Candidate for
District Attorney; County of Fresno

I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE OFFICE

A. GENDER & ETHNIC BALANCE

1. I will run an office which reflects our community. The current District Attorney's office staff/attorney's are not racially or gender balanced. I will hire qualified minorities and women into positions of authority.

2. I will institute job sharing programs i.e., women and men who wish to raise families will be given the opportunity to continue their employment by job sharing.

3. I will institute an office of community liason's to harbor my open door policy. I will hold community forums to let citizen's know how the office is performing, and to update the public on new developments in the law. This will be particularly focused on people who speak English as a second language (Asian, Hispanic, etc.), as well as laws affecting small business (Business & Professions Code updates, Labor Law.) I will not allow the alienation and selective prosecution of any classification of people.

B. JUSTICE IN COURT & THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE

1. Trial Group Training Program: Trial training for new Deputy District Attorney's will include in-trial direct supervision from knowledgeable trial attorneys. All Deputy District Attorney's will be required to attend and watch jury selection, examination, and arguments in select cases.

2. Deputy District Attorneys will be required to be active in their investigations, with the intended result being success in the courtroom. I will attempt to place a Deputy District Attorney on scene in all homicide cases and cases where a member of this community has been shot, not just officer involved shootings.

3. All Deputy District Attorney's will be trained in Victim/Offender reconciliation, victim services (Marjorie Mason Center, Rape Counseling programs, etc.), and probation services.

4. I will establish better law enforcement liasons within the District Attorney's Office. This will include, as with community liason's, updates on the law, progress in the courts, and an open door for officers/administrators to receive straight information on cases.

C. STRUCTURE OF THE OFFICE

1. The current District Attorney's Office has been ineffective in trial. The citizens of Fresno County deserve better. In order to remedy this dismal record, I will institute the changes in structuring the trial.

2. Deputy District Attorney's will maintain more control and responsibility over their cases than presently. Trial Chief's will maintain some discretion, however, trial teams will meet and confer regularly with superiors about case management and status. Nothing will slip through the cracks.

D. ADMINISTRATIVE PHILOSOPHY

1. Code of ethics.

a. The goal of my office will be to deter the appearance of impropriety within the office, and actual improprieties.

b. As a family man, with school aged children, a stated goal of my administration is for members of my office to be active participants in their family activities.

2. Public service will be encouraged. As public servants, volunteer service will be encouraged. Whether it is coaching little league, involvement in church and civic organizations, I will work to create a more positive presence in the community by members of my office.

3. Office ethical standards: extra-marital affairs between members of the staff will be discouraged. Extra-marital affairs affect "esprit de corp" within the office, and can create liability for the County.

4. Employee's, from staff, investigators, and attorneys have the opportunity to drive county vehicles to and from work related duties. Investigators and other agents of the office need access to these vehicles around the clock, due to their on-call status. There must be an ethics code regarding the use of these vehicles:

a. Zero tolerance for alcohol related driving.

b. All employees will be alcohol/drug tested if involved in an accident while on duty.

5. This is not a 9 to 5 job.

a. Happy and satisfied prosecutors make successful prosecutors.

b. The Fresno County District Attorney's Office is the largest law firm in the Central Valley. Attorney's will be expected to go the extra mile toward providing justice to our citizens. This may mean extra-hours on the job, or coming in on days off to meet the needs of the community. Hard work will be encouraged and rewarded.

c. Flex-scheduling: because trial attorney's often work around the clock when in trial, and office staff are there to support them, we will institute flex- scheduling so they can fulfill the needs of the County for salary purposes, yet have the freedom to control their cases.

d. Every employee will have stated duties within the office, so no "dead time" exists. A review board, consisting of employee's from each sub-department (secretarial, investigative, attorney's, etc.) will meet regularly to fill work "gaps" and ensure smooth operations.

E. HOMELAND SECURITY

1. My administration will develop a unit which will work with local law enforcement to investigate and prosecute terrorism in the County. I have discussed with law enforcement the necessity of these types of prosecution, and will work to obtain convictions in the courtroom.

II PROSECUTION OF CRIMINALS & THE LAW

A. THREE STRIKES

1. For the first time in the County of Fresno, the District Attorney's Office will exercise it's statutory discretion in prosecuting "Three-Strike" offenders. The District Attorney's Office has put the onus on the judges of Fresno County to strike "strikes" for sentencing purposes. That policy has resulted in disparate sentencing, and certain criminals receiving lesser sentences and/or reductions to misdemeanors than if the District Attorney's Office had exercised statutory discretion in filing.

