Former 49ers lineman Dana Stubblefield’s overturned rape conviction is headed back to California’s appeals court, where judges must decide whether racially charged remarks by a prosecutor denied him a fair trial. The move keeps a nearly two-year legal reversal in motion while Stubblefield remains free.
As reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, the California Supreme Court sent the case back on Wednesday for the Sixth District Court of Appeal to apply a new standard on claims under the state’s Racial Justice Act. The justices did not reinstate Stubblefield’s convictions or order a new trial.
The Case Returns To San Jose Appeals Court
Stubblefield was convicted in 2020 of rape, forced oral copulation and false imprisonment involving a mentally disabled woman at his Morgan Hill home in 2015. He maintained that the sex was consensual, received a sentence of 15 years to life and served four years before the Sixth District overturned the convictions in December 2024.
The Sixth District’s opinion found that a prosecutor’s closing argument violated the Racial Justice Act by suggesting police avoided searching a Black man’s home for a gun because it could trigger “a storm of controversy.” The court treated the violation as enough to require reversal, without deciding whether the remarks actually affected the verdict.
Why The Racial Justice Act Matters Here
California enacted the Racial Justice Act in 2020 to bar racial bias and discriminatory language from criminal proceedings, including conduct by prosecutors, judges, jurors and law enforcement. But the state Supreme Court’s recent rulings say a defendant seeking reversal must also show that the racial appeal violated the right to a fair trial, according to the California Courts.
That additional finding is now the central question in Stubblefield’s case: whether the prosecutor’s remarks were not only discriminatory under the statute, but harmful enough to undermine the fairness of the trial. The appeals court will have to revisit the record under that framework before the case can move toward a final resolution.
Defense Calls Case A Long Road To Justice
Stubblefield’s attorney Allen Sawyer told the Chronicle that the defense remains confident the case will ultimately be put to rest. Sawyer also argued that the defense can challenge the accuser’s testimony and show that prosecutors falsely claimed Stubblefield had a gun, while records indicate he had previously surrendered one to police.
The Santa Clara County district attorney’s office declined comment and directed questions to Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office, which represented the prosecution in the appeal. Bonta’s office had not immediately responded to the Chronicle’s request for comment.
Stubblefield, who played for the 49ers, Raiders and Washington Redskins from 1993 through 2003, remains out of custody as the appeals court takes up the Supreme Court’s instructions. The case is listed as People v. Stubblefield, S289152.
