Court of Appeal overturns ex-49er Dana Stubblefield’s rape conviction

LOS ANGELES – A California appeals court has overturned the rape conviction of former San Francisco 49er Dana Stubblefield after ruling that prosecutors made racially discriminatory statements during the black man’s trial.

The retired soccer player was sentenced in October 2020 to 15 years to life in prison after being convicted of raping a developmentally disabled woman in 2015 who prosecutors said he lured to his home with the promise of a babysitting job.

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals found on Wednesday that prosecutors violated the California Racial Justice Act of 2020, a law passed during a summer of protest against the police killing of George Floyd. The measure prevents prosecutors from seeking a criminal conviction or imposing a sentence based on race.

Prior to the law, defendants who wanted to challenge their convictions on the basis of racial bias had to prove that there was “purposeful discrimination,” a difficult legal standard to meet.

The appeals court said prosecutors used “racially discriminatory language” that required them to overturn Stubblefield’s conviction.

The case was “infected with enormous flaws from the moment we started the trial,” said Stubblefield’s lead attorney, Kenneth Rosenfeld.

In April 2015, Stubblefield contacted the then-31-year-old woman on a babysitting website and arranged an interview, prosecutors said.

According to a report from the Morgan Hill Police Department, the interview lasted about 20 minutes. She later received a text from Stubblefield saying he would pay her for her time that day, and she went back to the house.

The woman reported to police that Stubblefield raped her at gunpoint, then gave her $80 and let her go. DNA evidence matched Stubblefield’s, the report said.

During the trial, prosecutors said police never searched Stubblefield’s house and never entered a gun into evidence, saying it was because he was a famous black man and that would “open up a firestorm of controversy,” according to the appeals decision.

By saying that Stubblefield’s race was a factor in police’s decision not to search his house, prosecutors implied that the house would have been searched and a gun found if Stubblefield had not been black, the appeals court said. The reference to controversy also links Stubblefield to the events following the recent killing of Floyd based on his race.

Defense attorneys said there was no rape, and Stubblefield said the woman agreed to sex in exchange for money.

“The trial had a biased judge who did not allow the defense evidence, the fact that she was a sex worker, to be heard in front of a jury,” Rosenfeld said. He called the incident a “transactional event” between Stubblefield and the woman.

He remains in custody until a hearing next week, where his lawyers will ask a judge to approve a motion to release him. Prosecutors have several options, including asking the court to stay their decision so they can appeal to the state Supreme Court or refile charges.

The Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office said it is “studying the statement.”

Stubblefield began his 11-year NFL lineman career with the 49ers in 1993 as the league’s defensive rookie of the year. He later won NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1997 before leaving the team to play for Washington. He returned to the Bay Area to finish his career, playing with the 49ers in 2000-01 and the Raiders in 2003.