San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins swore under oath that she did not violate any ethical rules in a murder case where the victim was a member of her family, a filing obtained by The Standard shows.
The case—one of two in which Jenkins has a conflict of interest—involves the alleged killers of 18-year-old Jerome Mallory, her husband’s cousin.
“I have never breached the ethical wall in this case,” Jenkins said in a sworn declaration filed in the case. “I have never accessed any district attorney files, papers or electronic, or investigative files, and did not direct the investigation of this case in any way or attempt to influence the production of this case.”
The attorneys for two men accused of killing Mallory—Stevie Mitchell and Sincere Pomar—have argued that Jenkins’ office should not be allowed to prosecute the case, as previous public statements made by her make it impossible for their clients to have a fair trial.
Since then, California Attorney General Rob Bonta has weighed in, arguing that the existing ethical walls—systems in place that limit Jenkins’ personal interactions with the case—erected before and after Jenkins took office, are sufficient for fair trials.
Now, defense attorneys have filed a recusal motion, asking a judge to make the final decision on who handles the case.
After Jenkins left the District Attorney's Office in October 2021, she began working to oust her former boss Chesa Boudin, in a successful June recall campaign. In that time, she made public statements about how she thought that Boudin was not handling the Mallory case appropriately.
Pam Herzig, who is representing Mitchell, said in court Monday that the central issue is the public statements Jenkins made about the case after she left the DA’s Office.
“The court can’t take her at her word,” said Herzig about Jenkins’ declaration.
A lawyer for the Attorney General’s Office argued to the court that defense attorneys require proof via declaration that ethical walls were breached, not simply public statements made by Jenkins.
Judge Christopher Hite said he plans to make a ruling on the recusal motion on Nov. 15.