Law Offices of Kevin E. Mitchell      (415) 581-0885

Friday, November 22, 2019.

An engineer for a construction project was cleared of all charges, including manslaughter and various labor code violations stemming from a fatal steam roller accident that occurred on one of his job sites.  As co-defendants took deals and plead to lesser offenses, Mr. Mitchell advised his client to reject the DA's offer, eventually securing a complete dismissal.  While the DA can charge whatever offenses they can articulate some basis for, no hard working family man deserves to be labeled a criminal as a result of an accident, committed by someone else.  

Friday, August 16, 2019.

A pedestrian who was seriously injured when the vehicle driven by a motorist evading a pursuing police cruiser settled his claim against the police, the county and insurers today.  While police enjoy governmental immunity for harm they cause in the course of performance of their duties, that immunity is not absolute.  

Thursday, June 20, 2019.

In May, all charges and cases against Mr. Mitchell's client were dismissed and he was released from custody.  Today, Mr. Mitchell satisfied the court that his client was factually innocent.  The judge granted his request for an order requiring the police and department of justice to seal and destroy any and all records connecting the client to the alleged pistol whipping assault, carjacking and robbery charges that the police arrested him for.

Wednesday, June 5, 2019.

Back in 2017, a bald headed black man falsely identifed himself using Mr. Mitchell's client's name before evading police.  Then, police issued a warrant for Mr. Mitchell's client, a black man with dreads.  The client was arrested and locked away for just under a couple weeks before Mr. Mitchell was able to get the criminal case dismissed.  Next, he filed suit in federal court for false arrest and false imprisonment.  The law enforcement agency settled the case, compensating client handsomely for the time he spent locked in the county jail.

Monday, June 11, 2018.

During the course of a multi-agency narcotics sales investigation, officers used drones, placed GPS devices on the client's vehicles and eventually raided several residences associated with Mr. Mitchell's client.  The officers located guns, drugs, cash, fireworks and other miscellaneous contraband, leading to his arrest and initiation of forfeiture proceedings.  In that regard, the officers went on a money grab, seizing the client's vehicles, jewelry and anything of value.  They even served an order on his bank, allowing them to empty out his accounts and causing the bank to stop doing business with him.  Talk about cruel and unusual punishment!  After Mr. Mitchell filed motions challenging the justification provided by police for the seizures, he was successful in obtaining a complete dismissal of the nine count felony complaint.  The Alameda County Narcotics Task Force was ordered to return tens of thousands of dollars, vehicles and other property they had previously seized from Mr. Mitchell's client.  

Monday, April 23, 2018.

All charges were dismissed today, after Mr. Mitchell prescribed a superior court strength dose of sucker-repellent to a black man accused of Pimping and Pandering. The District Attorney unilaterally accused him of putting a young woman up in a hotel and receiving financial support from the sexual acts she performed there. The woman was sexually involved with dozens of police officers around the San Francisco Bay Area, some while she was under 18 years old. One of the officers, who visited the hotel room for sexual favors, actually tipped the woman off on how to avoid police and advised her where she could make the most money. So, who's the real pimp?

But District Attorneys don't typically concern themselves with the truth. They more often seek reinforcement and support for a narrative that supports prosecutions and convictions, in a misguided quest for validation of those things which they believe to be true. The District Attorney pointed to a text message allegedly sent by Mr. Mitchell's client to the prostitute that said something to the effect of, "We could make millions off that p****, if done properly." It appears he was right, as the City of Oakland settled the young woman's civil case, paying out a whopping $989,000.00 to the prostitute rather than suffer embarrassment from disclosure of the misconduct committed by it's police officers.

Before the case was dismissed, the District Attorney, spitefully, made Mr. Mitchell, his client, the Judge, the bailiffs, the court clerks and the court reporter wait for her, into the lunch hour before taking 5 seconds to say she would not proceed with the case to trial. Mr. Mitchell thought he heard rapper Suga Free, "I can't believe the power I possess that make you so mad. If it ain't the pimp music, it's the game I have."

As Mr. Mitchell left the courthouse, he asked himself, 'Are you sure the DA won't refile?' And as the wind blew past his ear, he could hear Suga Free reply, "Pimp pimp pimp pimp, P-I-M-P positive!"

Monday, November 6, 2017.

A black man who signed up to serve his country in the armed forces came home unscathed after serving 5 tours of duty in violent middle eastern war zones. When he returned, he fell victim to police, who took it upon themselves to initiate a nonconsensual, unreasonable and unlawful encounter with him. The officers believed his efforts to shield himself from their violent conduct formed the basis of criminal charges, but they were dismissed by a Judge who saw video evidence of the encounter and heard the officer's insufficient justification. While the government insisted that the facts, terms and amount remain confidential, Mr. Mitchell can share that the matter settled on satisfactory terms.

