Office overview | |
---|---|
Formed | 1801 |
Jurisdiction | Government of San Diego County |
Headquarters | Hall of Justice 330 W Broadway San Diego, California, 92101 |
Office executive |
|
Website | District Attorney’s Office website |
The San Diego County District Attorney is the elected district attorney for San Diego County, California. This office is responsible for the prosecution of both felony and misdemeanor violations of California state law that occur within the jurisdiction of San Diego County, California. Courts within their jurisdiction includes the San Diego Superior Court, the California Court of Appeal for the Fourth District, and the California Supreme Court. Federal law violations are prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California. The current District Attorney is Summer Stephan, who replaced Bonnie Dumanis on an interim basis after the latter resigned in July 2017.
As in most of California, some misdemeanor crimes are prosecuted by local city attorneys. City attorneys share jurisdiction with the District Attorney to prosecute misdemeanors and infractions that are committed within the city's jurisdiction. All other misdemeanor, felony, and infraction violations that occur within San Diego County are prosecuted by the district attorney.
The main office is located in Downtown San Diego in the Hall of Justice, with three regional centers in El Cajon, Chula Vista, and Vista. As of 2011 the District Attorney's office employs 310 attorneys. [1]
The District Attorney's office claims a 90+ percent conviction rate. [2] The conviction rate for driving under the influence (DUI) in 2010 was 98% of 11,000 people charged with felony or misdemeanor DUI. [3]
In the first 20 years of San Diego County there were 23 men that held the office of district attorney, the first being William C. Ferrell. [4]
District Attorney | Took office | Left office | Party | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
William C. Ferrell | August 19, 1801 | May, 1851 | ||
Thomas W. Sutherland | 1851 | 1852 | ||
James W. Robinson | 1852 | 1855 | ||
Joseph R. Gitchell | 1856 | 1858 | ||
James Nichol | 1858 | 1859 | ||
William C. Ferrell | 1859 | 1859 | ||
Dr. David B. Hoffman | 1859 | 1861 | ||
A. N. Ensworth | 1862 | 1862 | Acting | |
Dr. David B. Hoffman | 1862 | 1864 | ||
Unknown | 1865 | 1865 | ||
Benjamin Hayes | 1866 | 1867 | ||
William T. McNealy | 1870 | 1873 | Youngest District Attorney ever elected at age 21 | |
Norman H. Conklin | 1877 | 1879 | ||
William M. Smith | 1879 | 1882 | ||
W. J. Hunsaker | 1882 | 1884 | ||
E. W. Hendricks | 1885 | 1886 | ||
Martin L. Ward | 1893 | 1894 | ||
William Darby | 1895 | 1895 | ||
A. H. Sweet | 1895 | 1898 | ||
T. L. Lewis | 1899 | 11902 | ||
Cassius Carter | 1903 | 1906 | ||
Lewis R. Kirby | 1907 | 1909 | ||
H. S. Utley | 1909 | 1914 | ||
S. M. Marsh | 1915 | 1917 | ||
Lewis R. Kirby | 1918 | 1922 | ||
Chester C. Kempley | 1923 | 1926 | ||
Unknown | 1927 | 1931 | ||
Thomas Whelan | 1931 | 1938 | ||
James B. Abbey | 1938 | 1941 | ||
Thomas Whelan | 1941 | 1948 | ||
James D. Keller | 1948 | 1971 | ||
Edwin L. Miller | 1971 | 1995 | ||
Paul J. Pfingst | 1995 | 2003 | ||
Bonnie Dumanis | 2003 | 2017 | ||
Summer Stephan | 2017 | Present |
The San Diego District Attorney currently maintains a law enforcement arm called Bureau of Investigation. [5] It consists of eight divisions, which include 130 District Attorney Investigators who are sworn California peace officers pursuant to § 830.1(a) California Penal Code and other non sworn staff. [6]
Amongst its law enforcement duties and responsibilities are assignments which may include pre-trial, gang, economic, insurance, fraud investigations; family protection, child abduction, sex crimes, stalking, and special operation investigations. [6] Apart from this, San Diego DA Investigators may be assigned to regional local, state and federal task forces such as: computer and high tech crimes, narcotics, auto theft, identity theft, violent crimes, SAFE and fraud. [6]
A misdemeanor is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions and regulatory offences. Typically misdemeanors are punished with monetary fines or community service.
In the United States, a district attorney (DA), state's attorney, prosecuting attorney,commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a local government area, typically a county. The exact name and scope of the office varies by state. Alternative titles for the office include county attorney, solicitor, or county prosecutor.
A hybrid offence, dual offence, Crown option offence, dual procedure offence, offence triable either way, or wobbler is one of the special class offences in the common law jurisdictions where the case may be prosecuted either summarily or as indictment. In the United States, an alternative misdemeanor/felony offense lists both county jail and state prison as possible punishment, for example, theft. Similarly, a wobblette is a crime that can be charged either as a misdemeanor or an infraction, for example, violating COVID-19 safety precautions.
The District Attorney of Los Angeles County is in charge of the office that prosecutes felony and misdemeanor crimes that occur within Los Angeles County, California, United States. The current district attorney (DA) is George Gascón.
