Appellate judge keeps Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price’s office off of case involving critic, former prosecutor

The appellate judge's decision means the case of Amilcar "Butch" Ford will now be tossed to the California Attorney General's Office.

An Alameda County Superior Court appellate judge denied an attempt by Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price’s office to be placed back onto a case involving a former top prosecutor who became one of her loudest critics.

The ruling confirmed a January ruling by another Alameda County Superior Court judge to boot Price’s office from the case of Amilcar “Butch” Ford, who was charged last year with violating a little-used section of the state’s business and professions code.

It comes seven months after Alameda County Superior Court Judge James Cramer raised concerns about the frequency and vigor of Price’s public comments about Ford, particularly given how he only faced a misdemeanor. In issuing his ruling earlier this year, Cramer found that “problem here for me is that the elected district attorney has made repeated comments about the defendant in this case, Mr. Ford.”

The appellate judge’s decision to confirm that ruling means that Ford’s case will now be sent to the California Attorney General’s Office.

Ernie Castillo, an attorney for Ford, lauded the decision Friday afternoon and expressed hope that the case would be dismissed once state prosecutors had a chance to review it.

“We’re very pleased with the court’s ruling — we think they made the right call on this,” Castillo said. “The case law and the facts that we provide to the court were in line with the recusal.”

“We’re just looking forward to having him move on with his career, and put this behind him,” he added.

The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office did not immediately reply to a request for comment Friday afternoon from the Bay Area News Group. A message seeking comment from the attorney general’s office also was not immediately returned.

The decision centers on a single charge that Price’s office filed last summer against Ford, accusing him of the little-used charge of defending after public prosecution as the prosecutor. If convicted, Ford could be disbarred.

The charge stemmed from a declaration he filed while still employed by Price — one that supported police union attorney Michael Rains’ bid to disqualify the district attorney from a case against Jason Fletcher. Fletcher, a former San Leandro police officer, faces a manslaughter charge in the 2020 on-duty shooting death of Steven Taylor.

Ford has repeatedly sparred with Price over the years, having even appeared at a rally last year on the steps of the René C. Davidson Courthouse in downtown Oakland while calling for her to be recalled from office. He later left the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office for a job as a prosecutor under San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins.

In March, Price’s office also was removed from Fletcher’s case, amid concerns about comments that the district attorney made in that case as well. A judge has yet to make a ruling on an appeal filed by Price’s office on that ruling.