Thursday, September 7, 2017.

An award winning school teacher injured while shopping in a grocery store prevailed today. While the corporate grocery store insisted that the facts, terms and amount remain confidential, Mr. Mitchell can share that the matter settled on satisfactory terms. 

Monday, August 28, 2017.

Another client's case was dismissed today as he waited for a jury to arrive. Unfortunately, Mr. Mitchell's client, a black man, was forced to take on a $13,000 debt, to secure his right to be free. He had to post bail or he would have lost his freedom and his job, while he fought to maintain his innocence. This was because a DA convinced a Judge to remand Mr. Mitchell's client into custody, based on the uncorroborated, fabricated screenshot of missed calls from the phone of a jilted lover. Mind you, there was no evidence of harm to this woman, nor any evidence of threats. The Judge relied on a legal fallacy, presumed the accusations of missed phone calls to be true, and stripped Mr. Mitchell's client of freedom, thereby placing another innocent black man into debtor's prison.

Sometimes, alleged victims use what they know about the system to manipulate the police AND the DA, even the Judge. She fooled all of them. But had they done the simplest thing, they could have prevented this injustice. Mr. Mitchell sat down for a few minutes with his client and reviewed the phone log and messages. Shocked by what he saw, Mr. Mitchell confronted the alleged victim and asked to do the same, but she refused. She did not want to show Mr. Mitchell her phone at all. Mr. Mitchell repeatedly asked the DA to consult with their witness, the accuser, who brought on these charges. Had the authorities simply asked the alleged victim they were "protecting" to see her call log, they would have observed the hundreds of manic attempts she made to communicate with Mr. Mitchell's client, which revealed her clear, unambiguous criminal threats to kill him, as well as hard evidence of her scheme to fool him into paying child support for a child that was not his.

They say, all tyranny needs to get a foothold is for people of good conscience to sit back and do nothing. It still shocks me that most courts look the other way and allow DAs to maintain prosecutions without evidence, even with conscious disregard and willful blindness to exculpatory evidence.

Wednesday, August 2, 2017.

Back in April, Mr. Mitchell obtained a complete dismissal of felony drug and gun charges against his client. Today, his client's plight was featured in a news article on KQED.

Click Here to Read Article

Tuesday, July 18, 2017.

Back in April 2017, a police officer pulled “nose-to nose” with a parked SUV since it was backed in a dirt parking lot after the posted curfew. As the white officer conducted an enforcement stop, he observed a bald headed African American male in the driver’s seat and an African American female in the front passenger seat. The male falsely identifed himself using my client's name, giving the incorrect date of birth.

The officer says the male appeared very nervous, could not sit still and reached into the back seat, attempting to cover a car battery with clothing. The officer also observed gloves on the center console. The male turned the wheel of his vehicle. The officer ordered him to stop and requested the keys, at which point the male started 'er up, put the SUV in drive and smashed out, striking the officer’s patrol vehicle. After a short pursuit, the driver escaped, his identity and whereabouts still unknown.

The officer never said he recognized my client as the driver, yet requested a warrant for my client's arrest, simply because his name was used by a man who sought to avoid detection and fled from the scene of a minor parking violation.

At the first court date, the white District Attorney ignored my insistence that he look at the video captured on the officer's body camera or at least listen to the above mentioned facts to prove that it wasn't my client, The DA waved off my request, arrogantly and sarcastically remarking that maybe he'd just charge me more money to provide a copy of the police report.

Since the first District Attorney refused to listen, frustrated but determined, I had to wait for a request form to be processed through their office, just to have the privilege of paying $25.00 for the evidence of innocence. Eventually, I got a call that the video was ready for pick up and found an ear that actually listened and acted upon my appeals to look at the evidence. Later that day, she called to advise me she saw the evidence, it wasn't my client. My client served a stint in the joint for something he clearly didn't do, as shown by photgraphic evidence actually in the possession of the law enforcement team prior to issuance of the warrant. Justice or just us?

Wednesday, April 12, 2017.

Mr. Mitchell secured outright dismissal of all charges for a parolee, stopped by the Highway Patrol for driving at excessive speed. After the driver and a passenger were removed from the rental car, officers located a semi-automatic pistol, loaded and locked to an extended magazine, in the center console. Also, co-starring in the vehicle was over a thousand dollars and a backpack containing a scale and large quantites of cocaine, meth and MDMA.  After the preliminary hearing and a successful motion to suppress, the drugs were excluded, but the gun remained in evidence. Despite this, Mr. Mitchell persuaded his client to reject the DA's misdemeanor credit for time served plea deal. By exposing weaknesses and undermining confidence in their ability to sustain the case, Mr. Mitchell convinced prosecutors to dismiss all charges on the eve of trial.

