District Attorney John Sarsfield told the Board of Supervisors
Tuesday that a lack of funding has landed his administration in
a
”
crisis situation
”
and he will close his office for a week in October so his staff
can catch up on hundreds of backlogged cases.
Hollister – District Attorney John Sarsfield told the Board of Supervisors Tuesday that a lack of funding has landed his administration in a “crisis situation” and he will close his office for a week in October so his staff can catch up on hundreds of backlogged cases.
He also plans to begin charging certain “nonserious” misdemeanor crimes, such as being drunk in public, as infractions in order to relieve some of the workload of his three trial attorneys, Sarsfield said.
Sarsfield pleaded with the San Benito County Board of Supervisors for increased funding for additional staff – something the civil grand jury recommended the board consider in its annual report. However the board only approved the hiring of a paralegal for approximately $80,000 per year with a 4-1 vote, saying the money simply isn’t available. Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz cast the dissenting vote.
Although Sarsfield said any additional staff helps, he still needs more. He has said he would like to increase his $900,00 annual budget to add more deputy district attorneys to his payroll. He said that each of his three deputy district attorneys tackle about 800 cases annually.
“This situation is not tolerable,” Sarsfield said during the meeting. “No one’s going to die, but it does affect the quality of life of your constituents. I don’t know what else to do. It’s not a realistic staffing situation we’re in now.”
Sarsfield said between 200 and 300 cases, which have already been charged after a law enforcement agency makes an arrest, have not been typed or filed, and he will close his office to the public barring any emergency cases during either the first or second week of October to allow those cases to be entered into the court system.
Sheriff Curtis Hill said he didn’t know what the dynamic is in Sarsfield’s office that would make him close for a week, but said he was concerned about felony arrests made during that time which must be charged and filed on within 48 hours or the suspect will be released.
“From my perspective, we’re elected to do the job so do it,” Hill said. “In my organization, we still respond to barking dog complaints and do vacation house watches – the little things people have an expectation or appreciate. As far as the Sheriff’s Office is concerned, we’re going to march on.”
Sarsfield couldn’t be reached for further comment.
The majority of board members sympathized with Sarsfield’s situation, and along with the prosecutor, bandied around several ideas to mitigate the manpower shortage in his office. One of Sarsfield’s ideas, which he plans to implement, is charging certain misdemeanor crimes – which can levy a sentence of no more than one year in the county jail – as infractions.
The 19 misdemeanors that would be reduced to infractions include being drunk in public, selling tobacco to minors and driving without a license, among others. Instead of taking the cases to court and having them possibly end up in an expensive jury trial, anyone arrested and convicted of one of these charges would face nothing more than a fine, he said.
Supervisor Anthony Botelho conceded the situation is not a constructive one, but said he’s willing to work with the prosecutor to come up with creative ways to bring the District Attorney’s office up to snuff.
“I recognize you’re in dire need of increased staffing,” Botelho said. “We need to move forward to bring you to a level where your department functions at a sustainable level.”
However, Botelho also conceded public agencies have an obligation to be available to the public for 52 weeks out of the year and department heads should be able to prioritize their duties to make that happen.
“That’s for the public to judge his decision,” Botelho said after Tuesday’s meeting.
Supervisor De La Cruz was openly critical of Sarsfield’s management skills and was the sole dissenting vote for allocating funding for a paralegal position.
“I support the fact that something needs to be done, but I believe the entire staff should be reviewed – who’s going to court and that includes yourself,” De La Cruz told Sarsfield. “You have to spend time in court.”
Sarsfield, who informed De La Cruz that he doesn’t believe the supervisor is qualified to comment on how a law office is run, has been criticized in the past for not spending time in court. However, he has said he concentrates on charging all of the approximately 2,500 cases that land on his desk so there is a uniform charging structure.
De La Cruz also intimated Sarsfield is taking cases to court unnecessarily by prosecuting people for political reasons. Sarsfield charged De La Cruz with four felonies for voting forgery in conjunction with the 2004 District 5 Supervisor race, which were later dropped when the two parties entered into a plea agreement. De La Cruz, who faced jail time and being booted out of politics for good if convicted of the felony charges, pleaded no contest to one misdemeanor charge of obstructing a peace officer in January.
“If you’re seeking to fund more positions then cases should not be politically motivated,” De La Cruz said. “I can’t finance politically-motivated cases that go to court. I can’t support that.”
Sarsfield did not respond to De La Cruz’s comment, nor did any other board members.
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected].
