Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price filed a motion to disqualify the defense attorney in a high-profile 2020 police shooting case over claims he “misappropriated privileged attorney work” from the D.A., according to a press release from her office Monday.
Defense Attorney Michael Rains represents former San Leandro police officer Jason Fletcher. Fletched has been charged with voluntary manslaughter in the deadly shooting of Steven Taylor while inside a crowded Walmart in April, 2020.
“They want me off this case because they know they’re going to lose the case while I remain on it,” Rains said.
In Price’s press release, she claimed Rains “obtained the privileged material from his client, a former Alameda County prosecutor … who was on paid leave for alleged prosecutorial misconduct.”
Rains claims he had an explanation for that.
“He provided that information to the county’s affirmative action officer in a written complaint filed there,” Rains said. “That's where the information arrived from. That will be explained in much greater detail in our response to this frivolous motion.
Criminal Defense Lawyer Paula Canny believes the motion by Price is unlikely to be granted by a judge.
“When the D.A. is asking the judge to do by this motion is to say this criminal defendant doesn’t get to have the lawyer that they want to represent them to represent them. That is a huge thing,” Canny said.
NBC Bay Area reached out to Price’s office for comment, but have yet to hear back.
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Both parties are scheduled to return to court on Nov. 20.
