I have an evening ritual. I curl up on my couch with my 65lb
bulldog (that thinks she’s a lapdog), and I reward myself with an
episode of Law
&
amp; Order
….SVU, CI, old reruns, whatever.
I have an evening ritual. I curl up on my couch with my 65lb bulldog (that thinks she’s a lapdog), and I reward myself with an episode of Law & Order….SVU, CI, old reruns, whatever. It’s an obsession. The phone doesn’t get answered, the computer stays asleep, and I delve into the world of DAs, detectives and derelicts. This close examination of how the system works is fascinating; but one must ask herself, how true to life is it?
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity of sitting down with San Benito County District Attorney John Sarsfield on the CMAP program In Focus. Sarsfield recently released his first Annual Report to the citizens of San Benito County regarding policy changes and new activities at the DA’s office. We discussed some of the radical housecleaning that took place once he came on board in January of 2003, as well as a look at what the future brings for San Benito County’s DA’s office.
A typical year in the DA’s office will yield about 1,500 cases. When Sarsfield walked in to the job of District Attorney, he found the offices overflowing with cases that needed attention, including 1,000 that were unassigned. He saw the need to restructure the way cases were assigned, and quickly implemented a system that would allow Deputy DAs to try the cases that were handed to them; not have to bear the burden of picking and choosing according to their own standards. The change worked, and Sarsfield predicts that by the end of the year his office will have caught up, processing a record 3,000 cases.
Sarsfield also discusses his office’s partnership with the San Benito County Office of Education. In order to address the problem of truancy early on with students, parents and children regularly meet with a Deputy DA, along with a probation officer, police officer, and school representative.
Sarsfield notes that keeping kids in school is not only key to the longterm success of the child, but it is also linked directly to the number of daytime burglary rates.
Another way Sarsfield’s office addressed the overflow of cases issue is by instituting a volunteer attorney program. Is this an oxymoron, you ask?! No, actually. Many law firms have a pro bono obligation as a condition of employment. Working at the SBC DA’s Office can be a way for
these attorneys to work off their community service obligations. Sarsfield notes in our interview that the volunteer attorney program just won their first case in court on behalf of the SBC DA’s office.
While the volunteer program certainly helps lighten the load, the fact of the matter is that this office is dramatically understaffed. The level of funding for the SBC DA’s Office is comparable to that of a community of 30,000 people. San Benito County has approximately 55,000 people.
Regardless of the need, the state’s current economic climate does not allow for budget increases. Surely, this is another challenge Sarsfield’s Office will have to address in 2004.
For more on “law & order” in San Benito County, tune in to In Focus on Channel 17 in Hollister, and Channel 20 in Gilroy, Hollister and San Juan Bautista the coming week. Airtimes will be announced on our Web site at www.mycmap.org. Just click on the remote control for info.
FYI – Mr. Sarsfield mentioned that the most realistic L&O episodes were definitely the ones with Michael Moriarty. True, but I’m still a diehard
“Jack McCoy” fan…
Suzanne St. John-Crane is the director of CMAP. She writes a regular column for publication in The Dispatch highlighting the news from our local television station.
