{{Short description|American lawyer and politician}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2022}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Brooke Jenkins | image = Brooke Jenkins Portrait (cropped).jpg | office = 30th District Attorney of San Francisco | term_start = July 8, 2022<br>Acting: July 8, 2022 – December 1, 2022 | term_end = | predecessor = Chesa Boudin | successor = | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1981|8}} | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | party = Democratic | education = University of California, Berkeley (BA)<br>University of Chicago (JD) | website = {{url|brookejenkinssf.com|Campaign website}} }} '''Brooke Jenkins''' (born August 1981)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Karlamangla |first=Soumya |date=July 8, 2022 |title=An Interview with San Francisco's New District Attorney |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/08/us/brooke-jenkins-san-francisco-district-attorney.html |access-date=November 5, 2022 |website=The New York Times}}</ref> is an American lawyer serving as the 30th district attorney of San Francisco. On July 8, 2022, Jenkins was appointed interim district attorney by Mayor London Breed following the successful recall of Chesa Boudin, for which she actively campaigned and was found to have improperly accessed and shared sensitive information.<ref name=":3" /><ref name="Moench & Cassidy 2022-07-07" /> She was elected in her own right to fill the unexpired term the following November.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Brooke Jenkins |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Brooke_Jenkins |access-date=2023-08-19 |website=Ballotpedia |language=en}}</ref> She was elected to a full term in November 2024.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dailyjournal.com/article/381861-san-francisco-da-wins-election|title=San Francisco DA wins election|publisher=Daily Journal|date=November 7, 2024|accessdate=November 11, 2024}}</ref>
Jenkins has been found to have committed two acts of prosecutorial misconduct,<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":8" /> and in April 2025, the State Bar of California placed her in a mandatory diversion program after numerous ethics complaints were filed against her.<ref name=":9" /><ref name=":10" />
==Early life and education== Jenkins grew up in Union City, California.<ref name="Moench & Cassidy 2022-07-07">{{Cite web |last1=Moench |first1=Mallory |last2=Cassidy |first2=Megan |date=July 7, 2022 |title=S.F.'s new D.A. is Brooke Jenkins, the prosecutor who left Chesa Boudin's office and joined the recall |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/S-F-s-new-D-A-is-Brooke-Jenkins-the-17290873.php |access-date=July 8, 2022 |website=San Francisco Chronicle |language=en-US}}</ref> She was raised by her mother because shortly after her birth, her father had to leave the country due to his student visa status.<ref name="Rommelmann 2022-07-08">{{Cite web |last=Rommelmann |first=Nancy |date=July 8, 2022 |title=Brooke Jenkins In As San Francisco DA |url=https://nancyrommelmann.substack.com/p/brooke-jenkins-in-as-san-francisco |access-date=July 8, 2022 |website=Nancy Rommelmann}}</ref> Her father is from El Salvador.<ref name="Rommelmann 2022-07-08" /><ref name="Lin 2022-07-10">{{Cite web |last=Lin |first=Da |date=July 10, 2022 |title=Web Extra: Interview with San Francisco's new district attorney |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/video/web-extra-interview-with-san-franciscos-new-district-attorney/ |access-date=July 10, 2022 |website=KPIX-TV CBS Bay Area}}</ref> She received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Berkeley, and a J.D. degree from the University of Chicago Law School.<ref name="Moench & Cassidy 2022-07-07" /><ref name="NBC 7/8">{{Cite web |date=August 26, 2022 |title=Critics call S.F.'s new D.A. corrupt. Supporters say she's a savior. Who is the real Brooke Jenkins? |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/bayarea/heatherknight/article/Brooke-Jenkins-DA-17399111.php |access-date=September 1, 2022 |website=San Francisco Chronicle}}</ref>
==Early career== Jenkins was admitted to the State Bar of California in 2011.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Brooke Ashley Jenkins # 276290 - Attorney Licensee Search |url=https://apps.calbar.ca.gov/attorney/Licensee/Detail/276290 |access-date=2023-08-31 |website=apps.calbar.ca.gov}}</ref> Prior to becoming a prosecutor, she worked for two years in corporate law, defending foreign and domestic automakers and manufacturers.<ref name="Moench & Cassidy 2022-07-07" />
