Not just getting off easy, the criminals in Contra Costa County are almost getting a free pass for committing low level crimes. It goes without saying that the people were pissed that a public office designed to protect it’s citizens was about to stop protecting them. The suggested cuts to criminal prosecution where pretty bad.

For misdemeanors, we will continue to review and file the following types of cases:

1. All DUI cases;

2. All domestic violence misdemeanors, including domestic violence restraining order violations;

3. Misdemeanor weapons cases if the weapon is a firearm (e.g., 417, 12025, 12031). Conversely, we will no longer review or file any non-firearm misdemeanor weapons cases (e.g., 653k, nunchuks, dirk or dagger, billy, etc.);

4. Misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter cases;

5. Misdemeanor sex crimes, such as 314.1, 647.6, and misdemeanor 290 violations. These cases, regardless of where the crime occurred, should be delivered to our Sexual Assault Unit at 900 Ward Street, Martinez, for review;

6. Misdemeanors involving police officer victims (e.g., 148, 69, 243(b)) will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis for filing, but must be presented in person to the appropriate misdemeanor filing deputy by your agency (no drop-offs);

7. Cases of assault with a weapon and some degree of injury will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis for filing, but must also be presented in person to the appropriate misdemeanor filing deputy by your agency (no drop-offs).

Of necessity, we will not be reviewing or filing a number of categories of misdemeanor offenses as partially described below. With respect to these types of cases, we ask that they not even be submitted by your agency.

If they are submitted, they will be screened out by category by support staff and returned to your department without review by a deputy district attorney.

[So what they are saying is that even though someone commits one of these crimes and you submit the paper to them to prosecute, they will just put a fat 'return to sender' on the file and never look back.]

1. Misdemeanor drug offenses of any kind;
2. H&S 11550 and PC 647f cases;
3. All non-DUI driving or traffic offenses (e.g., 14601’s of any kind, 20002’s, 23103’s, 23109’s, etc.);
4. Misdemeanor property crimes (e.g., 484, 487, 503, 459, 470, 594.
5. Simple assault or battery cases
6. Trespassing or loitering cases;
7. All other misdemeanor crimes not specifically enumerated.

We will continue to review and file charges otherwise eliminated in the above list if they are part of the same case involving crimes we are continuing to prosecute (e.g., 14601 will be filed along with a DUI charge when appropriate). These new policies apply only to offenses involving adults. For the time being, filing and prosecution policies for juvenile offenders remains status quo.

After announcing this a few moths ago, people went bananas trying to understand how the DA’s office.

After announcing this change of the “Status Quo”, the DA’s office headed by District Attorney Robert Kochly started doing some major damage control. District Attorney Robert Kochly decided it was best to take a pay cut and reinstate some of the prosecutors that were effected by the budget cuts.

The DA’s pay cut did a little to make people feel better. I mean, they never retracted all of the prosecutions they would halt but they did say they would prosecute more.

“The last thing I want to see is criminals going unpunished. That’s not a legacy I want to leave.” -Robert Kochly

Now the DA’s office is suggesting offloading some of the workload to the City Attorneys.

In a report to be presented to County Supervisors today, Kochly explains that the state Attorney General’s office can help with neglected cases, but it can’t force the DA to pursue them. Many southern California cities already prosecute their own misdemeanors, the idea being that cities get together and hire out a private lawyer who is essentially deputized by the District Attorney.

Kochly has said it will still pursue core misdemeanor offenses like domestic violence and vehicular manslaughter. “Frankly, I am very reluctant to state here publicly what kinds of misdemeanors, misdemeanor crimes will no longer be prosecuted in Contra Costa County, for fairly obvious reasons,” he has said. – Source

What it sounds like to me is that the Contra Costa County DA even with a pay cut will not be able to function appropriately as they have in the past. I don’t have any issue with the plan if it can work but I don’t believe the City of Concord has the funds or the training to support it. So what this really sounds like is a political ‘passing of the buck’ to take the spotlight off of the DA’s office.

DA Kochly came under so much fire for the long list of crimes not to be prosecuted in the County that if he were to do it a second time it would be career suicide. News Flash Kochly…The list of criminal offenses in the county are public record. You cant exactly invoke the Patriot Act on them.

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