Commentary: Chronicle Calls Her a ‘Progressive Prosecutor’ but in 2019 the Vanguard Covered Brooke Jenkins Committing Egregious Prosecutorial Misconduct

Share:

By David M. Greenwald
Executive Editor

San Francisco, CA – It was a bombshell story, Heather Knight, one of the most recognized reporters in San Francisco today ran the story for Sunday Morning’s Chronicle, “Why a progressive prosecutor just left D.A. Chesa Boudin’s office and joined the recall effort.”

The story features Brooke Jenkins and argues, “Sitting on a bench in Golden Gate Park on a recent afternoon, Brooke Jenkins made clear the city’s raging debate over crime and how District Attorney Chesa Boudin responds to it is more complicated than left versus right.”

Jenkins, a former prosecutor, Knight reports, left the office on October 15.  “She’s now one of about 50 attorneys — roughly a third of the office — to leave since January 2020, when Boudin took charge,” Knight continues.

Knight adds, “Jenkins’ decision to speak out about what she views as chaotic management, high turnover and ideologically driven decisions at the D.A.’s office sets her apart in the normally tight-lipped criminal justice community. And so does her new role: volunteering for the campaign to recall her former boss.”

Heather Knight is a formidable figure and is one of a number of reporters in San Francisco, whose coverage has galvanized opposition to the current DA in San Francisco.  But there is another side to the story of Brooke Jenkins—and it’s not progressive prosecution but rather prosecutorial misconduct.

When the Vanguard opened its San Francisco Court Watch in 2019, the first trial it covered was the Carter-Bibbs trial.  The Vanguard covered the trial from start to finish and the entire thing was a travesty of justice as it became very clear that no crime had occurred and that Mr. Carter-Bibbs was innocent of the horrendous charge that he molested his girlfriend’s young daughter.

What was worse was that the prosecutor, with the victim’s advocate and a DA investigator, surrounded the little girl in the hallway, and attempted to coach her testimony that was faltering on the stand.  They got caught on video doing this.  That prosecutor was Brooke Jenkins.

“How many more people does (the girl) have to tell?” Deputy DA Brooke Jenkins asked as she opened her nearly three-hour initial closing argument. “What does it take to believe her?”

But they had a problem.  Carter-Bibbs had no criminal history.  Investigators found nothing incriminating on his phone.  There were no physical injuries or DNA on the little girl.

Moreover, it was not clear that Carter-Bibbs ever had access to the little girl alone.

Watching the trial it became clear to the Vanguard Court Watch team that it was more likely that the little girl was a pawn in a custody battle between the maternal grandmother and the mother and was likely manipulated.

Jury Acquits on Most Charges in Molestation Trial, Hangs on Two

While a reasonable person can debate whether the case should have been tried in the first place, it is hard to defend the actions of the prosecutor in this case.

The most dramatic moment of the trial came when the defense called a public defender investigator to the stand.

The young girl was supposed to testify on the opening day of the trial, but twice refused.  The investigator testified that he saw a conversation between five individuals—the child, Deputy DA Brooke Jenkins, an inspector, a victim’s advocate and one other individual.

The investigator testified, “I observed Jenkins say, ‘Say that – that’s what you need to say.’”

He testified it caught his attention because it was very unorthodox and seemed to be very important.  He had not been paying particular attention before that.

PD Investigator Alleges Witness Coaching by the Deputy DA

He then pulled out his iPhone and recorded a few minutes of audio.  The audio that came out was very distorted and difficult to hear.  However, the public defender investigator managed to produce a transcript that was provided to the jury while they listened to the audio from the video recording.

Under cross-examination from Ms. Jenkins, the investigator said that he had been observing various courtrooms and had overheard interns in the public defender’s office indicate that many were going to watch the trial and he felt like it sounded interesting.

Having heard this in court, the implication was very clear—the DA, and a group of four adults overall, were pressuring the young girl to testify and coaching her on what to say.

In the end, the judge did nothing about the alleged prosecutorial misconduct, the investigator who recorded this was investigated by DA Investigators at the time, but ultimately Carter-Bibbs was acquitted of the charges by the jury.

For years prior to his death, Public Defender Jeff Adachi had asked the Vanguard and its team to come to San Francisco and report on what was happening in its courts.  Unfortunately, it took his untimely death in 2019 to make that a reality.