2. I will have a policy where a three strikes evaluation team of experienced prosecutors will decide when the muscle of the law is to be flexed. When individuals are subject to the Three-Strikes law, my office will evaluate on a case-by-case basis, including, but not limited to, the following criteria:

a. Is the current offense a qualifying strike? If so, the criminal will be prosecuted using the entirety of his/her criminal record.

b. Prior Record: Is the defendant a violent criminal? Violence will never be tolerated under my leadership.

c. Habituation: Is the defendant a habitual criminal? Habitual criminals will be taken off the streets and dealt with using the three-strikes law.

d. Recency & Frequency of prior crimes committed by defendant. Is the defendant's record old? Is the defendant on parole or probation?

e. Redeeming qualities of the defendant: Does the defendant, in the totality, fall within the spirit of the law? Is he/she employed, contribute to our community, have intact family, etc.?

f. Harm to the victim. Was the victim injured physically, mentally, or financially, and what is the extent of the injury?

g. If you injure people in Fresno County, you will go to jail under the under Three-strikes.

B. 10-20-LIFE

1. People who choose to use guns in conjunction with crime will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

2. As stated above, a Deputy District Attorney will be on-scene in shooting cases to facilitate prosecution of offenders.

C. JUVENILE JUSTICE

1. The District Attorney's Office will fairly exercise the ability to prosecute juveniles as adults. We won't allow selective treatment of groups; i.e., if the youth offender lives on Van Ness Extension, he/she will be adjudicated the same as the youth living in the housing projects at Clinton & Fresno Streets. Constitutionally, rehabilitation is the controlling factor in prosecution of juveniles, not punishment. With this in mind, serious and violent offenders will be selected, on a case-by-case basis for prosecution/adjudication as adults. An ethnic and gender balanced prosecution committee will assist in determining which juveniles will be subjected to the muscle of the law.

2. Our juvenile hall facility is shameful, and the California Youth Authority facilities are not much better than Fresno County. District Attorney involvement in the community, such as the Keeping Kids in School Program, and other intervention programs are useful. Our District Attorney's Office will focus on rehabilitation of youth when appropriate, and dispositions for the youth will follow factual adjudications of the crime.

D. JUVENILE DEPENDENCY

1. The District Attorney's Office contracts with the County to represent Dependents in Welfare & Institutions Code § 300 cases, and prosecute offending parents.

2. Understanding that these cases have a lifetime of consequences for children and their families, we must concentrate on the best interests of the child. Simply appearing in court is not enough. Our office will be pro-active in working with the court, Department of Social Services, Children's Advocate groups (Casa, etc.) and County Council in these cases. My office will have a presence at, and participate in, parenting classes, rehabilitative services, and other intervention programs. This will facilitate a better understanding of the law for parents, and let the youth know that someone is on their side.

3. The best impact we can make upon juveniles is at the earliest possible stage. The District Attorney is the head of law enforcement. My office will spearhead programs focused on positive contact with law enforcement. Children who become dependents/wards of the court more often than not have only had negative law enforcement experiences. Deputy District Attorneys employed in dependency cases will be educated to provide positive influence for these children, and not loose focus on reunification of the family, when appropriate.

E. FINANCIAL CRIMES, ELDERLY VICTIMS, AND WHITE
COLLAR CRIMINALS

1. The federal government has broader authority to prosecute embezzlement, political fraud, tax evasion, securities violations, and similar financial crimes. Our District Attorney's Office has the ability to prosecute many of these crimes. The current administration has been derelict in prosecuting offenders. I have contacted legislators to pursue available funding for these prosecutions. I will seek out this funding, intestify these prosecutions, and expand the financial crimes unit of our District Attorney's Office.

2. Consumer Protection. The District Attorney's Office has a consumer protection unit which has been ineffective in prosecuting offenders. My administration will file suit/charges, follow-up on the cases, and obtain convictions and/or civilly compromise the cases where the consumer/citizen benefits.

3. Elderly individuals in this community are victimized in financial schemes, by family members, and care-providers too often. My administration will aggressively prosecute those who prey on the elderly. I will work closely with local, state, and federal legislators to secure even more funding for these prosecutions.

III. SUMMARY

I will work diligently and intelligently to restore integrity to the District Attorney's Office in Fresno. I am the only candidate who has not been a part of the current administration. I am uniquely situated to place into effect the changes necessary to achieve integrity, effective prosecutions, and fiscal responsibility within the office. The mechanism is in place, but must be oiled and polished to achieve these goals. I vow to administer the changes as stated above, and I will secure maximum results for the people of Fresno County.