COM 0193.017 2006-2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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District court deputies handle a total of 186 traffic/criminal calendars per month island-wide. These calendars do not include the misdemeanor domestic violence cases as those are heard on different days in East Hawaii. The traffic/criminal calendazs cover every type ofcrime/violation from barking dogs and no-fault insurance to assaults, drug cases and criminal property damage. The calendars also include regulatory violations from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, the State Harbors Division, the Department of Transportation and other departments. The district court deputy is responsible for reviewing misdemeanor and traffic cases investigated by the police and making a decision on whether or not to file a criminal charge. The review process includes reading police reports, communicating with the investigating officer, and interviewing potential witness and victims. Within the past five months a backlog within the Records Department of the Police Department created the need to expedite reviews on several hundred cases to ensure that prosecution could proceed within the statute of limitations. This additional responsibility has strained the attorney and clerical resources. Family Court The Office of the Prosecuting Attorney continues to assign one Hilo and one Kona deputy to handle Family Court cases. Additionally, our North Hawaii deputy handles all of the Family Court cases for the Hamakua, North and South Kohala azeas. During the 2007 - 2008 fiscal years, we expect to take on more responsibilities regazding screening and petitioning all the misdemeanor cases involving juveniles, which is an additional workload not only for the attorneys, but for the clerical support staff. The goals of the Family Court unit are: ¦ Early identification by all participants of the criminal justice system; • Expedited processing through the criminal justice system; • Intense monitoring of a juvenile's criminal activity and more meaningful sentencing; • Maintaining a network with other agencies to exchange information on gang identification, gang activities and case dispositions. These agencies include probation, police, Department of Education, Family Court and other private agencies; • Promoting prevention programs through schools and Community organizations. Forfeiture Proiect Federal and State Forfeiture programs are intended to impose economic sanctions on persons for the profits derived from criminal activity. The instrumentality used or intended to be used to facilitate the commission of covered offenses can be forfeited. The State Forfeiture Program is administered by the State Attorney General's Office and the federal program by the IJ.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration. Our goal is to continue efforts to forfeit assets acquired through illegal activity or used for illegal activity. Forfeitures take the profitability out of illegal activity and places 9