Defense Attorneys Seek Mediation

Mediation Better Alternative to Gang Injunction Filings

The Informant
June 1, 2011

Amidst uncertainty about who will be elected City Attorney in Oakland, Judge Freedman has yet to issue a ruling on the latest gang injunction case in the Fruitvale district. The defense attorneys in the Norteño gang have asked that the Judge direct both parties to mediation in order to limit the scope of the proposed court order. Topic of discussion include changing the size of the injunction area, modifying the restriction on the defendant’s movement, and removing some defendants from the injunction.

As a roadmap for the mediation, the defense offers the following guidelines: “We have agreed that in order to conserve the City’s purse and to make funds available for more productive expenditures, rather than a continuation in the adversarial arena, we propose that this court order the parties to mediation…Everyone’s goal is peace and security in the City of Oakland, and what we propose is that the two parties, defendants and police have a meaningful dialogue.”

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