Uncategorized

OP-ED: The Farce in Ferguson

Published

11 years ago

December 7, 2014

The Ferguson police murder of Michael Brown is unsettling enough; an unarmed Black teenager shot 12 times from a distance of 148 feet. The real tragedy in Ferguson is the appalling failure of the justice system with St. Louis prosecutor Robert McCullough’s flagrant abuse of the grand jury system to prevent a trial.

< p>There are basically two ways to charge a crime: the prosecution issues an indictment and presents probable cause a crime has been committed at a preliminary exam hearing. The second way is for a prosecutor to present probable cause evidence to a grand jury that issues an indictment.

The prosecutor strictly controls the grand jury process. Defense attorneys are not allowed in the preceding and cannot produce any evidence. The prosecutor defines the charges it wants and presents enough evidence of a crime for the grand jury to indict.

A prosecutor has such wide discretion and control of the grand jury process that indictments are virtually automatic. As Sol Wachtler, the former chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals, so famously said, a prosecutor could persuade a grand jury to “indict a ham sandwich.”

First, why did Democratic Missouri governor Jay Nixon not remove “Fearless Bob” from prosecution for his obvious bias and conflicts of interest? This public official denigrated the governor for placing the local police under state control after their failure to even investigate the killing.

Mr. McCulloch’s mother, brother and cousins work for the St. Louis Police Department. His father was a St. Louis policemen killed by a Black suspect. His worse and obvious conflict is he is the president of a local police benevolent association, The Backstoppers.

His behavior with the grand jury is enough to get him disbarred. He deliberately set about to prevent a trial and fair weighing of evidence. Instead of presenting possible charges against cowboy Wilson, McCulloch left it solely up to the grand jury to determine legal charges.

Instead of identifying enough evidence to show probable cause of a crime, he dumped practically anything related to the case in front of the grand jury and said, you sort it out. His prosecutors cross examined their own witnesses, and questioned their testimony with unreliable and inadmissible information without contradiction to justify cowboy Wilson’s actions.

Their clear intent was to prevent an indictment and trial. They succeeded.

Bob McCulloch’s actions are akin to a surgeon inviting 12 people into his office and saying: ‘This person needs surgery. I am not going to tell you what type of surgery, or even the affected body part. I will give you no guidance as to how to determine whether surgery is needed. I will give you all medical records and information on all possible illness and injuries. Now come up with the medical diagnosis and how to proceed with surgery.’

The real tragedy is, why the citizens of St. Louis allow this unethical, perverted distortion of the justice system to occur. Why did a Missouri Democratic governor and senator allow this serial justice rapist to continue? The time is now for Black voters to hold the Democratic Party and its major interest groups accountable.

Clinton Killian is an attorney at downtown Oakland law firm Fried & Williams LLP and former public official. He can be reached at ckillian@friedwilliams.com.

Oakland Post

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Oakland Housing and Community Development Department Awards $80.5 Million to Affordable Housing Developments

Published

7 months ago

June 17, 2025

Oakland Post

Special to The Post

The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department (Oakland HCD) announced its awardees for the 2024-2025 New Construction of Multifamily Affordable Housing Notice of Funding Availability (New Construction NOFA) today Five permanently affordable housing developments received awards out of 24 applications received by the Department, with award amounts ranging from $7 million to $28 million.

In a statement released on Jan. 16, Oakland’s HCD stated, “Five New Construction Multifamily Affordable Housing Development projects awarded a total of $80.5 million to develop 583 affordable rental homes throughout Oakland. Awardees will leverage the City’s investments to apply for funding from the state and private entities.”

In December, the office of Rebecca Kaplan, interim District 2 City Councilmember, worked with HCD to allocate an additional $10 Million from Measure U to the funding pool. The legislation also readopted various capital improvement projects including street paving and upgrades to public facilities.

The following Oakland affordable housing developments have been awarded in the current round:

Mandela Station Affordable

238 Affordable Units including 60 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $15 million + previously awarded $18 million
Developer: Mandela Station LP (Pacific West Communities, Inc. and Strategic Urban Development Alliance, LLC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 1451 7th St.

Liberation Park Residences

118 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $28 million
Developer: Eden Housing and Black Cultural Zone
City Council District: 6
Address: 7101 Foothill Blvd.

34th & San Pablo

59 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $7 million
Developer: 34SP Development LP (EBALDC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 3419-3431 San Pablo Ave.

The Eliza

96 Affordable Units including 20 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $20 million
Developer: Mercy Housing California
City Council District: 3
Address: 2125 Telegraph Ave.

3135 San Pablo

72 Affordable Units including 36 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $10.5 million
Developer: SAHA and St. Mary’s Center
City Council District: 3
Address: 3515 San Pablo Ave.

The source of this story is the media reltations office of District 2 City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

Oakland Post

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Activism

Oakland Housing and Community Development Department Awards $80.5 Million to Affordable Housing Developments

Published

11 months ago

January 30, 2025

Oakland Post

Rebecca Kaplan, interim District 2 city councilmember. File photo.

Special to The Post

The following Oakland affordable housing developments have been awarded in the current round:

Mandela Station Affordable

238 Affordable Units including 60 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $15 million + previously awarded $18 million
Developer: Mandela Station LP (Pacific West Communities, Inc. and Strategic Urban Development Alliance, LLC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 1451 7th St.

Liberation Park Residences

118 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $28 million
Developer: Eden Housing and Black Cultural Zone
City Council District: 6
Address: 7101 Foothill Blvd.

34th & San Pablo

59 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $7 million
Developer: 34SP Development LP (EBALDC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 3419-3431 San Pablo Ave.

The Eliza

96 Affordable Units, including 20 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $20 million
Developer: Mercy Housing California
City Council District: 3
Address: 2125 Telegraph Ave.

3135 San Pablo

72 Affordable Units including 36 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $10.5 million
Developer: SAHA and St. Mary’s Center
City Council District: 3
Address: 3515 San Pablo Ave.

The source of this story is media reltations office of District 2 City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Alameda County

Oakland Acquisition Company’s Acquisition of County’s Interest in Coliseum Property on the Verge of Completion

The Board of Supervisors is committed to closing the deal expeditiously, and County staff have worked tirelessly to move the deal forward on mutually agreeable terms. The parties are down to the final details and, with the cooperation of OAC and Coliseum Way Partners, LLC, the Board will take a public vote at an upcoming meeting to seal this transaction.

Published

12 months ago

January 11, 2025

Oakland Post

Alameda County Board of Supervisors Chairman David Haubert. Official photo.

Special to The Post

The County of Alameda announced this week that a deal allowing the Oakland Acquisition Company, LLC, (“OAC”) to acquire the County’s 50% undivided interest in the Oakland- Alameda County Coliseum complex is in the final stages of completion.

Oakland has already finalized a purchase and sale agreement with OAC for its interest in the property. OAC’s acquisition of the County’s property interest will achieve two longstanding goals of the County:

The Oakland-Alameda Coliseum complex will finally be under the control of a sole owner with capacity to make unilateral decisions regarding the property; and
The County will be out of the sports and entertainment business, free to focus and rededicate resources to its core safety net

In an October 2024 press release from the City of Oakland, the former Oakland mayor described the sale of its 50% interest in the property as an “historic achievement” stating that the transaction will “continue to pay dividends for generations to come.”

The Board of Supervisors is pleased to facilitate single-entity ownership of this property uniquely centered in a corridor of East Oakland that has amazing potential.

“The County is committed to bringing its negotiations with OAC to a close,” said Board President David Haubert.