Judge says Oakland Councilwoman Desley Brooks lied under oath ‘many times’
https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/Judge-says-Oakland-Councilwoman-Desley-Brooks-12870252.php
Oakland City Councilwoman Desley Brooks repeatedly lied under oath and “exhibited no true remorse for her callous behavior” during a trial over whether she assaulted former Black Panther leader Elaine Brown in a restaurant in 2015, an Alameda County Superior Court judge said.
But Judge Paul Herbert, in his ruling Thursday, said the jury that had ordered the city to pay Brown some $3.75 million “allowed their feelings of anger and disbelief towards Ms. Brooks to unduly influence their determination of the damage amounts.” He called the figure “excessive.”
Herbert’s order was in response to a motion from Brooks and the city requesting a new trial. He denied that motion on the condition that Brown accept a substantially smaller award: $1.2 million.
The punitive damages that Brooks herself had been ordered to pay — $550,000 — would also be lowered to $75,000 if Brown accepts the revised judgment rather than take her chances at a second trial.
“I’m happy that he’s reduced the damages,” said Brooks’ attorney, Dan Siegel. “I feel that it’s a step in the right direction. The ball is in Ms. Brown’s court at this point.”
Attorneys for Brown did not immediately comment on whether they would agree to the lower award or seek a new trial. The judge gave them until May 8 to decide.
“Having witnessed Ms. Brooks’ testimony, the court agrees with the jury’s conclusion that Ms. Brooks testified falsely many times under oath about the key events pertinent to determining whether Ms. Brooks had any reasonable basis whatsoever to claim lawful self-defense,” Herbert wrote. “The jury could properly conclude that by testifying falsely about the events under oath, Ms. Brooks was not truly remorseful for her disgraceful conduct.”
Herbert said Brooks’ statements from the witness stand were “fundamentally in conflict” with the testimony of all other witnesses to the altercation — including friends of Brooks, the judge noted — who never saw Brown “poke” or touch Brooks leading up to the attack, as Brooks had claimed.
