Gilroy
– Only hours after taking office, newly-minted District Attorney
Dolores Carr was forced to scuttle her first pick for Chief
Assistant.
Gilroy – Only hours after taking office, newly-minted District Attorney Dolores Carr was forced to scuttle her first pick for Chief Assistant.
Superior Court Judge Kevin Murphy, a former prosecutor, can’t take the job due to a provision in the California Constitution that bars judges from taking public office during their elected judicial terms. Murphy has served on the bench since 1989, and planned to resign Friday, Jan. 12. Two years remain before his 6-year elected term ends. Upon learning of the law, Murphy withdrew his application for the job.
“Because I do not want to create an issue for you in your new administration … without controversy, I decline to accept your kind offer,” Murphy wrote.
Carr notified office members Monday afternoon of the mistake. The stumble is an inauspicious start to Carr’s career in the DA’s office. As the ‘outsider’ candidate in last year’s DA race, she is largely unknown to the office’s prosecutors, many of whom have never known the office without former DA George Kennedy at the helm. Kennedy served for 16 years as chief deputy DA, and joined the office even earlier.
A former family law judge, Carr ran on a pledge to shift the “win-at-all-costs mentality” of the office. Her opponent, Karyn Sinunu, derided her lack of experience within the office. Now, it seems, Carr’s own ‘outsider’ pick – Murphy – is outside the bounds of the law.
Carr is intent on picking another ‘outsider’ candidate for the spot, “a qualified individual from outside the DA’s office.” In the meantime, Marc Buller, appointed by Carr’s predecessor, will serve as Chief Assistant.
