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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0140.012 2000-2002 OFFICE OF THE PROSECUTING ATTORNEY 2001 - 2002 FL.CCAi. YEAR The Office of the Prosecuting Attorney for the County of Hawaii has submitted a budget which reflects the current fiscal condition of the County. This does not, however, include funding for positions requested to bring staffing up to the optimum level that would enable effective execution and enforcement of the law. At minimum, we need to add two positions which will germinate on July 31, 2001 when federal funds expire. These positions are part of a specialized unit which has effectively demonstrated its need FY 7995 - 2000 , ~ R[{:EIVED ,,,1 2sooo Stoooooo rm.- 22500 20834 20800 Gourdy CourrGl ~ Fc 20000 19755 5900000 17500 15866 16350 15000 14261 5800000 12500 5703600 10000 5684500 5700000 7500 5607400 5603000 5616786 5000 5598842 5800000 2500 0 E500000 94-95 95-96 96-97 97-98 98-99 99-00 ® Criminal Referrals (Y1) ~ Operating Expenditures (Y2) and benefit to the office and the community. The Office has been continually faced with fiscal constraints while the population and demand for prosecution services has continued to rise. As n;ferrals and caseloads have increased, County operating expenditures have declined for the last six budget cycles as illustrated in the table shown. Comm Na ~ ' ~ 2 F91e No. Ref. To: h~i~M'N Ref, Hate MAR 2 8 2001 In an effort to proactively address the fiscal limitations of the County budget, the Office has identified special areas of concern and has secured State and Federal funding to supplement and enhance limited County resources. Among State and Federal funded programs are: Career Criminal (CCP), Aid to Victims (VW), Violence Against Children, Victims of Crime and Violence Against Women. Grant revenues currently account for 30 of the 85 positions in the Office and for 32% of the total Office budget. These sources, however, cannot supplant or be relied upon to fund County operations. The current State I.egislattae has indicated their intention to cut CCP and V W by at least 10% for the next fiscal year. Other grant programs are generally limited to a period of from 3 - 4 years. j007-2002 Revenue ar o.Mew..r . m o..r r,.r ees The Office has worked actively with other public and private agencies and community groups to educate the public and improve the criminal justice system. Through the federal Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grant (JAIBG) the Office will develop a Comprehensive Juvenile Justice Straxgic Plan and will support efforts to establish a Juvenile Drug Court Program. In addition, the Office obtained a competitive federal grant to establish the Community Empowerment Organization (CEO) to address crime related problems by using multidisciplinary community-based methods. Our Community Oriented Prosecutor continues to work very closely with Community Police Officers in educating and empowering communities to unify against crime. As you review our budget, please consider as our policy statement the following: ¦ That prosecution and public safety are core functions of the County of Hawaii; • That an effective Prosecutor's Office is an essential part of providing for the safety of our community; ¦ That the necessary resources will be provided to those who go face to face with murderers, robbers, rapists and give support to victims of their crimes; and ¦ That the laws establishing our rnmmunity's norms and holding people acrnuntable for their actions will be fairly and effectively enforced. This Office is committed to working with you toward a safer and stronger Big Island. OFFICE OF THE PROSECUTING ATTORNEY COUNTY OF HAWAII The Office of the Prosecuting Attorney is the legal agency responsible for prosecuting all violations of State and County laws, ordinances, rules and/or regulations on behalf of the Big Island community as provided by Hawaii County Charter Articie IX: Chapter 28; H.RS. 28-1. Offices are located in Hilo, Kealakekua and Waimea to serve Big Island tssidents. The Office is divided into five units: The Administrative Unit; Attorneys Unit; Victim Assistance Unit; Investigative Unit; and Clerical Support Unit. Staffing includes: 55 county funded; and 30 State/Federal funded positions. ADMIATISTRATTVE UNIT Administration: The Prosecuting Attorney, First Deputy Prosecuting Attomey and Business Manager direct the day to day operations of the office with regard to managing the legal, fiscal, personnel, equipment and facilities maintenance of the operation and coordinating staff meetings, training and other adminisaative services. Secretarial Services: This section provides clerical support to Administration and assists in the day to day operations of the office. Fiscal Services: Provrdes for professional accounting in accordance with standard accounting practices whrle coordinating the fiscal efforts of the State, County, and Federal programs. These employees provide financial analysis, budgeting, and preparaaon of financial statements and reports, in addition to day to day operational needs with regard to requirements of the County's Department of Finance. Management Information Services: Coordinates daily operation of Wang mini computers; a Macintosh LAN; a PC network; and telecommunications linking the Wang computers to the County and Police system as well as the City 8c County of Honolulu and State of Hawaii. Work mcludes analysis and evaluation of office operating procedures, work methods and information needs in order to develop data processing systems and related work procedures for the automation processes and the capture storage, retrieval of information and implementation plans. Volunteer Services Coordinator: Recruits, trains and places volunteers to assist within the Office. Also provides volunteer