DA Jenkins Accused of Personal Attacks Against Judges in State Bar Complaint

Updated 11:00 a.m. Thursday

A retired judge is accusing San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins of “incendiary attacks” toward local Superior Court judges in a complaint filed with the State Bar last week.

Behind the complaint is LaDoris Cordell, who used to work for the District Attorney’s Innocence Commission reviewing wrongful conviction claims. But Cordell resigned in March, citing Jenkins’ behavior toward judges when she disagreed with their rulings.

“It was important for me not to remain silent, because I believe if you remain silent, then you’re complicit,” Cordell told KQED. “Having been a judge, I know how important judicial independence is and respect for the judiciary, which I do not see coming from the leader of the District Attorney’s office.”

Cordell argued in the complaint that Jenkins’ behavior violates the California Business and Professions Code and the State Bar Rules of Professional Conduct.

In the complaint, she cited three cases where Jenkins spoke out against a judge’s ruling, either in a public setting or on social media.

One involved Superior Court Judge Kay Tsenin, who issued a suspended sentence last March for a mentally disturbed man who stabbed an elderly Asian American woman. Because of the ruling, the man was released from jail and required to undergo mental health treatment instead.

After Jenkins condemned the ruling at a protest, the judge faced death threats that forced her to hear cases remotely.

Earlier this year, Jenkins also used her account on the social media platform X to describe a ruling from Superior Court Judge Gerardo Sandoval as “[epitomizing] the broken laissez-faire culture at the Hall of Justice.”

Cordell said that Jenkins’ behavior is especially concerning given a rise in threats to judges around the country, including attacks from  President Donald Trump.

“Jenkins’ outspoken disrespect to the San Francisco judiciary has contributed to an atmosphere of public hostility against the Court,” Cordell wrote in the complaint. “Judges are not immune from criticism. However, there is a difference between criticizing a judge’s ruling and personally attacking the judge and smearing an entire judiciary.”

“Once again, my political opponents are abusing the state bar complaint process by attempting to weaponize it against me in an effort to curtail my First Amendment right to free speech and attack my character,” Jenkins said in a statement. “Judges, as elected government officials, while entitled to judicial independence, are not entitled to secrecy, nor immune from comment or criticism.”

The State Bar recently took disciplinary action against Jenkins for a separate misconduct case, sending her to a diversion program over ethics complaints, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Among them was the allegation that Jenkins misrepresented herself as a volunteer on the campaign to recall former District Attorney Chesa Boudin more than two years ago, when she actually earned more than $120,000 consulting for nonprofits with connections to the campaign. She was also accused of sharing a confidential “rap sheet” of a defendant in a case where she was not involved.

However, the Bar did not reach a formal decision on whether Jenkins did anything wrong. According to the state bar letters, Jenkins has less than a year to comply with the conditions of her diversion program, although it’s not clear when that process began.

Angela Chan, an assistant chief attorney at the Public Defender’s Office, said Jenkins’ behavior also puts pressure on judges to rule in her favor “even if the cases don’t merit that.”

“We’ve noticed that judges are more cautious of what they say and definitely feel more pressure to keep people in jail, especially pre-trial,” Chan said.

Cordell, a Santa Clara County Judge from 1982 to 2001, and the first Black female jurist to sit on a superior court in Northern California, was also the investigator behind a scathing 408-page report into San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus and her former chief of staff — and alleged boyfriend — Victor Aenlle.

Attorneys at the State Bar have up to 60 days to review Cordell’s complaint against Jenkins and decide whether to pursue a formal investigation.

“The place for a prosecutor to respectfully disagree with a judge’s ruling is in the courtroom, not on social media and not in the streets, pandering to voters,” Cordell wrote.