DA Orloff's Motion in Opposition to Defendant's (Mehserle's) Release on Bail

This is the motion filed by Alameda County District Attorney Tom Orloff purportedly to encourage the court to deny BART police officer Johannes Mehserle bail in the murder of Oscar Grant III. The document is disturbing on several levels, primarily in that it and Orloff's oral case at the bail hearing proved completely ineffective in the stated goal of denying Mehserle bail. Mehserle was granted bail on January 30th and released from custody on February 6th, 2009. While the motion to set bail filed by Mehserle's lawyer Michael Rains details the supposed upstanding nature of Mehserle and his family, the motion opposed to bail here often reads more like Oscar Grant is the one on trial, without a shred of sympathy or deference for the young father as the victim of a police murder. Moreover, this document reads as if it was lifted straight from BART police reports despite the fact that DA Orloff also had dozens of civilian eyewitness reports from which to work. If this is any indication of the case DA Orloff intends to pursue against Mehserle, the community has much to worry about as DA Orloff does not appear committed to securing a conviction.