=== Prosecutor === Jenkins worked in the San Francisco District Attorney's Office for seven years from 2014 to 2021<ref name="Romine 2022-07-07" /> where she started as an attorney handling misdemeanor cases and later served as a hate crime prosecutor.<ref name="Moench & Cassidy 2022-07-07" /> She completed one homicide trial, during which, she was later found to have committed prosecutorial misconduct.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tleimat |first=Lana |date=2023-08-29 |title=DA Jenkins committed misconduct in murder trial, Court of Appeal finds |url=https://missionlocal.org/2023/08/da-jenkins-committed-prosecutorial-misconduct-court-of-appeal-finds/ |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=Mission Local |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-08-30 |title=San Francisco DA Committed Misconduct in Murder Trial, Appeals Court Says |url=https://sfstandard.com/2023/08/29/san-francisco-da-brooke-jenkins-engaged-misconduct-prosecutorial/ |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=The San Francisco Standard |language=en}}</ref>
=== Chesa Boudin recall campaign === Jenkins resigned from her role as assistant district attorney in October 2021. Soon after, she began to publicly support the recall campaign against San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin.<ref name="Karlamangla 2022-07-08" /> The campaign was run by Neighbors for a Better San Francisco Advocacy, a 501(c)(4) organization.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-08-06 |title=Powerful San Francisco political group faces $53K ethics fine |url=https://sfstandard.com/2024/08/05/powerful-san-francisco-political-group-faces-dollar56k-ethics-fine/ |access-date=2025-04-18 |website=The San Francisco Standard |language=en}}</ref>
Jenkins was paid nearly $175,000 by three non-profits over the six months she was not employed by the city; $153,000 from the 501(c)(3) Neighbors for a Better San Francisco, and $10,000 each from Sister’s Circle Women Support Network and GlobalSF which hold the same non-profit status.<ref name=":11" />
Jenkins later stated that her role with the recall campaign was that of a volunteer. The San Francisco Standard reported that "Jenkins has declined to provide evidence beyond her own statements" to prove that it was a volunteer position.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web |date=2022-08-29 |title=How All 3 Nonprofits That Paid DA Jenkins Have Boudin Recall Ties |url=https://sfstandard.com/2022/08/29/tangled-web-how-all-3-nonprofits-that-paid-da-brooke-jenkins-have-links-to-the-chesa-boudin-recall/ |access-date=2025-04-18 |website=The San Francisco Standard |language=en}}</ref>
== District Attorney ==
=== Interim role === Mayor London Breed announced on July 7, 2022, the appointment of Jenkins to serve in the interim until an election was to be held on November 8, 2022, to elect a District Attorney to serve the rest of Boudin's term through 2023.<ref name="Romine 2022-07-07">{{Cite web |last=Romine |first=Taylor |date=July 7, 2022 |title=Boudin opponent named to replace him as San Francisco district attorney |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/07/politics/san-francisco-district-attorney-chesa-boudin-brooke-jenkins/index.html |access-date=July 8, 2022 |website=CNN}}</ref> She was sworn into office on July 8, 2022.<ref name="Karlamangla 2022-07-08">{{Cite news |last=Karlamangla |first=Soumya |date=July 8, 2022 |title=An Interview With San Francisco's New District Attorney |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/08/us/brooke-jenkins-san-francisco-district-attorney.html |access-date=July 8, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Her first act within the office was to hold a meeting with senior staff, where she was accompanied by Andrea Bruss, the deputy chief of staff of the Mayor's Office.<ref name="Ting 2022-07-08">{{Cite news |last=Ting|first=Eric|date=July 8, 2022 |title =Inside 'horrible,' 'icy' first meeting held by new San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins |language=en-US |work=SF Gate |url=https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Inside-first-meeting-with-Brooke-Jenkins-as-SF-DA-17293728.php |access-date=January 18, 2023}}</ref> A week later, she fired 15 attorneys, as well as top Boudin advisors like his chief of staff, director of communications and policy advisor, and director of data, research and analytics.<ref name="Ting 2022-07-15">{{Cite news |last=Ting|first=Eric|date=July 15, 2022 |title =New San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins makes wave of firings. Progressives call it 'terrifying.' |language=en-US |work=SF Gate |url=https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Brooke-Jenkins-makes-wave-of-firings-17308456.php |access-date=January 18, 2023}}</ref>
