California Supreme Court Ruling Raises Concerns for San Francisco Prosecutor
The chief prosecutor in San Francisco has voiced her worries that a recent ruling by the California Supreme Court will lead to the release of repeat offenders that her office has worked hard to apprehend.
On April 30, the state’s highest court decided unanimously that judges must set bail amounts based on what defendants can actually pay. They can only deny bail for violent or sexual crimes, as reported by CalMatters. Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero authored the 7-0 opinion, stemming from the arrest of a homeless man who purchased a $7 cheeseburger with a stolen credit card.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins expressed her concerns in an interview, stating that the ruling is a significant blow to her office and could lead to increased crime in both San Francisco and California as a whole. “Not only is this a devastating ruling for the DA’s office, but a devastating ruling for our state and for San Francisco,” Jenkins said.
Following the ruling, defense attorneys quickly used the new guidelines to argue for the release of over 90 inmates charged with offenses such as drug dealing and theft. One case involved a woman accused of going on a spree in 2023, which included a hammer attack and a robbery using scissors; she was released while wearing an electronic monitor.
Jenkins pointed out specific repeat offenders her office had finally managed to incarcerate. For instance, Aziza Graves was reported to have stolen more than $60,000 worth of items from a Target store across 120 visits, while Tyrese Boswell allegedly robbed a Walgreens 27 times within just six months. A recent drug bust also led to 338.5 grams of narcotics being seized and 62 arrests, 52 of which were for individuals with outstanding warrants.
Interestingly, police data from the New York Post indicated that burglaries in San Francisco fell by 26%, robberies by 23%, and vehicle thefts by 44% between 2024 and 2025. Jenkins attributed this drop largely to quick pretrial detentions rather than technology such as cameras and drones.
California seems to be moving away from the national trend of stricter detention policies, which include measures like President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at eliminating cash bail. In contrast, voters in Alabama and Indiana will have the opportunity to vote on measures this year that would broaden pretrial detention authority.
In her interview with the New York Post, Jenkins did not hold back criticism of the judicial decision. “We are going to continue to be the brunt of every joke and attack on Fox News, and rightfully so,” she remarked.
