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Benjamin Thomas Field - #168197

Current Status: Not eligible to practice law (Not Entitled)

See below for more details.

Profile Information

The following information is from the official records of The State Bar of California.

Bar 168197
Number:
Address: Working Partnerships Phone Number: (408) 269-7872
USA Fax Number: Not Available
2102 Almaden Rd
e-mail: Not Available
Ste 107
San Jose, CA 95125
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County: Santa Clara Undergraduate Columbia Univ; New York
School: NY
District: District 6
Sections: None Law School: UC Berkeley SOL Boalt Hall;
Berkeley CA
Status History

Effective Date Status Change

Present Not Eligible To Practice Law
9/10/2010 Not Eligible To Practice Law
12/14/1993 Admitted to The State Bar of California
Explanation of member status

Actions Affecting Eligibility to Practice Law

Effective
Description Case Number Resulting Status
Date
Disciplinary and Related Actions
Overview of the attorney discipline system.

9/10/2010 Discipline w/actual 05-O- Not Eligible To Practice

suspension 00815 Law
Administrative Actions

This member has no public record of administrative actions.

Copies of official attorney discipline records are available upon request.

Explanation of common actions

State Bar Court Cases

NOTE: The State Bar Court began posting public discipline documents online in 2005. The format and pagination of documents posted on this site may vary from
the originals in the case file as a result of their translation from the original format into Word and PDF. Copies of additional related documents in a case
areavailable upon request. Only Opinions designated for publication in the State Bar Court Reporter may be cited or relied on as precedent in State Bar Court
proceedings. For further information about a case that is displayed here, please refer to the State Bar Court's online docket, which can be found
at:http://apps.statebarcourt.ca.gov/dockets/dockets.aspx

DISCLAIMER: Any posted Notice of Disciplinary Charges, Conviction Transmittal or other initiating document, contains only allegations of professional
misconduct. The attorney is presumed to be innocent of any misconduct warranting discipline until the charges have been proven.

Effective Date Case Number Description

9/10/2010 05-O-815 Opinion [PDF] [WORD]
California Bar Journal Discipline Summaries

Summaries from the California Bar Journal are based on discipline orders but are not the official records. Not all discipline actions have associated CBJ
summaries. Copies of official attorney discipline records are available upon request.

September 10, 2010

BENJAMIN THOMAS FIELD [#168197], 46, of San Jose was suspended for five years, stayed,
placed on five years of probation with an actual four-year suspension and until he proves his
rehabilitation and he was ordered to take the MPRE and comply with rule 9.20 of the California
Rules of Court. The order took effect Sept. 10, 2010. The State Bar Court review department
found that Field, a former Santa Clara County deputy district attorney, acted unethically
prosecuting four cases. He violated a court order by obtaining a dental examination of a minor
accused of sexual assault. As a result, the court ordered the evidence suppressed. In another
sexual assault case, he intentionally withheld a witness‟ statement that was favorable to the
defense in a habeas proceeding. The judge handling the case found that Field committed a
discovery violation. He also withheld a defendant‟s statement that would have helped co-
defendants in a murder case. The court dismissed a 25-year gun enhancement. In the fourth
matter, Field made an improper closing argument in a sexually violent predator (SVP) case. The
appellate court reversed the judgment committing the defendant as a SVP and described Field‟s
closing argument as “deceptive and reprehensible.”The bar court‟s review panel found that Field
abused his office and violated the due process rights of several criminal defendants and said he
“disregarded prosecutorial accountability in favor of winning cases.”
In recommending the harsh punishment for Field, review Judge Catherine Purcell wrote,
“Although our system of administering justice is adversarial in nature and prosecutors must be
zealous advocates in prosecuting their cases, it cannot be at the cost of justice.
“Field lost sight of this goal . . . and in doing so, he disregarded the foundation from which any
prosecutor‟s authority flows — „The first, best and most effective shield against injustice for an
individual accused . . . must be found . . . in the integrity of the prosecutor.‟”
The court gave Field credit for extensive mitigation, including his cooperation with the bar‟s
investigation, an impressive record of pro bono service and “an extraordinary demonstration of
good character.” In particular, it expressly noted the testimony of former Santa Clara District
Attorney George Kennedy, who lauded Field‟s “extraordinary professional skills and good
character” and said he considers Field an honest person who is not intentionally corrupt.