Prosecutorial resources

[BehindBlueI's]

Loudoun Co. CA office won't be involved in the prosecution of certain misdemeanor crimes

In a letter obtained by 7News, Loudoun County Commonwealth's Attorney Buta Biberaj said she will no longer prosecute certain misdemeanor charges.

wjla.com

This is becoming more common at multiple levels of gov't. Prosecutor offices are having difficulty attracting and retaining personnel. Trials take longer as juries expect more, see more video, etc. Courts are still dealing with COVID back logs.

Funding the police only helps the front end. Without sufficient resources in Prosecutor offices, public defense, and corrections the revolving door only speeds up or diversion and sweetheart pleas get more and moreincentive zed.

Add in political pandering and here we are.

 

[HoughMade]

Loudoun Co. CA office won't be involved in the prosecution of certain misdemeanor crimes

In a letter obtained by 7News, Loudoun County Commonwealth's Attorney Buta Biberaj said she will no longer prosecute certain misdemeanor charges.

wjla.com

This is becoming more common at multiple levels of gov't. Prosecutor offices are having difficulty attracting and retaining personnel. Trials take longer as juries expect more, see more video, etc. Courts are still dealing with COVID back logs.

Funding the police only helps the front end. Without sufficient resources in Prosecutor offices, public defense, and corrections the revolving door only speeds up or diversion and sweetheart pleas get more and moreincentive zed.

Add in political pandering and here we are.

Based upon that letter, it looks to me like they are offloading the offenses to the Court and law enforcement in that it it mentions deferral. Are they saying that they want the Courts and LE to try to get people to pay the deferral fee (like I always do for a speeding ticket) and it gets dismissed?

This letter isn't all that clear as to the mechanics of what will be happening.

As for shortage of staff, believe it or not, there are those claiming that there is a shortage of young lawyers. I can confirm that there are not an overabundance of good young attorneys with a work ethic. Prosecutors' offices have prosecution staffs weighted towards young attorneys. The increase in student loan debt, I'm sure, tends to adversely affect what jobs young attorneys will take. Despite the fact that the pay was not great back in 1998, there seemed to be plenty of my cohorts who wanted prosecutor jobs.

 

[actaeon277]

Well, people are asking government to give everyone all that 'free' money, they don't have enough to actually do the job they're SUPPOSED to.

 

[Twangbanger]

Aaaaand Soros wins. In the cities where Prosecutors will actually be funded, you bankroll the candidacy of useless ones. The public becomes more cynical about Prosecutors in general...and the death spiral continues.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Based upon that letter, it looks to me like they are offloading the offenses to the Court and law enforcement in that it it mentions deferral. Are they saying that they want the Courts and LE to try to get people to pay the deferral fee (like I always do for a speeding ticket) and it gets dismissed?

In some states, mostly New England, the arresting officer can also act as the prosecutor for infractions and certain misdemeanor offenses. Not sure if this applies to this particular jurisdiction, but I know it's a thing from talking to Massad Ayoob about his experiences doing the same.

 

[Leadeye]

In Mexico you pay the deferral fee to the arresting officer.

 

[Born2vette]

In Mexico you pay the bribe to the arresting officer.

FIFY

 

[Kirk Freeman]

In Mexico you pay the deferral fee to the arresting officer.

In Tippecanoe County you paid an intern at the Prosecutor's Office.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

In some states, mostly New England, the arresting officer can also act as the prosecutor for infractions and certain misdemeanor offenses. Not sure if this applies to this particular jurisdiction, but I know it's a thing from talking to Massad Ayoob about his experiences doing the same.

So...yup:

Pro-Se Prosecution In Virginia

Virginia law permits any private citizen to obtain an arrest warrant when he or she can convince the magistrate that probable cause exists to believe that a …

virginialawyer.vsb.org

Virginia law permits any private citizen to obtain an arrest warrant when he or she can convince the magistrate that probable cause exists to believe that a crime has been committed and that the subject of the arrest warrant committed it. Misdemeanor warrants can be obtained without any involvement by law-enforcement agencies or commonwealth’s attorneys.</p>
	<p>But what happens after the defendant is arrested?</p>
	<p>In many places in Virginia, misdemeanors are prosecuted not by commonwealth’s attorneys, but by city or county attorneys, police officers, private criminal complainants, or rarely, by private attorneys appointed as special prosecutors.</p>
	<p>Practice varies considerably around the Commonwealth. The commonwealth’s attorney prosecutes all cases in the Henrico General District Court, according to Chief Judge John K. Honey. In Wise County, the previous commonwealth’s attorney did not prosecute misdemeanor cases, but the present incumbent does. A 23rd District General District Court Judge said, “The Commonwealth appears on every matter prosecuted in our courts, including traffic infractions. It would not be my preference to have a citizen prosecute their own misdemeanor complaint.”</p>

 

[HoughMade]

In Tippecanoe County you paid an intern at the Prosecutor's Office.

I feel like I missed out when I was an intern at the Porter County prosecutor's office.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Loudoun Co. CA office won't be involved in the prosecution of certain misdemeanor crimes

In a letter obtained by 7News, Loudoun County Commonwealth's Attorney Buta Biberaj said she will no longer prosecute certain misdemeanor charges.

wjla.com

This is becoming more common at multiple levels of gov't. Prosecutor offices are having difficulty attracting and retaining personnel. Trials take longer as juries expect more, see more video, etc. Courts are still dealing with COVID back logs.

Funding the police only helps the front end. Without sufficient resources in Prosecutor offices, public defense, and corrections the revolving door only speeds up or diversion and sweetheart pleas get more and moreincentive zed.

