A more reasonable prosecutor’s office would not have pursued convictions in this questionable cases to begin with. In two of the cases, they were pursued because of orders from the command and leadership structure to the Deputy District Attorney that they must obtain a conviction and under no condition could they drop the charges.
This practice does not serve the public good from a fiscal or policy standpoint. The District Attorney’s Office is to represent the interests of the state in pursuing criminal prosecutions. Often, they mistake that for being a prosecution machine where their job is solely to gain convictions rather than pursue actual justice. Sometime justice requires strong prosecutions to put dangerous criminals behind bars and protect society. However, at other times that means using discretion to realize when the public interest is better served by dropping poor cases against individuals who pose no threat or against whom the cases are weak and questionable to begin with.
It is within this framework that newly elected District Attorney Jeff Reisig enters the picture. Reisig of course came with the support of David Henderson as well as most of the deputy district attorneys in this county. That said there was some hope that policies would change. The evidence so far indicates that the policies have not changed.
One clear example is the establishment of a new bulletin board that tracks the progress of cases. Deputy District Attorney’s get their names placed on the board as the case enters the system and they get their case tracked to an inevitable acquittal or prosecution. The implication is that those with the most prosecutions are doing the best job. In some ways that sounds like a good incentive.
However, the logical conclusion of this policy is the creation of a quota system. This leads to an inevitable continuation if not exacerbation of the current problems in the system.
First, those Deputy District Attorneys with many cases will be looked at more favorably than those with fewer cases. This means that there is an unstated incentive to get more cases onto the board by pursuing prosecutions rather than dropping charges.
Second, those Deputy District Attorneys with more convictions will look more favorably than those with fewer cases. This means again that there is an unstated incentive to obtain more prosecutions. Again this means that there is a disincentive to drop the charges or the case when it is clear like the cases mentioned above that there is a weak case or no strong compelling public interest to pursue charges.
The implication of this is that those Deputy District Attorneys who pursue more cases and obtain more convictions will be promoted, awarded, acknowledged and that those with fewer will not. Thus an unstated quota system emerges from this practice.
Why is this a bad idea? Statistics can be a measure of good performance on the part of prosecutors, however, they can always indicate dogmatism that serves neither the defendant nor the public interest.
We can use a clear example of police quotas for speeding tickets. Is the officer with more speeding tickets issued doing a better job or is he simply pursuing a greater frequency of marginal cases in order to increase his statistics?
The use of such incentives structures moves us in the wrong direction. It is clear that Jeff Reisig is continuing his predecessor’s questionable prosecutorial discretion and in some ways even outdoing it. Yolo County needs to rethink its policies in this area because a lot of people are unfortunately getting caught in the crossfire and most do not have the resources to fight it.
—Doug Paul Davis reporting
Doug… You appear to have reached a conclusion that this board that tracks the progress of cases will be a quota system and then go on to discuss the very negative aspects of such a quota system. I do not see this in the same light. This board’s role should( and I hope is created to be) similar to the peer-review structure that exists in hospitals and law firms to maintain oversight on cases. If this is the function of the DA board, it can be a positive move.
Doug… You appear to have reached a conclusion that this board that tracks the progress of cases will be a quota system and then go on to discuss the very negative aspects of such a quota system. I do not see this in the same light. This board’s role should( and I hope is created to be) similar to the peer-review structure that exists in hospitals and law firms to maintain oversight on cases. If this is the function of the DA board, it can be a positive move.
Doug… You appear to have reached a conclusion that this board that tracks the progress of cases will be a quota system and then go on to discuss the very negative aspects of such a quota system. I do not see this in the same light. This board’s role should( and I hope is created to be) similar to the peer-review structure that exists in hospitals and law firms to maintain oversight on cases. If this is the function of the DA board, it can be a positive move.
Doug… You appear to have reached a conclusion that this board that tracks the progress of cases will be a quota system and then go on to discuss the very negative aspects of such a quota system. I do not see this in the same light. This board’s role should( and I hope is created to be) similar to the peer-review structure that exists in hospitals and law firms to maintain oversight on cases. If this is the function of the DA board, it can be a positive move.