Between her appointment and August 2022, Jenkins instituted policies such as allowing her attorneys to seek gang enhancements, allowing the conditional prosecution of minors as adults, and making drug dealers ineligible for community courts.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 3, 2022 |title=DA Brooke Jenkins Threatens Drug Dealers with More Jail Time as Fentanyl Crackdown Expands |url=https://sfstandard.com/criminal-justice/da-jenkins-threatens-drug-dealers-with-more-jail-time-harsher-penalties-as-sf-fentanyl-crackdown-expands/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Michaels |first=Samantha |title=San Francisco's new DA plans to reverse key criminal justice reforms. |url=https://www.motherjones.com/crime-justice/2022/07/san-franciscos-brooke-jenkins-chesa-boudin/ |access-date=2022-09-01 |website=Mother Jones |language=en-US}}</ref> Under her term, convictions rose 5% from 2022 to 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Balakrishnan |first=Eleni |date=2023-09-20 |title=DA Brooke Jenkins reverses 8-year decline in convictions |url=http://missionlocal.org/2023/09/sf-da-brooke-jenkins-reverses-decline-convictions/ |access-date=2024-06-07 |website=Mission Local |language=en-US}}</ref> She supported Proposition E in 2022, which aimed to expand the use of police surveillance through the use of live cameras.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2022-07-11 |title=Brooke Jenkins backs police plan to expand live surveillance in San Francisco: 'Our tone and approach matter' |url=https://sfstandard.com/2022/07/11/newly-appointed-da-brooke-jenkins-backs-proposal-to-expand-live-police-surveillance-our-tone-and-approach-matters/ |access-date=2024-06-03 |website=The San Francisco Standard |language=en}}</ref> It was first implemented in the Mission District.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cronin |first=Dana |date=2024-09-29 |title=New Surveillance Units Are Going Up in San Francisco. Neighbors Have Mixed Reviews {{!}} KQED |url=https://www.kqed.org/news/12006900/new-surveillance-units-are-going-up-in-san-francisco-neighbors-have-mixed-reviews |access-date=2025-11-11 |website=www.kqed.org |language=en}}</ref> Proposition E was criticized by organizations such as the ACLU, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the San Francisco Public Defender's Office, among others citing privacy concerns and the potential for the suppression of dissent.<ref name=":0" /> Despite her campaign pledge to prosecute minors as adults only in the most egregious cases that would shock the conscience of the community, she announced in 2025 a new policy to charge minors as adults in a broader context, a break from decades of state and federal court precedent.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Neely |first=Abigail Vân |date=2025-03-14 |title=S.F. DA Jenkins wants to try more children as adults in ‘switch’ from campaign pledge |url=https://missionlocal.org/2025/03/s-f-da-jenkins-wants-to-try-more-children-as-adults-in-switch-from-campaign-pledge/ |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=Mission Local |language=en-US}}</ref>
=== Special election === Jenkins ran in the November 2022 special election to serve the remainder of Boudin's term through 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 8, 2022 |title=Brooke Jenkins files to run for remainder of term as San Francisco DA |url=https://www.ktvu.com/news/brooke-jenkins-files-to-run-for-remainder-of-term-as-san-francisco-da}}</ref> She won with 53.7% of the vote.
On October 13, 2022, retired Superior Court Judge, Martha Goldin filed a State Bar complaint against Jenkins, outlining multiple misconduct allegations.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-10-13 |title=State Bar complaint filed against SF interim D.A. Jenkins by retired judge |url=https://www.ktvu.com/news/state-bar-complaint-filed-against-sf-interim-d-a-jenkins-by-retired-judge |access-date=2022-11-14 |website=KTVU FOX 2 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Wiley |first1=Hannah |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-11-03/san-francisco-dist-atty-brooke-jenkins-gets-a-crash-course-in-san-francisco-politics |title=Dist. Atty. Brooke Jenkins gets a crash course in San Francisco politics |website=Los Angeles Times |date=November 2, 2022 |access-date=March 6, 2023}}</ref> Jenkins was paid a six-figure consulting fee by the nonprofit Neighbors for a Better San Francisco, which shares a name and an office with the Chesa Boudin recall campaign. Jenkins had not previously disclosed these payments was registered as a volunteer.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Barba |first=Michael |date=2022-08-09 |title=DA Jenkins Pocketed Six Figures as Consultant for Nonprofit Linked to Boudin Recall Backers |url=https://sfstandard.com/criminal-justice/da-jenkins-pocketed-six-figures-as-consultant-for-nonprofit-linked-to-boudin-recall-backers/ |access-date=2022-12-21 |website=The San Francisco Standard |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> In October 2022, an anonymous complaint was filed with San Francisco's Ethics Commission and the California Fair Political Practices Commission accusing Jenkins of failing to register as a campaign consultant.<ref name=":1" /> The complaint alleged that the $153,000 salary Jenkins received from the nonprofit was intended for partisan purposes.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2022-10-07 |title=DA Brooke Jenkins Got Paid Big Bucks by Group Linked to Chesa Boudin Recall. Ethics Complaint Accuses Her of Breaking Law |url=https://sfstandard.com/politics/da-brooke-jenkins-chesa-boudin-recall-ethics-complaint/ |access-date=2022-11-14 |website=The San Francisco Standard |language=en-US}}</ref>