Add in political pandering and here we are.

What's becoming more common? Prosecuting Attorneys handing out diversions for busywork offenses? Cool, more should.

Prosecutors have their own honey jar (diversion money) to attract and retain personnel. One of you IMPD cops made me look it up Marion County's honey jar years ago, it is an ungodly amount of money that they are swimming around in.

Increase in trial length? How can you tell? I see no metrics on this. When I proposed metrics during the George Floyd protests, the Prosecutor ran to the judges to cry that no metrics should be kept on they will be "abused" (i.e. used to point out the racism and bias in the system).

So, from the article, a Prosecutor wants to redirect the focus on her office? Ok, her call, she won the election and all; I just wish ours would focus on things like Human Trafficking and Murder, which is ignored, instead of coming down like a load of bricks on black men with weed.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

I feel like I missed out when I was an intern at the Porter County prosecutor's office.

No, he got 8 years. No one likes IDoC.

Although . . . think of all the clients you would pick up in IDOC. Oh, and the Bible Study Group. Small engine repair and carpentry.

You would do a lot of good there AND make a great candidate for a sentence modification.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

What's becoming more common? Prosecuting Attorneys handing out diversions for busywork offenses? Cool, more should.

Prosecutors have their own honey jar (diversion money) to attract and retain personnel. One of you IMPD cops made me look it up Marion County's honey jar years ago, it is an ungodly amount of money that they are swimming around in.

Increase in trial length? How can you tell? I see no metrics on this. When I proposed metrics during the George Floyd protests, the Prosecutor ran to the judges to cry that no metrics should be kept on they will be "abused" (i.e. used to point out the racism and bias in the system).

So, from the article, a Prosecutor wants to redirect the focus on her office? Ok, her call, she won the election and all; I just wish ours would focus on things like Human Trafficking and Murder, which is ignored, instead of coming down like a load of bricks on black men with weed.

Busywork offenses:

• Hit and run with property damage
• Eluding police
• Reckless driving for speeding under 90 miles per hour
• Trespassing
• Petty larceny
• Drunk in public
• Underage possession of alcohol
• Noise complaints
• Failure to appear

I can give you Drunk in public, underage alcohol and noise complaints, but hit/run? Fleeing? You do you, but that's full on clown shoes to ignore to me. You do you.

I honestly don't give two ****s what you think you know. I see the turnover and reduced personnel.

 

[DadSmith]

Are we getting closer to Judge Dredd style law?

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Busywork offenses:

• Hit and run with property damage
• Eluding police
• Reckless driving for speeding under 90 miles per hour
• Trespassing
• Petty larceny
• Drunk in public
• Underage possession of alcohol
• Noise complaints
• Failure to appear

I can give you Drunk in public, underage alcohol and noise complaints, but hit/run? Fleeing? You do you, but that's full on clown shoes to ignore to me. You do you.

I honestly don't give two shits what you think you know. I see the turnover and reduced personnel.

 

[wtburnette]

Are we getting closer to Judge Dredd style law?
View attachment 247891

No, we're getting closer to regular people taking the law into their own hands due to the Government ceding their authority where law and order are concerned.

 

[funeralweb]

No, we're getting closer to regular people taking the law into their own hands due to the Government ceding their authority where law and order are concerned.

I agree with you but once a frustrated Good Guy gets to that point, he/she/they/them needs to make sure they don't take that liberty in front of the myriad cameras watching from everywhere. You can bet your bippy he/she/they/them will receive the full wrath of the law for that.

 

[Cameramonkey]

I agree with you but once a frustrated Good Guy gets to that point, he/she/they/them needs to make sure they don't take that liberty in front of the myriad cameras watching from everywhere. You can bet your bippy he/she/they/them will receive the full wrath of the law for that.

Yep. We are in some upside down times.

 

[Leadeye]

How does all this fit with the "broken windows" theory of policing? While sucessful in some areas in the past it seems largely discarded now. Maybe at the end of the day we simply will not be able to afford it.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Busywork offenses:

• Hit and run with property damage
• Eluding police
• Reckless driving for speeding under 90 miles per hour
• Trespassing
• Petty larceny
• Drunk in public
• Underage possession of alcohol
• Noise complaints
• Failure to appear

I can give you Drunk in public, underage alcohol and noise complaints, but hit/run? Fleeing? You do you, but that's full on clown shoes to ignore to me. You do you.

I honestly don't give two shits what you think you know. I see the turnover and reduced personnel.

Yes, busywork offenses, feckless as to public order and nothing more than ego strokes for prosecutors. Cops and prosecutors already ignore a large percentage of those offenses. In fact in 28 years I have never seen Failure to Appear prosecuted in any county.

The police already fail to do anything about the vast majority of crimes committed. I have lived it. With all my problems with criminal mischief and trespass at my office, the police response is a goose egg and the prosecutor won't even return e-mails. It was a miracle, and a special prosecutor, that had the woman who stole my briefcase out of my truck was prosecuted.

I get it, LE does not care about certain segments of society and the city. In Lafayette they do not care at all and have been blunt, to their credit, telling me that they do not care, even about Human Trafficking and Murder. They run from me when I ask them about cases. While this is hilarious to see them run down the street or courthouse from me, it does nothing to address the crimes committed against me or to address criminality in Lafayette.

You see turn over? In Mears's office? Always been that way, back to Goldsmith, younger attorney come in cut their feet on the rough stuff and then on to other opportunities. That way in many counties. The Andy Fogles of that office are very few. Every Prosecutor prioritizes cases.

I have no sympathy for most elected Prosecutors. They get to pick their work load. The problem is of their own making.