Prosecutor defends himself during State Bar trial

SAN FRANCISCO -- An attorney representing a prosecutor accused by the State Bar of withholding evidence from the defendant's lawyer said in closing arguments Friday that it would have made little sense for him to do so.

"It's not the evidence that any prosecutor would think to suppress to get an advantage," he said. "It just doesn't make sense."

Defense attorney Alfred Giannini, who represents San Francisco County prosecutor Andrew Ganz, urged the State Bar Court to first determine if Ganz intentionally suppressed evidence while he was a Solano County prosecutor, which he said "would have been an incredibly stupid thing to do," and contrary to testimony of Ganz's "impeccable reputation" and trial strategy.

A Vallejo detective testified that a former Solano County medical examiner failed to include essential details in her autopsy report.

A majority of the testimony on the last day of trial focused on the competency of Susan Hogan, who conducted the autopsy of Solano resident Jessica Brastow in the murder trial.

"I thought it would be in the autopsy report," said Vallejo detective Mathew Mustard when asked by Giannini about why details from the meeting between prosecutors and Hogan were not disclosed to the defense.

Giannini contended the alleged failure to disclose exculpatory evidence Ganz learned from the 2013 meeting with Hogan stemmed from her failure to memorialize what she said in her autopsy report.

State Bar attorney Melissa Murphy argued law enforcement personnel and prosecutors dismissed her assertion that there was not enough evidence and intentionally did not share details of the meeting to more easily prosecute the case.

Hogan told Ganz she could not list Brastow's death as a homicide in the meeting. But she later testified she never met with prosecutors and "thought the manner of death was most likely a homicide."

Law enforcement and prosecutors pursuing the case intimidated Hogan, according to State Bar attorneys.

Hogan resigned in lieu of termination after the case following an investigation by the Solano County Sheriff's Department. She later settled a civil suit with the county over her departure.

Ganz faces six counts of prosecutorial misconduct, including a failure to disclose exculpatory evidence and violation of a defendant's constitutional rights. State Bar Court Judge Patrice McElroy is presiding over the trial. In the matter of Andrew Ganz, 14-0-2363, (State Bar Court, filed April 11, 2018).

Several character witnesses also testified about Ganz's ethical conduct, including former Solano County prosecutor Donald du Bain and Solano County Superior Court Judge John Ellis, who worked with Ganz in the district attorney's office.

"He was beyond reproach ethically," du Bain, now a San Francisco County assistant district attorney, said of his conduct as a Solano County prosecutor.

State Bar attorneys pushed back on du Bain's testimony because he played a critical part in hiring Ganz to the San Francisco County district attorney's office.

In an indecent exposure case he was directed to prosecute, Ganz told his supervisor he did not think it was appropriate to pursue because the defendant would have to register as a sex offender for life if convicted of the misdemeanor, according to Ellis, who was subpoenaed to testify.

"It struck me as an ability to have an independent thought and that he had a backbone to stand up to (his supervisor)," Ellis said.

Testifying again over the objection of State Bar attorneys, Ganz said he did not understand the significance or peculiarity of the meeting with Hogan at the time because it was his first murder case. He also deflected some blame to the Solano County Sheriff's department for withholding a "number of things that I wasn't made aware of."

"It's hard to put into words how this has affected me," Ganz said of how the charges have influenced how he practices. "I've taken steps in the way I handle discovery, Brady (obligations) and things like that that no other prosecutor takes at this time... that's all I feel I can do."

McElroy is expected to rule on the case in a month.