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Judge Drops Final Charge Against David Daleiden to End California Case

The ruling completes a 2025 deal that converted a no-contest plea into a dismissal.

Overview

  • Judge Brian Ferrall of San Francisco Superior Court, who approved the dismissal Wednesday, closed the nearly decade-long prosecution with an expungement.
  • The January 2025 settlement ended the case with no admission of wrongdoing, no fines, and no probation after a brief no-contest plea to one recording charge.
  • Attempts by the Feminist Majority Foundation and the National Abortion Federation to block the agreement failed in court.
  • The prosecution began under then–Attorney General Kamala Harris with a 2016 home raid, followed in 2017 by recording charges brought by Xavier Becerra.
  • Daleiden’s 2015 undercover videos about fetal tissue practices preceded a $7.8 million settlement in which two firms admitted illegal sales tied to Planned Parenthood facilities.