This proposal restores the “Holds Team” established under the 1998 Public Safety Levy to expedite the disposition of local charges when an offender cannot be released on a releasable local charge due to an extra jurisdictional hold for the prisoner’s transport. The goal in reaching the earliest possible resolution of the local offense is to transport the prisoner to the holding jurisdiction and make the jail bed available.

Budget Range: Under $100k

Status: Partially implemented as of 9/24 workgroup meeting
The District Attorney's Office is making significant progress in developing an expedited docket to process cases with holds that keep inmates unnecessarily in our jail system. Eligible cases will primarily involve Distribution of a Controlled Substance and Manufacturing of a Controlled Substance; attorneys will also attempt to expedite certain property cases, though they will not establish a separate docket. The DA's Office expects to see a significant reduction in use of jail beds and case processing time. The first phase of that plan will go into effect on 9/28/09.

[Note: Not implemented as of 8/12/09 workgroup meeting
Although this proposal would require no additional resources to implement and would likely increase the number of available jail beds while decreasing DA caseload size, the proposal will need strong support and commitment from the courts before it can move forward. Many public safety partners have been reluctant to endorse a strategy to expedite cases with extra-jurisdictional holds until they see clear evidence of the strategy’s effectiveness at reducing case processing time without altering the disposition outcome of a case. The District Attorney's Office may be able to supply evidence that under Judge Wilson's leadership, cases moved through the system at a faster rate and the office experienced a significant decrease in caseload size for prosecuting attorneys.]


Last updated September 2009