a dictionary. A’int and amazingess are not real words.
Jeff Rosen has been trying cases in the media since he was narrowly elected back in 2010. John Chase , Admir Alem, Stacey Capps, David Angel and Sean Webby in particular are master leakers when they think they will get favorable coverage in the press for their boss, which they have done for the past 10 years. Good for you guys in now doing it differently. The NBC trucks were at the court for the Grand Jury hearing when Sheriff Smith testified. Now who do you think could have leaked that , since there was no press release? Or the fact that Sheriff Smith was crying and wiping her eyes , which would not be reflected in a transcript , but would be reflected if the DA made illegal recordings of a Grand Jury proceeding, or a bailiff captured on their chest cams, something we know from a public records request that old county counsel Michael Rossi was willing to do as recently as January 2020 AND that Alan Nudelman used to do so his wife could type him up a transcript before the official one is a available. We don’t need facts to make that claim. We have history and knowledge from local reporters and lawyers.
This news organization could say that an employee of the DA’s office did in fact hand them over to the newspaper without saying who exactly did it. That would at least provide a basis of factual support to the defense’s assertions. If that did happen, this newspaper is standing by and watching a group of defendants being denied a fair trial. That is a big deal and “protection of a source” should not permit proceeding with an unfair trial.
The DA could similarly investigate who committed the crime of disclosure Grand Jury testimony. Interestingly, not a peep about that from the DA. Could it be that it might reveal something that would require the DA to recuse himself?
The appearance of impropriety is enormous here.
> Maybe you can put some of that ‘Amazingness’ to work and update us on the murder trial of those involved in murdering Robert Harden.
I was unaware of this. Another one to add to the “They never tell us anything” file.
https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/widow-identifies-husband-robert-bob-henderson-of-los-gatos-killed-prius-driver-to-be-arraigned/77198/
Bambi Larson
Kate Steinle
Erin Valenti
Where are the angry feminists when you need them?
Rosen did not leak the transcripts and would fire anyone who did. That said, too many eyes to count as to who leaked the information.