February 3, 2011 | 11:49 AM | By

Judge to decide on counsel in Norteño injunction case today.

FILED UNDER: Courts, Fruitvale, Gang Injunctions, John Russo, Nortenos, Oakland, Oakland Police Department

Norteño gang graffiti. Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/metalcowboy/2761077635/#/

This afternoon, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Robert Freedman will settle the question of whether a team of five pro bono attorneys can represent the defendants named in Oakland City Attorney John Russo’s gang injunction lawsuit against 40 alleged Norteño gang members in the Fruitvale neighborhood.

The City Attorney’s office has deposed dozens of Oakland Police officers to assemble evidence documenting the alleged gang activity of the defendants.

The back-and-forth battle over representation has raged since last Fall, when City Attorney John Russo accused Siegel & Yee, the law firm representing defendant Abel Manzo, of having a conflict of interest in the injunction case because District 1 Councilmember Jane Brunner is a partner. The Siegel & Yee attorneys working the case, Michael Siegel and Jose Luis Fuentes, responded to the accusation by setting up a nonprofit organization, Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice (CURYJ) to distance themselves from Brunner.

These steps did not satisfy Russo, who filed a motion to disqualify counsel, as well as a memorandum and declaration in support of the motion. At a hearing last month, Judge Freedman said he did not see enough evidence that CURYJ was a separate organization from Siegel & Yee to nullify a conflict of interest. Here is what Freedman wrote in a court filing last month:

“The current record does not establish that attorneys 
Michael Siegel and Jose Luis Fuentes are no longer members of the Siegel
 & Yee firm, or that Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice (a) is an organization recognized by the State Bar, or (b) serves any
 purpose other than as a vehicle for Siegel and Fuentes to accomplish an ‘end run’”

The Fruitvale injunction has had broader political repercussions in Oakland. Mayor Jean Quan’s decision to bring on Dan Siegel, one of Siegel & Yee’s principal partners and Michael Siegel’s father, as an unpaid adviser on police issues has stirred additional controversy over the Norteño case.

The hearing will be held at 2 PM in Department 1 of the Rene C. Davidson Courthouse, 1225 Fallon Street, in Downtown Oakland. We will update you on Judge Freedman’s decision later today.