Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied — Marin District Attorney’s Office in Crisis

R1

By November 1, 2023, the Marin County Board of Supervisors should request the Marin County Administrator to hire an independent consultant who reports to the County Administrator's Office to analyze operations of the District Attorney’s Office with the following objectives: reducing the overwhelming caseloads of deputy district attorneys, facilitating timely production of discovery materials, implementing early evaluation of cases to promote plea negotiations, improving office morale, and updating the case management system.

R2

By December 1, 2023, the District Attorney’s Office should hire two or more highly experienced former deputy district attorneys on short term (6 - 12 mos.) contracts whose sole responsibility would be to reduce the backlog of cases through plea negotiations, starting with the longest pending cases.

R3

Once the caseload has been significantly reduced, the District Attorney’s Office should hire experienced deputy district attorneys to maintain caseloads at a manageable level.

R4

By December 1, 2023, the District Attorney’s Office should implement a new process to provide discovery materials (e.g., police report, defendant’s criminal history, and camera footage) to defense counsel within a reasonable time of arraignment.

R5

By December 1, 2023, the District Attorney’s Office should institute a position, such as an expediter, that is primarily responsible for facilitating plea negotiations in misdemeanor cases.

R6

By October 1, 2023, the District Attorney’s Office should hire paralegals to assist attorneys with discovery, witness coordination, and trial preparation.

R7

By November 1, 2023, the District Attorney’s Office should commence providing a quarterly update and statistical report to the Board of Supervisors and the County Administrator’s Office on its progress to reduce the backlog of criminal cases.

R8

By October 1, 2023, people in custody who are awaiting trial should be granted more accommodations than inmates who have been convicted. Possible accommodations include, where appropriate, contact visits with family, utilization of technology (e.g., tablets) within their cells, and contact visits with defense counsel.