News Coverage
San Diego County will pay almost $8 million to man gravely injured in sheriff’s custody
The federal lawsuit that sparked a public fight over the San Diego sheriff’s refusal to release internal reports on jail deaths and other incidents has settled, with the county agreeing to pay almost $8 million to a man who was gravely injured in the Central Jail five years ago. The settlement with Frankie Greer — an Army vet, musician, and mechanical engineer before his injury — is the latest multimillion-dollar payout to a person who was injured or died while in the sheriff’s custody.
Serving the Underserved: Julia Yoo represents female prisoners and others society has written off
A partner at the civil rights law firm Iredale and Yoo, Yoo employs "an iron fist and a velvet glove" to right wrongs and gain justice for clients whose voices might never otherwise be heard, the Super Lawyers article details.
Using the Bane Act to address police misconduct
The amended Bane Act expands the damages available for false arrest and finally brings accountability to those who are unjustly accused. Julia Yoo explains how Senate Bill 2, which went into effect in January 2022, amends the Tom Bane Civil Rights Act to enable victims of law enforcement misconduct to bring claims for malicious prosecution and for injuries of prisoners.
Opinion: 24-year-old Angel Hernandez died in San Diego almost exactly like George Floyd. He was my son.
If the steps taken in this case save another mother from feeling what I feel every day, my Angel will have his memorial.
Here’s How Much Time Derek Chauvin Could Spend In Prison
Eugene Iredale, a San Diego criminal defense attorney at Iredale & Yoo APC, joined Midday Edition on Thursday to break down the specific charges and legal precedent that could be set as a result of the trial.
Opinion: California was complicit in George Floyd's murder. Here's what you can do about it
George Floyd should be alive today. Erik Salgado should alive today. After decades of watching officers abuse their power with little or no consequence, California must now do its part to end the police culture and legal protections that have allowed this violence to fester unchecked. It’s time to set a higher standard for the country to follow by holding police accountable for civil rights violations.
Julia Yoo is president of the National Police Accountability Project. Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield are co-founders of Ben & Jerry’s and co-chairs of The Campaign To End Qualified Immunity.
San Diego civil rights lawyers welcome Chauvin verdict — warily
“I think it is an important step and important moment for the George Floyd family, and the entire nation,” Yoo said. “I hope it’s a wake up call for civil rights across the country.”
Ben and Jerry endores Julia Yoo's work to end Qualified Immunity
"Having Julia with us as part of this coalition has made our work so much easier and so much better. Julia has been representing victims of police misconduct for twenty two years and is an amazing advocate. So it is our pleasure to present the Consumer Advocates of California 2020 consumer advocate of the year Julia Yoo."
Julia Yoo, Wellesley Alum Works to Reshape Policing
To advance NPAP’s mission, Yoo says, the organization needs a variety of voices. “The solution to criminal justice problems needs the input and participation of the public,” she said. “Promoting common-sense solutions to policing problems and working on legislation will ultimately ensure fundamental fairness and justice for everyone.”
Julia Yoo, President of the National Police Accountability Project and civil rights attorney of Yoo & Iredale provided an overview of the Bane Act
Julia Yoo, President of the National Police Accountability Project and civil rights attorney of Yoo & Iredale provided an overview of the Bane Act and spoke to technical flaws in the law that result in the routine violation of Californian's civil rights. Julia is a current Consumer Attorneys of California Board Member.
Voice Poll: More County Residents Support Reallocating Police Funding Than Don’t
Julia Yoo, a San Diego civil rights attorney and president of the National Police Accountability Project, said she believes it will take time for politicians to begin to act on residents’ desire for change.
Voice of San Diego: Obscure Sheriff’s Review Board Gets New Scrutiny in Court
The department’s Critical Incident Review Board has been thrust to the center of a federal lawsuit brought by the family of a man with schizophrenia who died after an altercation with deputies at a county jail in 2018. “He definitely needed help. But for some reason, the response was to use overwhelming physical force and beat him to death to get him help,” said Grace Jun, an attorney for the Silva famil
San Diego Union Tribune: Julia Yoo named president of National Accountability in Policing Project
National group's leader is San Diego attorney. Julia Yoo named president of police watchdog group "National Police Accountability Project."
Mother demands release of video showing San Diego deputy shooting her son
Attorney Eugene Iredale now represents the Bils family. “He was clearly unarmed and he was fleeing away,” Iredale said. “The person was downtown, he was in the presence of four separate officers, he wasn't going to get away," the attorney said. "They should have used lesser force."
