LOS ANGELES, Calif. — As reported by Myung J. Chun of the Los Angeles Times, Federal Public Defenders Rebecca Abel and Kyra Nickell defended a client accused of assaulting a federal law enforcement officer during an immigration protest, marking their sixth trial involving alleged protest-related violence tied to immigration enforcement.
The accused was alleged to have assaulted the federal law enforcement officer first with a camera and then by shoving the officer in the chest.
The stakes were high in the case, which followed a string of victories against prosecutors who had charged nearly 100 people since June. The federal public defender’s office in Los Angeles entered the trial with a 5-0 record against the U.S. attorney’s office in similar cases.
Abel said it is “normal” to feel pressure during trial, but after winning five previous cases of this kind, the defense team did not want to lose the sixth.
Historically, federal public defenders have faced steep odds, as most cases do not go to trial because the accused often plead guilty. However, in Los Angeles and in cities including Chicago, Seattle and Washington, D.C., many people charged with protest-related violence have chosen to take their cases to trial.
Laurie Levenson, a former federal prosecutor, said prosecutors typically win about 90% of their cases. Recent victories by public defenders have raised questions about the accuracy of the accusations when subjected to scrutiny and evidentiary standards at trial.
The repeated filing of charges that result in acquittals has prompted broader questions about prosecutorial decision-making. In the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles, 23 people pleaded guilty, 23 cases were dismissed and 40 individuals were slated to go to trial. Federal Public Defender Cuauhtémoc Ortega said those cases “should not have been brought.”
In this case, the accused said the federal agent “ran into his camera and tried to use that as a pretext to assault [him] violently.” He said he pushed the federal agent back out of fear and in self-defense after being thrown to the ground and arrested.
Abel told the accused, “The government has been pursuing these types of cases.”
At a June news conference, Bill Essayli, the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, said his office would come down “with a really heavy hand.” He said he would seek to identify and prosecute all individuals who assaulted federal agents.
According to an analysis by the Pew Research Center, in 2022 the majority of accused individuals did not go to trial, with nine out of 10 pleading guilty and 8.2% of cases dismissed.
Ortega said acquittals are rare and reiterated his view that these immigration protest cases should not be brought to court.
Before this trial, the public defender’s office had secured multiple acquittals involving the same charge against other accused individuals, often citing credibility problems and insufficient evidence. The accused in this case said the process took a significant toll on his life and forced him to leave his job.
The case was ultimately heard by a jury, and video evidence from the accused was played in court. The verdict was not guilty.
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