Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-4_01-cv-04255/USCOURTS-cand-4_01-cv-04255-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Attorney General Of The State Of California
Respondent
Gayle Bishop
Petitioner
Contra Costa Superior Court
Respondent

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

OAKLAND DIVISION

GAYLE BISHOP,

Petitioner,

 v.

THE CONTRA COSTA SUPERIOR COURT

AND ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE

OF CALIFORNIA,

Respondents.

No. C 01-4255 SBA

ORDER

Petitioner Gayle Bishop is a former Contra Costa County Commissioner convicted of misusing

county-funded office space, office equipment, and employees to aid her reelection efforts and to conduct

work related to her personal law practice, and of committing perjury during her testimony before a grand

jury. Bishop was charged with five felony counts of misuse of public money; five felony counts of

perjury; and one misdemeanor count of failure to report total campaign contributions. Count 10 of the

information charged Bishop with committing perjury before a grand jury on March 14, 1996, by stating

that she did not direct her staff to create, review and edit, on county time, campaign material targeted

at specific geographical areas. Bishop was convicted of five counts of misuse of public money and four

counts of perjury, including count 10. The California Court of Appeal affirmed Bishop’s conviction on

five counts of misappropriating public money and two counts of perjury. 

After exhausting her state administrative remedies, Bishop filed a petition for writ of habeas

corpus in this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254, challenging her convictions on a number of grounds.

On September 14, 2004, this Court denied Bishop’s petition in its entirety. See Docket No. 16. Bishop

appealed and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reviewed this Court’s decision. The denial was

affirmed except as to the perjury charge of count 10. The matter was remanded to this Court with

instructions to grant the writ of habeas corpus with respect to that conviction. See Ninth Circuit

Memorandum filed March 1, 2007, at 12. 

Accordingly, the Court will issue the writ vacating count 10 of Bishop’s conviction, unless no

Case 4:01-cv-04255-SBA Document 26 Filed 04/26/07 Page 1 of 2
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later than thirty days after the date of this order, the State either: (1) advises this Court that it will re-try

Bishop on count 10, or (2) moves for re-sentencing to exclude that perjury conviction. All other claims

for relief in the habeas petition are denied. 

The Clerk of Court shall send copies of this Order and the Ninth Circuit Memorandum issued

on March 1, 2007, to the petitioner, counsel for the petitioner, the respondents, and counsel for the

respondents.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

April 24, 2007 _________________________________

Saundra Brown Armstrong 

United States District Judge

Case 4:01-cv-04255-SBA Document 26 Filed 04/26/07 Page 2 of 2