Alameda County DA sets up hotline after prosecutors accused of tossing Black, Jewish jurors

OAKLAND, Calif. -  Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price said her office has set up a hotline for those impacted by 35 death penalty cases that are under review over possible prosecutorial misconduct.

The DA's office, which is reaching out to victims and survivors affected by the cases, released a phone number and email for anyone directly impacted by the cases who hasn't yet been contacted. 

Victim-witness advocates can be reached at (510) 208-9555, and by email at shawn.mitchell@acgov.org. Lawyers are also available to answer questions about the status of each case.

On Monday, Price announced she is investigating all 35 of the county's existing death penalty cases for possible evidence that Black and Jewish people were excluded from juries because of their race.

Price said her office was ordered to look into the cases by U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria after potential wrongdoing was found during the resentencing settlement of Ernest Dykes. 

Dykes was convicted in 1993 of the attempted murder of Bernice Clark and the murder of her 9-year-old grandson Lance Clark during an attempted robbery and sentenced to death in 1995, according to Price's office.

The cases go back as far as 1977 and it's unclear how long the review process will take or how many prosecutors might have blocked jurors because of their race.