Tuesday, January 3, 2017.

Mr. Mitchell made sport of defending a young man charged with preventing police from performing their duty by the use of force or violence when he discharged a paint pellet gun in their direction. While the act of shooting anything in the direction of police could get you killed, a paint ball is nothing more than a very thin shelled, gelatin capsule, filled with food-grade quality, non-toxic, water soluble, biodegradable fluids and dye. Mr. Mitchell persuaded the DA to dismiss the charges outright in exchange for a few hours of community service.

Thursday, September 1, 2016.

Mr. Mitchell served up a wet reckless for a driver who pulled into the wrong gas station to fill up. A police officer, who was already there, noticed him stumble out of the vehicle. A short time later, he blew a .20 breath test sample and caught his first DUI. Mr. Mitchell filed a creative motion to compel particular evidence that the officer should have obtained. The DA scoffed at the motion until the Judge said she may have to dismiss the case if the defense motion proved successful. The DA, under pressure, decided to offer a wet reckless. By drafting and filing the proper motion, Mr. Mitchell obtained a great offer, thereby saving his client over a thousand dollars in fines and fees. 

Monday, May 9, 2016.

Mr. Mitchell fought to obtain an outright dismissal for his client, an African American veteran of the US Army. Officers trumped up charges of battery on a police officer and resisting arrest after they fired tasers upon Mr. Mitchell's client, striking him once in the eye, depriving him permanently of vision in his left eye. The officers never gave him a meaningful opportunity to be heard as to his rights before forcefully depriving him of his liberty. When he fell, landing face first, bleeding out on to the street pavement, the officers jumped on his back, tasing him again, this time in the buttocks. The officers attempted to justify their actions by citing the time of night and suggesting the area was a high crime neighborhood. But, the Judge was not persuaded. There is not one subdivision of America where the population of criminals outnumbers the population of everyday, law abiding people. Anyone willing to paint an entire community and all of it's residents with such a broad brush of judgment is likely a bigot, whose views are guided more by ill will and hatred than respect and dignity. A civil rights lawsuit is currently pending in Federal Court as we endeavor to make the officers pay for their indiscretion, for the permanent disability they inflicted upon Mr. Mitchell's client. 

Wednesday, July 8, 2015.

Mr. Mitchell put forward the accident defense, securing Not Guilty verdicts for a young woman charged with felony child endangerment after police failed to locate the hit-and-run driver who fatally struck her 2-year-old niece as the family crossed against a traffic light. After the DA put her through an agonizingly painful trial, Mr. Mitchell's client was acquitted of all charges by a jury of her peers.

ARTICLE

Wednesday, August 6, 2014.

Mr. Mitchell successfully defended a homeless man who stabbed a bully with a knife, critically wounding him, after they were ejected from a homeless shelter for fighting over a bedmat. The DA's star witness was sitting in a vehicle parked only feet away. The witness claimed to see Mr. Mitchell's client act as the aggressor. However, Mr. Mitchell had the witness take off her "coke bottle" glasses while she testified on the stand and asked her to attempt to identify a juror. She identified a male juror as a female. Mr. Mitchell's client was acquitted after the jury agreed with Mr. Mitchell's arguments explaining that his client acted in lawful self-defense.

ARTICLE

Tuesday, June 5, 2012. 

Mr. Mitchell defended a father who disciplined his 11-year-old son by whipping him with a belt for misbehaving in church, in turn, angering an estranged mother. Despite several troubling photographs revealing discoloration and bruising of the child's skin, Mr. Mitchell cross examined the child abuse nurse, eliciting her opinion that it did not take a lot of force to cause the injuries observed. Further investigation also led Mr Mitchell to the boy's school for an interview with the principal. After hearing the principal sing praises the boy's educational and behavioral success since placement with dad, the jury acquitted the father of all charges. Mr. Mitchell even called the church pastor to the stand to testify in support of the father and the son, and the holy spirit of Not Guilty! Hallelujah!

Matier and Ross: ARTICLE

Wednesday, April 18, 2012. 

Mr. Mitchell directed traffic to the land of Not Guilty for a moped-rider charged with head-butting a Lexus driver in a road rage incident. Despite causing the victim to suffer from lasting headaches and a detached retina, Mr. Mitchell revealed to the jury critical evidence that police ignored. By the end, the jury found it easy to determine Mr. Mitchell's client acted in lawful self-defense and he was acquitted of all charges.