Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Kemi Mustapha vacated a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction for Rev. Ray Montgomery, granting the 59-year-old San Jose pastor and former civil rights leader a brand-new trial after ruling that jurors received faulty legal guidance during deliberations.
The decision, handed down on Oct. 28, wiped away Montgomery’s July 1 conviction and halted his upcoming September sentencing. Judge Mustapha re-entered a not guilty plea for Montgomery and scheduled a prospective trial date for Feb. 8, 2027. When reached for comment on the judge’s decision, the District Attorney’s Office said that it will retry the case, as reported by mercurynews.com.
Faulty Trespassing Instructions Center Defense Appeal
The legal turning point hinges on a juror’s question during deliberations. According to court filings, a juror asked attorneys and the court for clarity on the legal definition of trespassing. Montgomery had asserted self-defense, arguing that although he initially permitted his accuser into his home on the night of June 6, 2024, he subsequently withdrew that consent and physically removed her after she refused to leave.
Montgomery’s attorney, Michael Pierson, argued in his motion for a new trial that his client was denied due process and a fair jury determination.
Pierson contended that the definition provided by the court was incomplete because it addressed trespassing only in the context of an unconsented entry, calling the instruction nonresponsive and affirmatively misleading
for failing to explain how someone can become a trespasser by remaining on property after permission is revoked.
The prosecution opposed the defense motion, arguing that the juror did not explicitly ask about consent and that the judge had adequately answered the question. Deputy District Attorney Sungmin Park wrote in an opposition filing that even assuming it was error, it was harmless because even if the victim was a trespasser, (the) defendant was not authorized to use unlimited force against her.
Pierson did not respond to requests for comment following the ruling.
Montgomery Files Defamation Lawsuit Against Former Girlfriend
Prior to facing criminal charges, Montgomery filed a defamation lawsuit against his former girlfriend—whom he had dated for four years—asserting that her allegations forced him to step down as executive director of People Acting in Community Together, a San Jose-based community advocacy nonprofit.
The woman countered with a cross-complaint accusing Montgomery of serial abuse, describing him as menacing and manipulative throughout their relationship. Newsbeep.com noted that the criminal charges stem from an incident on June 6, 2024, when the woman who Montgomery had been dating went to his home and found him with another woman, with the litigation further detailing that Montgomery answered the door in his underwear.
According to police and prosecutorial accounts drawing from the accuser’s statements, Montgomery physically intimidated her, picked her up, dragged her down a hallway, and squeezed her neck between his forearm and bicep until she nearly lost consciousness. After collapsing to the floor, she ran to a bathroom, locked herself inside, and called a friend for rescue. She documented bruising at a hospital the next day and reported the assault to police roughly five months later.
Montgomery maintained his innocence in his defamation lawsuit, claiming he made peaceful efforts to defuse the situation and facilitate her departure after she arrived uninvited while he was entertaining a female friend.
The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office maintains its position to proceed with a retrial, leaving the courtroom showdown set for February 2027.
