Department: County Administration
Department Head/Elected Official: David Berry
Regular or Supplemental RCA:
? Regular RCA
? Supplemental RCA
Type of Request: Discussion Item
Project ID (if applicable): N/A
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): N/A
MWDBE Participation (if applicable): N/A
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request for discussion and possible action on the criminal case backlog including 1) update on the status of initiatives to reduce the backlog; 2) request to provide $657,465 in ARPA funding for 31 temporary positions to process evidence at the DA as well as 3 programmer positions effective October 23, 2021, while they finalize the technology improvements needed to create a permanent solution; 3) request to approve $1,637,519 in ARPA funding and positions for Associate Judges for the District Criminal Courts effective January 7, 2022.
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Background and Discussion:
Based on the recommendations made by Justice Administration department and the direction by Court on 6/29/2021, there were several initiatives to be further developed and for which the final budget and reporting was to be brought back to Court
Expected Impact:
The overarching impact is expected to be greater efficiency in the functioning of the Criminal Justice System which includes a reduction in case backlog and average time to disposition of cases, as well as hopefully a lower number of individuals in jail awaiting hearing.
Specifically, for the Associate Judges positions, the intended goals and outcomes for the program are:
a. To allow courts more opportunities to explore contested discovery matters.
b. To allow courts more time for contested pretrial matters.
c. To reduce time constraints on the judges from increased dockets.
d. To alleviate time spent by judges on these matters so judges have more time for trials.
For the DA's Evidence Management request, the temporary positions would allow the DA's office to:
1. Clear the backlog of evidence for ...
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