Understanding how the prosecutors will handle your case or your loved one's case is a crucial step in taking control of your situation. Whether you're arrested and in jail, needing to post bail, or cited in court, this understanding is key.
It throws you into a tailspin, and it starts a process by which people have a lot of anxiety and pressure because, again, they're losing control of their situation, their life, and their future.
The fear of being thrown into custody is just one of the many potential consequences of a criminal record. Other issues, such as losing the right to own a weapon or vote, can significantly impact your life. These are the societal issues that come up when your record is checked, for example, when you apply for a job.
District Attorney's Office Prosecutes Criminal Cases
Understanding how the system works is the first step in taking control of your case and navigating the criminal justice system. In Pomona's courthouse, the District Attorney's office is responsible for prosecuting cases.
The police investigate the cases. They write a police report and do whatever they think they must do. Then they turn over all their information to the prosecutors who are lawyers like me, who will go over everything, decide what charges to file, and then decide what position they will take in dealing with the case. So understanding how they work and how they're set up is beneficial.
There's about a thousand prosecutors in Los Angeles county. Pomona is one of the jurisdictions in the east-end of Los Angeles and the criminal cases are dealt with by the District Attorney's office who basically has the hierarchy of having a deputy in charge.
This is a prosecutor in charge of that particular location who obviously has to answer to the head deputy of Los Angeles County, Jackie Lacey. Obviously, she has other bosses that that prosecutor will have to deal with if there are any issues.
But that particular prosecutor is in charge of Pomona — calls all the shots, deals with all the big cases, and decides whether or not strikes will be stricken in a case. If it's a murder case that's under that prosecutor's jurisdiction they're usually the one who is going to make the final decision on whether there's going to be an offer in the case. So, all of the severe cases will usually go through that prosecutor.
Assistant Head Deputy in Pomona Court
Moving down from there, there's usually a second in command — an assistant head deputy. The DA's office in Pomona — in any of the offices — is basically like a corporation where they have a power structure.
The assistant head deputy will also deal with cases. It will obviously deal with disciplining any of the prosecutors, but usually, it's more in touch with the courts, dealing with cases, the prosecutors, and defense attorneys.
Then moving down from there you have the prosecutors who staff the trial courts and then the prosecutors are kind of running around doing preliminary hearings. In Pomona, which is a special court, they've got a prosecutor who just sits in Dept. F and is usually responsible for resolving just general cases.
That prosecutor actually has a lot of power because many cases go through Pomona's doors, so that prosecutor is going to touch most of them. Unless they're specially assigned to certain prosecutors, that prosecutor in Department F will be their calendar deputy who sits in there and makes all of the case offers. So, that's usually who you're dealing with if you're a criminal defense attorney trying to resolve your case.
Negotiation with Pomona Prosecutors
If you find yourself unable to resolve the case with the prosecutor, your defense attorney can step in. In Pomona, as in most cases, the head deputy usually holds the power to strike a strike, unless they delegate that authority to the second in command.
So, usually if it's a strike case and you're trying to get one strike stricken, two strikes stricken in the Pomona court you're usually going to want to go to the head deputy. If it's a serious case — a murder case, an attempted murder case — you're usually going to want to go through the head deputy.
The head deputy wants to avoid having to deal with every single case. Otherwise, they'll be inundated with too many cases and unable to do anything. So, if they're smart, they will give some power to the second in command and then provide some power to the deputies.
But usually, you can bet if it's a severe case, the defense attorney will have to go through that head deputy to deal with it. Otherwise, you're negotiating with the prosecutors assigned to the case.
If you reach an impasse, we will have to decide whether to take the case to the second in charge or to the head prosecutor in a Pomona court.
You're usually going to stay within the head prosecutor. Other prosecutors in downtown Los Angeles, kind of their power structure, are not generally going to trump the head prosecutor in any of the courts, including Pomona. So, it's usually something that you're not likely to see happen.
Judge's Don't Normally Get Involved
Typically, the judge will not interfere with the prosecutor's decisions. However, there are circumstances where you may be able to present your case to the judge and see if they will challenge the prosecutor's decision.
Usually, you will do that with the judge in the department. F, but other judges have the authority because they control the sentence in all criminal cases. So, unless it's a case where there's mandatory minimum sentences — the prosecutor controls that — the judge is usually not going to dismiss a case unless you do a preliminary hearing and convince the judge that the prosecutor doesn't have a case.
So, suppose you've got a case in the Pomona court and need an attorney with experience dealing with these prosecutors and the power structure there. In that case, you'll want to come to somebody like me, who has 26 years of experience dealing with all sorts of cases and knows how to maneuver a case through the Pomona courthouse.