The Carter-Bibbs case stands out because it was our first trial that we covered, but what we saw in 2019 was a pattern of both prosecutorial and police misconduct that stunned many of us—Carter-Bibbs was merely the first and perhaps most egregious example.

Share:

About The Author

David Greenwald is the founder, editor, and executive director of the Davis Vanguard. He founded the Vanguard in 2006. David Greenwald moved to Davis in 1996 to attend Graduate School at UC Davis in Political Science. He lives in South Davis with his wife Cecilia Escamilla Greenwald and three children.

Related posts

12 thoughts on “Commentary: Chronicle Calls Her a ‘Progressive Prosecutor’ but in 2019 the Vanguard Covered Brooke Jenkins Committing Egregious Prosecutorial Misconduct”

  1. Keith Olson

    The investigator testified, “I observed Jenkins say, ‘Say that – that’s what you need to say.’”

    In my mind that doesn’t necessarily mean that the girl was coached to lie, it could easily be construed that Jenkins was telling the girl that she needs to speak out, to tell her story.

    1. David Greenwald Post author

      The issue is not whether she was coached to lie. With an adult witness that would be questionable at best. With a five year old that’s completely improper. The problem is that the girl is the only witness to what did or did not happen, child’s memory is extremely fragile, and you just intervened to completely contaminate the memory of the witness by doing this.

      1. Keith Olson

        Or maybe the little girl was pressured and afraid and the DA’s team was trying to get her to speak out and tell her story?

        From an earlier Vanguard article:

        “How many more people does (the girl) have to tell?” Deputy DA Brooke Jenkins asked as she opened her nearly three-hour initial closing argument. “What does it take to believe her?”
        She went on to point out that the child told six different people, but she had to explain away a number of denials, including most recently on the stand.
        For her part, Jenkins argued if these allegations were untrue, there had to be an explanation about her graphic sexual knowledge, and she argued the only way the girl would have known these “sensations” and concepts were if they “happened to her.” And Jenkins also said we had to understand the girl’s motivation to report.

  2. Keith Olson

    Why is the Vanguard bringing up this story about Jenkins now?  Is it because she had the nerve to speak out about Boudin so she needs to be discredited?  Why isn’t the Vanguard instead evaluating her accusations and issues that she had with Boudin’s department and why she felt compelled to quit and speak out?

      1. David Greenwald Post author

        Basically you have two journalist – Heather Knight and Bigad Shaban with an axe to grind against Boudin interviewing a DDA who herself has an axe to grind. Neither one digs in to find out the other side of the story.

          1. David Greenwald Post author

            The Vanguard provided a small piece of context for the story that the mainstream press left out.

            Remember any time someone departs an office – they get to talk and the other side does not get to. So we hear one side of the story.

  3. Keith Olson

    Here’s an NBC interview with Brooke Jenkins where she tells her views and talks about her issues with Boudin:

    Extended Interview: Former Prosecutor Brooke Jenkins
    Brooke Jenkins, a top prosecutor in the District Attorney’s office, resigned her position saying the DA’s leniency on criminals is making San Francisco more dangerous.
    https://www.nbcbayarea.com/investigations/extended-interview-former-prosecutor-brooke-jenkins/2697871/

  4. Ron Oertel

    Why isn’t the Vanguard instead evaluating her accusations and issues that she had with Boudin’s department and why she felt compelled to quit and speak out?

    It’s because that’s not how the Vanguard operates.

    Everything is a campaign, to the Vanguard.

  5. Ron Oertel

    The Vanguard provided a small piece of context for the story that the mainstream press left out.

    That’s probably the best way to look at the Vanguard.  Though sometimes, the Vanguard is on the same side as the “mainstream press” (e.g., regarding housing).

    Remember any time someone departs an office – they get to talk and the other side does not get to. So we hear one side of the story.

    Most of your readers in this area probably didn’t hear “either” side of the story until now.

    You forgot to mention – the dude who cornered Boudin in the bathroom.

    Probably the only thing I’ll remember regarding the Vanguard’s coverage of the Boudin campaign. Don’t mess with a guy (or gal’s) trip to the restroom! (Hopefully, no one will mind the “binary reference”.)

    Though more accurately, it was “on the way” to the restroom.

Leave a Reply

X Close

Newsletter Sign-Up

X Close

Monthly Subscriber Sign-Up

Enter the maximum amount you want to pay each month
$ USD
Sign up for