(endorsed) Megan Doyle Clerk of the Board Sep

R2b

Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors should require the PDO to issue report explaining how it educates its staff as to the ramifications of slow felony-case dispositions and how it holds staff accountable, by December 31, 2018. Response: The respondent agrees with the finding and recommendation. It is further recommended that the report be forwarded to the Public Safety and Justice Committee for discussion.

R3a

The DA and PDO should use identical benchmarks when publishing felony-case statistics.

R3b

The DA and PDO should start tracking cases for special attention when they have been in the process for six months, starting by Dec. 31, 2018. Memorandum 8/21/2018

R3c

The DA should publish an annual report on the number of felony cases that remain unresolved after six months and include estimates on how many of those cases could be resolved , starting Dec. 31, 2018.

R3d

The PDO should publish an annual report on the number of felony cases that remain unresolved after six months and include estimates on how many of those cases could be resolved , starting Dec. 31, 2018.

R3e

The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors should require the PDO to publish an annual report on the number of felony cases that remain outstanding after six months, and include estimates on how many of those cases could be resolved , starting Dec. 31, 2018.

R4

Santa Clara County should direct the offices of the Public Defender, the Alternate Defender and the Independent Defense Counsel to report annually on the average time from the filing of charges to the entry of a plea in its felony cases, and provide comparison figures for the counties in Table 3, starting with the 2019 fiscal year. Response to Finding and Recommendation 4: The PDO disagrees with Finding 4. While it is true that the PDO and ADO in general do not enter pleas at the first arraignment date, there are many very good reasons why this is the practice, and it does not contribute to delay. Entering a plea triggers statutory timelines for preliminary examination. Many cases settle prior to a preliminary examination. This is possible 4 8/21/2018 Memorandum because not entering a plea at the first court date allows time for discovery, investigation, ordering of records, and discussion with clients, which frequently result in an early plea without victims, witnesses, or police officers having to come to Court to testify unnecessarily. That work must be done to ensure constitutionally sound representation, and it is preferable to do it early on in the case so that counsel can advise clients whether to negotiate a disposition or proceed to trial. A plea at arraignment would preclude that work being completed prior to the preliminary hearing, potentially having the unintended consequence of increasing inefficiency and expense. For example, additional court appearances, including time-consuming formal preliminary hearings, would likely increase cost and waste time that could be focused on preparing and resolving cases. . 5 . . County of Santa Clara Office of the County Executive County Government Center, East Wing 70 West Hedding Street, 11th Floor San Jose, California 95110 (408) 299-5105 Date: August 10, 2018 To: Miguel Marquez, Chief Operating Officer From: Garry Herceg, Deputy County Executive Adopted: 08/28/2018 Subject: Response to Civil Grand Jury Follow Up Report Justice Still Delayed Please accept this response to the to the Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury Report dated June 21, 2018.