The Criminal Court of the City of New York is a court of the New York State Unified Court System in New York City that handles misdemeanors and lesser offenses, and also conducts arraignments and preliminary hearings in felony cases.
Crime in Washington, D.C., is directly related to the city's demographics, geography, and unique criminal justice system. The District's population reached a peak of 802,178 in 1950. Shortly after that, the city began losing residents, and by 1980 Washington had lost one-quarter of its population. The population loss to the suburbs also created a new demographic pattern, which divided affluent neighborhoods west of Rock Creek Park from the less well-off neighborhoods to the east.
California criminal law generally follows the law of the United States. However, there are both substantive and procedural differences between how the United States federal government and California prosecute alleged violations of criminal law. This article focuses exclusively on California criminal law.
In United States law, a gross misdemeanor is a crime which is more serious than a regular misdemeanor, but is still classified as a minor crime, as opposed to serious crimes. Such crimes may include petty theft, simple assault or driving under the influence of alcohol and/or other drugs. Typically, the maximum sentence is one year in county jail and/or $5,000 in fines.
A criminal defense lawyer is a lawyer specializing in the defense of individuals and companies charged with criminal activity. Some criminal defense lawyers are privately retained, while others are employed by the various jurisdictions with criminal courts for appointment to represent indigent persons; the latter are generally called public defenders. The terminology is imprecise because each jurisdiction may have different practices with various levels of input from state and federal law or consent decrees. Some jurisdictions use a rotating system of appointments, with judges appointing a private practice attorney or firm for each case.
The California Department of Justice is a statewide investigative law enforcement agency and legal department of the California executive branch under the elected leadership of the California Attorney General (AG) which carries out complex criminal and civil investigations, prosecutions, and other legal services throughout the US state of California. The Department is equivalent to the State Bureau of Investigation in other states.
Rodric Anthony Pacheco, usually known as Rod Pacheco, is an American politician. He served in the Riverside County District Attorney's Office as a Deputy District Attorney, Chief Deputy District Attorney, Assistant District Attorney and then as District Attorney from 2007–2010 in Riverside County, California. He served in the California State Assembly from 1996–2002. He served as Republican leader from November 5, 1998 – April 6, 1999. Pacheco was defeated on June 8, 2010, in his bid for a second term as Riverside County District Attorney. In January 2011, SNR Denton, a global law firm, announced Pacheco would join the firm and serve in its Los Angeles office. Pacheco became a Partner in Litigation, White Collar, and Public Policy Public Strategies Practice Groups at SNR Denton in January 2011. Pacheco left SNR Denton in October 2014 to join Theodora Oringher PC. Pacheco was recruited by Theodora Oringher PC to form and lead the White Collar/Internal Investigations Practice Group for the firm.
The Alameda County Superior Court, officially the Superior Court of California, County of Alameda, is the California superior court with jurisdiction over Alameda County as established by Article VI of the Constitution of California. It functions as the trial court for both criminal and civil cases filed in Alameda County.
Edward R. Jagels is a former American prosecutor and was Kern County, California’s longest-sitting District Attorney, holding the office from 1983 to 2010. During this time, he prosecuted some notorious cases of wrongful convictions, and engaged in what is now acknowledged widely to have been a pattern of prosecutorial misconduct, in which he convicted innocent people of abusing children. Kern County has since paid out 10 million dollars in settlements to the people wrongly convicted by Ed Jagels.
This article refers to crime in the American state of California.
In the United States, County Detectives or District Attorney Investigators are peace officers employed by the District Attorney's Office of their respective county.
The Government of San Diego County is defined and authorized under the California Constitution, California law, and the Charter of the County of San Diego. Much of the Government of California is in practice the responsibility of county governments such as the Government of San Diego County. The County government provides countywide services such as elections and voter registration, law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, public health, and social services. In addition the County serves as the local government for all unincorporated areas.
The Government of San Joaquin County is defined and authorized under the California Constitution and law as a general law county. Much of the Government of California is in practice the responsibility of county governments, such as the Government of San Joaquin County. The County government provides countywide services such as elections and voter registration, law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, public health, and social services. In addition the County serves as the local government for all unincorporated areas.
The Judiciary of California or the Judicial Branch of California is defined under the California Constitution as holding the judicial power of the state of California which is vested in the Supreme Court, the Courts of Appeal and the Superior Courts. The judiciary has a hierarchical structure with the California Supreme Court at the top, California Courts of Appeal as the primary appellate courts, and the California Superior Courts as the primary trial courts.
The King County Prosecuting Attorney is a non-partisan elected official in King County, Washington. The Prosecuting Attorney leads the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, and prosecutes all felonies that occur within King County, Washington. Since 2007, the position has been held by Dan Satterberg.
The San Diego County Public Defender's office is an agency of the government of San Diego County, California. It provides legal assistance to individuals charged with a crime in state court who are financially unable to retain private counsel. The office consists of the Primary Public Defender, the Alternate Public Defender, the Office of Assigned Counsel & the Multiple Conflicts Office. Mental health and juvenile court matters are handled by special units within the divisions.