Recent refusal to prosecute in San Jose shows how law is applied.
Earlier this year, an assistant high school football coach in San Jose made a disturbing — and by many accounts, racist — gesture towards a student athlete. During a practice, the coach, who is white, took an exercise rope, fashioned it into a noose, and placed it around his neck. He then turned to the only black student in the group and said something like, “stay away from me.”
He apparently meant this as a joke, but the student in question was offended. The teacher has been placed on administrative leave, and may ultimately be dismissed. However, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office recently announced that it will not be filing criminal charges. While this news upset many in the community, prosecutors stated that the actions simply did not meet the definition of a hate crime, which would have required that the student feel threatened or been harmed by the teacher’s gesture.
As a skilled Anaheim criminal defense attorney can explain, under California law, a hate crime occurs when a person harms, threatens or harasses someone because of that person’s disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation. Under the law, it is a crime to interfere with another person’s civil rights or to damage or destroy their property because they fall into one of the classes listed above. In addition, if you commit a crime that is motivated by the fact that a victim falls into one of the classes listed above, the offense will be considered a hate crime, and the person will receive an enhanced sentence for whatever underlying crime occurred.
It is important to understand that you can either be charged with a hate crime as a stand-alone crime, OR you can be charged with a crime and then receive a sentencing enhancement if the crime was motivated by the person’s disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation. In the situation in San Jose, the assistant coach would have been charged with a crime such as assault or battery and then with the enhancement for a hate crime — not with the stand-alone hate crime, as he did not interfere with the student’s civil rights or damage or destroy his property. Because the assistant coach did not actually commit an offense under California law, he could not be subjected to the hate crime enhancement.
While the danger of hate crimes is unfortunately still present in our society, overzealous prosecutors should not charge the crime or add the enhancement when the evidence does not support it. That is why it is vital to have an Anaheim criminal defense attorney who is experienced and aggressive — to push back against unfounded charges and fight for your rights.
At the Chambers Law Firm, we believe strongly in protecting our clients’ rights. Contact our office today to schedule a free initial consultation with a skilled Anaheim criminal defense attorney.
