The criminal trial for Santa Clara City Councilmember Anthony Becker, who was indicted on felony and misdemeanor charges involving a civil grand jury report, will not be set until next month.
Becker was indicted in April on two charges — a misdemeanor charge for leaking a confidential civil grand jury report to the San Francisco 49ers that criticized several members of the Santa Clara City Council's cozy relationship with the team and a felony perjury charge for lying about it.
The councilmember wore a light gray suit and appeared at the San Jose Hall of Justice on Wednesday afternoon for his trial setting hearing. His public defender, Christopher Montoya, asked Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Daniel Nishigaya for a continuance to a later date — a request Nishigaya granted.
Becker's trial setting hearing is now scheduled for Sept. 13 at 1:35 p.m. Continuing a trial setting hearing to a later date is a common practice in the court.
Montoya could not be immediately reached for comment.
Throughout the process, Becker has maintained his innocence, pleading not guilty in early May. At the time, Montoya told reporters that in his experience, "first-time impressions of a case are often wrong or incomplete."
The leaked document, a Santa Clara County civil grand jury report titled "Unsportsmanlike Conduct," criticized Becker and four of his colleagues for voting in favor of the 49ers' interest. The NFL team plays at the city-owned Levi's Stadium and manages non-football events at the venue.
The report was set to become public on Oct. 10, but a draft of the document appeared in several media outlets, including this one, on Oct. 7.
According to grand jury transcripts, which became public in May, Councilmember Suds Jain at a March 29 hearing said Becker called him two to three weeks prior and admitted he leaked the grand jury report to Silicon Valley Voice editor Carolyn Schuk.
"He was just under a lot of stress," Jain told the grand jury. "To be honest, I wish he hadn't told me. But he did, and so I have to report it today."
Former 49ers spokesperson Rahul Chandhok, who was also interviewed by the grand jury investigating claims against Becker, said the councilmember sent him a copy of the report on Oct. 6 via the encrypted messaging app, Signal.
Chandhok also said Becker told him he had already sent it to Angie Tolliver, the editor-in-chief at the Silicon Valley Voice.
"I don't remember him ever being like fearful about sending it, because he had already sent it to others," the former team spokesperson told the grand jury.
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