In what way does a board that shows pending cases and whether you got the conviction or not become a peer-review structure?
In what way does a board that shows pending cases and whether you got the conviction or not become a peer-review structure?
In what way does a board that shows pending cases and whether you got the conviction or not become a peer-review structure?
In what way does a board that shows pending cases and whether you got the conviction or not become a peer-review structure?
Doug… I was making the assumption that the board did more than look at a list of pending case and outcomes. You would not need a board for this. As I said, it was my HOPE that the board would have some form of peer-review input for on-going cases as well as an evaluation-review of the outcome of cases.
Doug… I was making the assumption that the board did more than look at a list of pending case and outcomes. You would not need a board for this. As I said, it was my HOPE that the board would have some form of peer-review input for on-going cases as well as an evaluation-review of the outcome of cases.
Doug… I was making the assumption that the board did more than look at a list of pending case and outcomes. You would not need a board for this. As I said, it was my HOPE that the board would have some form of peer-review input for on-going cases as well as an evaluation-review of the outcome of cases.
Doug… I was making the assumption that the board did more than look at a list of pending case and outcomes. You would not need a board for this. As I said, it was my HOPE that the board would have some form of peer-review input for on-going cases as well as an evaluation-review of the outcome of cases.
That is not my understanding of the board nor the implication of the board’s purpose.
That is not my understanding of the board nor the implication of the board’s purpose.
That is not my understanding of the board nor the implication of the board’s purpose.
That is not my understanding of the board nor the implication of the board’s purpose.
Doug.. just reread your piece. Do you mean an actual board(bulletin)? where the names, cases and outcomes are posted? If so, as regards my previous posts, NEVER MIND. I guess the idea of a bulletin board posting was so idiotic to me that I misread the word “board” to mean a group of people sitting aroung a table. That made some sense.
Doug.. just reread your piece. Do you mean an actual board(bulletin)? where the names, cases and outcomes are posted? If so, as regards my previous posts, NEVER MIND. I guess the idea of a bulletin board posting was so idiotic to me that I misread the word “board” to mean a group of people sitting aroung a table. That made some sense.
Doug.. just reread your piece. Do you mean an actual board(bulletin)? where the names, cases and outcomes are posted? If so, as regards my previous posts, NEVER MIND. I guess the idea of a bulletin board posting was so idiotic to me that I misread the word “board” to mean a group of people sitting aroung a table. That made some sense.
Doug.. just reread your piece. Do you mean an actual board(bulletin)? where the names, cases and outcomes are posted? If so, as regards my previous posts, NEVER MIND. I guess the idea of a bulletin board posting was so idiotic to me that I misread the word “board” to mean a group of people sitting aroung a table. That made some sense.
Good point–I edited “board” so that it reads “bulletin board” so that it is clear to everyone exactly what is being used. To clarify–I don’t mean that they created a board as in a group of people, but a bulletin board that tracks cases, DDAs, and victories.
Good point–I edited “board” so that it reads “bulletin board” so that it is clear to everyone exactly what is being used. To clarify–I don’t mean that they created a board as in a group of people, but a bulletin board that tracks cases, DDAs, and victories.
Good point–I edited “board” so that it reads “bulletin board” so that it is clear to everyone exactly what is being used. To clarify–I don’t mean that they created a board as in a group of people, but a bulletin board that tracks cases, DDAs, and victories.
Good point–I edited “board” so that it reads “bulletin board” so that it is clear to everyone exactly what is being used. To clarify–I don’t mean that they created a board as in a group of people, but a bulletin board that tracks cases, DDAs, and victories.
I can see how a bulletin board could be effective in helping to monitor progress of cases. It would be a good thing if it helped increase focus on speeding things along.
However, I agree the monitoring of convictions is a big negative. The goal should be how many times justice prevailed, not how many convictions can be posted onto a wall. I think most people think DA’s have some interest in justice – unfortunately that is not the case and everything comes down to “winning”. SAH