Julia Yoo to be awarded the "Robert E. Cartwright, Sr. Award"
Julia Yoo to be awarded the "Robert E. Cartwright, Sr. Award" in recognition of excellence in trial advocacy and dedication to teaching trial advocacy to fellow lawyers and to the public.
Voice Poll: More County Residents Support Reallocating Police Funding Than Don’t
Julia Yoo, a San Diego civil rights attorney and president of the National Police Accountability Project, said she believes it will take time for politicians to begin to act on residents’ desire for change.
Chicano Park Mural Remembers Anastasio Hernandez Rojas
A group of artists headed by master muralist Victor Ochoa — one of the pioneers of the San Diego Chicano art movement — is painting a mural in Chicano Park to memorialize Anastasio Hernández Rojas, a longtime resident of San Diego who was brutally beaten, shot with a taser and killed by border agents at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, on May 28, 2010.
San Diego Union Tribune: DA files murder charge against former sheriff’s deputy who shot fleeing suspect
A former sheriff’s deputy who shot an unarmed detainee in May as the man ran from authorities outside the downtown San Diego jail has been charged with murder, a rare move by prosecutors that makes him the first member of local law enforcement to face a murder charge in the shooting death of a suspect.
Attorney Eugene Iredale, who represents Bils’ family, said he and family members would make statements Tuesday following Russell’s arraignment. Bils’ mother has said her son was mentally ill and afraid of law enforcement. Iredale said Bils was unarmed, running away and “represented no threat of harm to anyone as Russell shot him in the left arm, the flank, and in the back.”
Kathleen Bils is represented by the law firm of Iredale and Yoo.
New York Times: San Diego Sheriff’s Deputy Is Charged With Second-Degree Murder
Deputy Sheriff Aaron Russell, 23, is accused of fatally shooting Nicholas Bils, 36, an unarmed man who escaped from a park ranger’s vehicle. San Diego County’s district attorney, Summer Stephan aid that California state law allowed officers to use deadly force only when it was deemed necessary to defend against imminent threats of death or serious injuries to officers or other people. Mr. Bils, who was shot in the back, was mentally ill, according to an interview with his mother, Kathleen Bils. Kathleen Bils is represented by the law firm of Iredale and Yoo.
NPAP Condemns Police’s Use of Overwhelming Force Against Protesters
The National Police Accountability Project (NPAP) condemns the use of overwhelming force by law enforcement to block legitimate protest against the racist and unconstitutional use of deadly force against Black Americans and other minorities.
Julia Yoo quoted on police reform in San Diego Union-Tribune front page story
In a front page story in the San Diego Union Tribune about reforming law enforcement, Julia Yoo, of the law firm Iredale and Yoo, is quoted on the need to challenge the legal concept known as “qualified immunity.”
“From the litigation side for victims of police brutality doing away with these immunities that treat police officers differently and provide special treatment for police would be a powerful tool to bring about real change.”
$6 Million Jury Verdict in San Diego Police Misconduct Suit
In July of 2015, Rebecca Brown filed a lawsuit against the SDPD on behalf of her late husband. Nearly five years later, on February 3, 2020, Rebecca’s case was finally heard in court. The jury ruled in Rebecca’s favor, rewarding her compensatory damages that totaled $6 million and punitive damages against Lambert in the amount of $50,000.
‘This Is a Moment’: Civil Rights Lawyers Confront Pandemic and Police Violence Inequities
In an article on Law.com from the National Law Journal, published June 4th 2020, issues of racial fault lines, police violence, and police immunity are examined, with a call to action from many organizations, including a statement by Julia Yoo, the incoming president of the National Police Accountability Project (NPAP).
Widow Awarded $6 Million from Police Following Suicide of Husband
For Rebecca Brown, it was never about the money. It was about clearing her husband Kevin’s name after the San Diego Police Department issued a press release days after he committed suicide in 2014 claiming he had killed a child in 1984.
Last Friday, the 66-year-old widow spent a bittersweet Valentine’s Day in a San Diego courthouse, where a jury awarded her $6 million, including $3 million for “the loss of her husband’s companionship.”
Criminalist’s widow feels vindicated by jury’s verdicts in wrongful-death suit
Rebecca Brown, whose husband, Kevin, committed suicide five years ago while being investigated in a decades-old homicide, talks about the $6 million jury verdict in her favor with her lawyer Eugene Iredale in his downtown office Tuesday afternoon.