=== 2024 election to District Attorney === Jenkins ran again for district attorney in the 2024 election and won election to a full term in office.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SF DA Jenkins easily wins reelection |url=https://www.ebar.com/story/336315/redirect |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=Bay Area Reporter |language=en}}</ref>
== Controversies == === Prosecutorial misconduct === In 2016, the California Court of Appeal overturned a conviction after finding that Jenkins committed prosecutorial misconduct by improperly commenting on a defendant's exercise of his right to remain silent and thereby interfering with a defendant's constitutional rights.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |last=Tleimat |first=Lana |date=2023-08-29 |title=DA Jenkins committed prosecutorial misconduct, Court of Appeal finds |url=http://missionlocal.org/2023/08/da-jenkins-committed-prosecutorial-misconduct-court-of-appeal-finds/ |access-date=2023-08-31 |website=Mission Local |language=en-US}}</ref>
In August 2023, the California Court of Appeal, First District, found that Brooke Jenkins committed prosecutorial misconduct in a homicide case she prosecuted in 2021 by making improper arguments about the defense attorney in violation of ethical rules.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2023-08-30 |title=San Francisco DA Committed Misconduct in Murder Trial, Appeals Court Says |url=https://sfstandard.com/2023/08/29/san-francisco-da-brooke-jenkins-engaged-misconduct-prosecutorial/ |access-date=2023-08-31 |website=The San Francisco Standard |language=en}}</ref>
San Francisco public defenders have alleged that the DA's office has withheld evidence, such as police body camera footage, crime scene photographs, police reports, and witness statements, at least 50 times throughout the months of September 2024 to February 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Neely |first=Abigail Vân |date=2025-05-23 |title=S.F. DA has ‘pattern and practice’ of withholding evidence, public defenders allege |url=https://missionlocal.org/2025/05/sf-da-pattern-withholding-evidence-public-defenders-allege/ |access-date=2025-05-24 |website=Mission Local |language=en-US}}</ref>
=== Ethics complaints and diversion program === In October 2022, Mission Local editor Joe Eskenazi revealed that just before leaving the District Attorney's Office, Jenkins had sent sensitive files, including a rap sheet, from the District Attorney's office to Assistant District Attorney Don DuBain's personal email. Neither DuBain, nor Jenkins had any legitimate reason to possess the un-redacted files.<ref name=":3" /> Jenkins went on to use the un-redacted files in her work for the campaign to recall District Attorney Chesa Boudin.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Eskenazi |first=Joe |date=2022-11-02 |title=Brooke Jenkins sent police reports, rap sheet to colleague's personal email |url=http://missionlocal.org/2022/11/brooke-jenkins-don-dubain-troy-mcallister-police-report-rap-sheet-recall-chesa-boudin/ |access-date=2022-11-14 |website=Mission Local |language=en-US}}</ref> In California, disseminating a rap sheet to a person who is unauthorized to receive it is a misdemeanor.<ref name=":4" /> Jenkins claimed that she accidentally sent the email to DuBain's personal email.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Eskenazi |first=Joe |date=2022-11-03 |title=Brooke Jenkins: Legal experts dismiss DA's excuses for sharing restricted files |url=http://missionlocal.org/2022/11/brooke-jenkins-rap-sheet-troy-mcalister/ |access-date=2022-11-14 |website=Mission Local |language=en-US}}</ref>
After she was elected to the DA's office, a number of ethics complaints against Jenkins were filed with the State Bar of California, "including from retired Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Martha Goldin, a San Francisco resident who donated to keep Boudin in office."<ref name=":9">{{Cite news |last=Barba |first=Michael |title=Exclusive: State bar sends S.F. DA Jenkins to diversion program over ethics complaints |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/brooke-jenkins-diversion-ethics-20259223.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250408194641/https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/brooke-jenkins-diversion-ethics-20259223.php |archive-date=2025-04-08 |access-date=2025-04-13 |work=San Francisco Chronicle |language=en}}</ref>
