After a week of being officially closed to the public, the San
Benito County District Attorney’s Office reopened Monday after
spending last week getting caught up on hundreds of backlogged
cases, according to the district attorney.
Hollister – After a week of being officially closed to the public, the San Benito County District Attorney’s Office reopened Monday after spending last week getting caught up on hundreds of backlogged cases, according to the district attorney.
Due to what District Attorney John Sarsfield called a “crisis situation” because of a severe lack of funding and staffing, Sarsfield closed his doors last week to file between 200 to 300 cases that hadn’t been entered into the court system. His office didn’t handle any business other than in-custody complaints and previously scheduled court appearances, and was able to clear most of the cases out of the backlog and get up to speed. Sarsfield wouldn’t give an exact number, but said it was more than half, and is crossing his fingers that he won’t have to close his office again to get caught up on work.
“I hope not,” he said, “but you never know. It wasn’t my first choice.”
While in-custody cases – arrests made that must be charged or the person will be released from custody without repercussions – were charged and filed, Public Defender Greg La Forge said the interruption caused problems in his office and backed up the court’s calendar.
La Forge said some of his cases that were scheduled for a court hearing had to be continued because he couldn’t contact the District Attorney’s Office to discuss cases or get documents pertinent to defending his clients, such as police reports.
“When they’re closed to the public, we can’t get information we need to streamline cases,” he said. “But it was more of a joke than a problem. There’s no reason to close a DA’s office.”
La Forge didn’t know how many cases were continued due to the week-long closure.
Sheriff Curtis Hill, who had voiced concerns about the temporary closure regarding felony arrests made – which must be charged and filed within 48 hours or the suspect will be released – said he didn’t hear of any problems during the week the office was closed. However, although he didn’t receive any complaints from his staff, he said it doesn’t mean there weren’t any.
“Nothing rose to my level,” Hill said. “I don’t know if that’s good or bad, but I didn’t hear anything.”
Hollister Police Chief Jeff Miller was unavailable for comment, however a man was arrested by Hollister police officers for felony attempted murder and an array of domestic violence charges last week, and Sarsfield said his attorneys handled the case without difficulty.
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or
em*******@fr***********.com
