Ex-Oakland school trustee accused of trying to smuggle porn into jail

Attorney accused of trying to smuggle porn into jail for inmate

Chris Dobbins, a criminal defense attorney and former Oakland school board member, was arrested by the Solano County sheriff's office for allegedly trying to sneak in pornographic magazines for an inmate, KTVU has learned.

FAIRFIELD, Calif. - A former Oakland school board member, who is also an attorney, has been arrested for allegedly trying to sneak pornographic magazines to an inmate at Solano County Jail in Fairfield, KTVU has learned.

Christopher Dobbins, 53, was booked into jail after being arrested on June 20. He has since been released from custody. Solano County prosecutors will review the case before determining whether to formally file charges.

A source close to the investigation told KTVU the inmate's wife gave the pornographic magazines to Dobbins in hopes they would end up with her husband.

Dobbins declined to comment Tuesday.

Sheriff calls incident ‘serious breach’

What they're saying:

Sheriff's officials would not say what the attorney allegedly tried to smuggle into the facility, saying only the contraband was "intercepted" before it could be distributed into the jail.

The sheriff referred to it as a "serious breach."

Featured

article

DA: San Francisco man followed to bar bathroom, stabbed in unprovoked attack

A San Francisco man is recovering after he was stabbed in a bar bathroom in what authorities described as an unprovoked attack.

"This operation underscores our zero-tolerance policy for any attempts to undermine the integrity of our justice system," Sheriff Thomas Ferrara said in a statement. 

Former school board member

The backstory:

Dobbins, the former District 6 member of the Oakland Unified Board of Education in California served from 2006 to 2014. He did not file for re-election in 2014.

In 2007, Dobbins resisted calls from his fellow board members to step down after an internal investigation revealed inappropriate conduct with a 17-year-old girl, reported by the East Bay Times.  He finished his last term with the school board in 2014. 

Also, Dobbins held an appointed role on the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Joint Powers Authority. He managed a publicly owned venue where the A’s, Raiders, and Warriors played at the time.

In 2023, the State Bar suspended his license for six months and placed him on probation after accusing him of lying to an Alameda County about his client's legal waiver.

Henry Lee is a KTVU crime reporter. E-mail Henry at Henry.Lee@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan