Episode 4: Fighting the SF DA and Police for Records, Gary Murphy Assassination

Host Mike Spencer private eye escalates his records battle with the DA and Police Department by the San Francisco Sunshine Records Ordinance Task Force. He addresses the Task Force committee, who will decide whether the full task force will hear his arguments for obtaining records in the June 1998 murder for hire of ex con Gary Murphy, gunned down in a halfway house he managed near Ocean Beach. Spencer has obtained some records that suggest his ex client was behind the murder, hiring two former San Quentin state prison inmates to kill Murphy to obtain custody of his then six year old daughter, her granddaughter. 

The episode is a rare look at the public records process in California. Typically, a person has no recourse but to get an attorney if his or her records request is denied. There is no appeals process. But, the San Francisco Sunshine Ordinance Task Force offers a venue for such records disputes. Hear Spencer and an SF District Attorney argue before the Task Force. 

Spencer argues that the SF DA and Police are hiding behind exemptions for not releasing what actually happeneed in the Murphy case and why no arrests were made despite police having the names of the killer and driver within 24 hours of the shooting. He points out that in 2014, the SF DA opted not to charge the gunman. No investigation has been made in more than 10 years. However, the DA claims that the exemption is forever since no one was charged.  A broader question is what rights do a victim's family have in an old case where police might have botched an investigation.