In April 2025, the State Bar of California directed Brooke Jenkins to complete a diversion program in response to the previously filed complaints.<ref name=":9"/> The program was recently created to rehabilitate attorneys accused of misconduct and prevent them from reoffending in the future.<ref name=":9"/> Her participation in this program will be mandatory.<ref name=":10">{{Cite web |last=Eskenazi |first=Joe |date=2025-04-09 |title=DA Brooke Jenkins, in the ultimate irony, is placed in diversionary program |url=https://missionlocal.org/2025/04/brooke-jenkins-diversion-state-bar/ |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=Mission Local |language=en-US}}</ref> As part of that process, the state bar sent letters to the original complainants, which explained the decision to require Jenkins participate in the diversion program. The letter also said that regarding the "allegation that Jenkins coached a witness in a molestation trial," the state bar found no evidence. Lastly, the letter stated that the bar "found evidence that Jenkins improperly accessed or handled the rap sheet, but would have trouble proving misconduct at a disciplinary hearing."<ref name=":9"/>
=== Hiring and promotion of long time friend === In 2022, Jenkins hired her longtime friend, classmate, and high school track and field teammate, Monifa Willis as Chief of the Victim Services Division, after Jenkins demoted the former Chief of Victim Services Division, Kasie Lee.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |date=2022-07-27 |title=After Demoting Boudin’s Head of Victim Services, Jenkins Names Her Replacement. Meet the UCSF Professor Taking on the Role |url=https://sfstandard.com/2022/07/27/after-demoting-boudins-head-of-victim-services-jenkins-has-picked-her-replacement-meet-the-ucsf-professor-taking-on-the-role/ |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=The San Francisco Standard |language=en}}</ref> Victim services employees criticized this move as "nepotism" and said Willis had no knowledge of the law around victims' rights.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |date=2024-07-26 |title=DA's new chief of staff is friend, has no law license, teaches at UCSF and ran pot shop |url=https://sfstandard.com/2024/07/26/nursing-professor-monifa-willis-a-friend-of-brooke-jenkins-took-on-the-300k-role-in-march-and-continues-to-pull-in-a-six-figure-salary-at-ucsf/ |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=The San Francisco Standard |language=en}}</ref> Willis does not hold a law license.<ref name=":6" /> Prior to joining the DA's office, Willis was an assistant professor of nursing at UCSF, however she was permitted to keep her teaching job, and was seen teaching classes during working hours.<ref name=":7" />
Then, in March 2024, Jenkins promoted Willis to Chief of Staff of the San Francisco District Attorney's Office.<ref name=":7" /> For the Chief of Staff role, Willis earns a nearly $300,000 annual salary, in addition to the $100,000 annual salary she makes from her teaching job.<ref name=":7" /> She is the first person to ever hold the position who is not a licensed attorney.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cassidy |first=Megan |date=2024-07-26 |title=S.F. DA's chief of staff isn't a lawyer for the first time in the office's history. Does it matter? |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/brooke-jennkins-da-chief-of-staff-monifa-willis-19598823.php |access-date=2024-08-29 |work=The San Francisco Chronicle}}</ref> Some counties, such as Contra Costa, require the person holding the role to hold a license to practice law and have 10 years of professional legal experience; San Francisco requires "four years of managerial experience in a legal, legislative or clinical social environment."<ref name=":7" />
Venmo records show Jenkins and Willis going to dinner, attending a football game, renting a car, and visiting a waxing salon together. Jenkins did not disclose their relationship prior to the hiring decision, in violation of city ethics rules, which state that close relationships must be disclosed.<ref name=":7" />
==Personal life== Jenkins lives in San Francisco, CA with her husband, two children, and her stepdaughter.<ref name="NBC 7/8" />
==Notes== {{notelist}}
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Brooke}} Category:1981 births Category:21st-century African-American lawyers Category:American people of Salvadoran descent Category:District attorneys of San Francisco Category:Hispanic and Latino American lawyers Category:Living people Category:People from Union City, California Category:Politicians from San Francisco Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni Category:University of Chicago Law School alumni Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:21st-century American women lawyers