recruitment and training for the 24-hour Domestic Violence Hospital Urgent Response Team (DV HURT). The voluntcer services coordinator also assists the Community Oriented Prosecutor in networking and outreaching to the community. ATTORNEY'S UNIT The Attorney's Unit, divided among East, West and North Hawaii offices, handle all criminal cases that occur in their respective districts. East Hawaii's 17 deputies cover the districts of North and South Hilo and Puna and Hamakua, South Kohala and Ka'u felony trials. The six West Hawaii deputies cover the districts of North and South Kona and Ka'u. The one attorney in North Hawaii covers the districts of Hamakua, South Kohala and North Kohala with the exception of felony trials. Thera exists specialized sub-units within the attorney's unit. Attorney Regponsibilities ADVISING: Police (f~D)/Law Enforcement Agencies Other Government Agencies Victim/Witnesses General Public -not witness or victim Legislators GYime Prevention Groups Private Law Enforcement Groups (security) TRAINING: Intra-Office Personnel Police Department, i.e., police recruits, recall training Other law enforcement agencies, i.e., DLNR Public/Private Agencies, i.e., CPS, DHS, SANE, Hospitals, Firz Department, DOE Students in Mock Trial Program ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS: Parole Hearings MISCELLANEOUS: Public Speaking Committee meetings/membership Networking with other agencies Public educadonfreladons Interagency assistance Deputy prosecutors provide ongoing assistance to police by carrying pagers for after hour calls regarding potential criminal charging of defendants and review of search warrant affidavits. Calls from Hawaii County Police Department are received at all hours of the night. Deputy prosecutors rotate on call duty and all supervisors ars required to carry pagers and remain available to the police and other deputy prosecutors for consultation on cases afar hours. The number of after hour calls average nine per week with deputy prosecutors on pager duty approximately 600 hours per week. Deputies typically spend time beyond the normal 8 hour day to complete the work needed on their cases. The range of hoots expended varies depending on the needs of the case, whether the case is in trial, trial preparation, whether witnesses can be contacted during business hours and the like. On average, deputies spend 170 hottrs per week over the normal work week. Typically the range of hours in excess of a regular work week averages 170 and can exceed 250 for all the deputies in any given week. Career Criminal Prog~ Historically, the Career Criminal Program was established pursuant to chapter, 845, Hawaii Revised Statutes, and revised October 1980 and October 1985. Its purpose was quick identification, prosecution, and conviction of those persons making a career of crime. The reason the State Legislature enacted the career criminal statute was because it found that a substantial and disproportionate amount of serious crime was being committed against the people by a relatively small number of multiple and repeat felony offenders. The vision was that sentences for these career criminals would meaningfully guarantee the community their right of security and protection. Focus is then on the offender, and not simply the crime. From the onset, the objectives have been incazceradon of the criminal at all stages of the criminal justice process; conviction on the most serious charge, whether by plea or trial; expedited processing of cases; and maximum incarceration of convicted career cnmmals. Individuals subject to career criminal prosecution efforts as provided in Chapter 845 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes include those who: 1. Have 2 or more felony convictions within the last 5 yeazs 2. Have 1 or more felony conviction and 2 or more misdemeanor convictions and/or arrests within the last 3 yeazs 3. Have been convicted and/or arrested for the offense of felon in possession of a fuearm within the last 5 years 4. Are on pazole 5. Are on probation 6. Are on bond awaiting appeal 7. Are on bond awaiting a trial 8. Are known or suspected to be an associate of organized crime 9. Are known or suspected of recurring or ongoing criminal activity 10. Have no adult record but have an extensive juvenile record 11. Are juveniles with extensive records who have been waived to the circuit court for trial In the early years of the program, the specialized unit functioned via vertical prosecution vnth two deputies, three clerical and one investigator. In the late 1980's four deputies, two clerical, and one investigator were added. Since the acquisition of a legal assistant in 1993 two positions have remained vacant due to decreased state funding. The objective of the unit has not changed. It is still to arrest, chazge and incarcerate career criminals as quickly as possible. Once incarcerated, our goal is to kcep them in jazl, pretrial and after sentencing. In order to meet our goals, a CCP deputy is accessible by pager 24 hours a day. Personal contact is maintained with the Criminal Investigation Division of the Hawaii County Police Deptuvrrent through an expedited conferral process to get the career criminal cases quickly into our system. We also do the following to achieve our goals: ¦ Assign experienced attorneys to the CCP cases; • Begin early tracking of high nsk juveniles who most likely will be considered CCP defendants as adults; ¦ Increase the number of arrested and charged cases involving CCP defendants; ¦ Request high bail or commitment without bail; ¦ Immediately file revocations of bail and revocations of supervised release; ¦ Frle motions for enhanced sentencings such as mandatory minimum perms, consecutive teens of imprisonment, and extended terms of imprisonment. Our communities need to feel safe from these criminals, and the only way to do tha[ is to devote a special unit [o prosecute them aggressively and expeditiously. We have done that, and we pledge to continue our efforts with the continued fmancial support of the legislature. Circuit Court The Circuit Court Units of the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney services three courtrooms, one in Kona and two in Hilo. The Kona office unit is comprised of four attorneys and the Hilo unit is comprised of five. These units are responsible for the prosecution of all felonies within the County of Hawaii for crimes ranging from theft cases to the most vicious homicides. Felony cases consist of any case where there is the possibility of a state prison sentence, while misdemeanor cases can subject the defendant to a period of up to one year in jail. Defendants in misdemeanor cases are entitled to jury trials. When such a request is made the circuit court unit is responsible for the prosecution of misdemeanor jury trials. The unit continues to actively prosecute these cases. The bulls of cases result in a plea of guilty or no contest by the defendant but must still be preparrd as if the case were to be tried by a jury. The preparation of the case ofun results in its disposition short of trial. Defendants do not have to plead guilty to any crime and can insist that this office prove their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt to a jury or to a judge. The Circuit Court Unit is also responsible for a variety of other matters including all appeals from felony convictions, writ practice in both Federal and State Court, evidentiary hearings relating to motions in felony and misdemeanor cases that are set for jury trial, felony senuncing proceedings, probation revocation hearings, parole board heanngs, assistance to the Police Department with officer training, review of search warrants, and afar hour pager duty. District Court The Hawaii County Prosecutor's Office covers seven district courts islandwide. Two and a half deputies in East Hawaii, one in North Hawaii and two in West Hawaii, handle all of the misdemeanor and traffic cases for Hawaii County. District Court deputies spend approximately 1/4 to 1/3 of their time processing traffic violations on calendars as well as in trials. District court deputies handle a total of 92 traffic%riminal calendars per month islandwide. These calendars do not include the misdemeanor domestic violence cases as those are heard on different days in East Hawaii. The traffic/criminal calendars cover every type of crime/violation from barking dogs and no-fault instrrance to assaults, drug cases, criminal property damage, and also include regulatory violations from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, the State Harbors Drvision, the Department of Transportation and other departments. 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 areas. The goals of the Family Court unit aze• ¦ Early identification by all pamcipants of the criminal justice system; ¦ Expedited processing through the criminal justice system; ¦ Intense monitoring of a juvenile's criminal activity and more meaningful senuncing; ¦ 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 privau agencies; ¦ Promoting prevention programs through schools and Community organizations. Forfeiture Proiect The Stau Forfeiture Law, Chapter 712A of the Hawaii Revised Statutes, as amended, is rounded to impose economic sanctions on persons for the profits derived from criminal activity. The instrumentality used or rounded to be used to facilitate the commission of covered offenses can be forfeited. The Forfeiture Program is administered by the State Attorney General's Office. Forfeitures can be processed administratively by the State Attorney General's Office or judicially (for real estate and other htgh value assets). Successful forfeiture prosecutions are joint efforts by the Hawaii County Police Department, the Prosecutor's Office, and the Department of the Attorney General. The Police and Prosecutor's Office each receive 25% of the forfeited asset after the asset is sold. These monies or forfeited items may be used for law enforcement purposes and cannot be used to supplant the County's budget. 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 the asset or the proceeds from the assets to use for law enforcement. We have found that forfeitures aze an effective deterrent to criminal activity. Prosently, forfeitures are done part-time by one attorney, a legal assistant and a secretary. They manage all forfeiture cases and network with local police, the Attorney General's Office, Federal drug enforcement agencies, and the Federal Postal Forfeiture Unit. Our office has networked with State law enforcement agencies on the mainland when defendants have been active in illegal drug activities both here and in other states. We have initiated and participated in a joint effort with the Federal DEA on seizures from major drug dealers. Statistics reflect that this effort has also brought thousands of dollazs to the County of Hawari from forfeited assets giving the County of Hawaii additional funds for law enforcement purposes. Domestic Violence Unit Two attorneys, one each in Hilo and Kona, are specially assigned to prosecute domestic violence cases in District Family Court. These cases principally involve abuse of family or household member and violation of an order for protection charges. Another attorney is also specially assigned to handle domestic violence cases in Circuit Family Court. The primary benefits to specially assigning deputies to these cases ate: 1) prompt tntervention by our office; 2) deputies knowledge of the background of repeat offenders and victims; 3) consistency in the prosecution of the cases; and 4) familiarity of the deputy with people and agencies that are involved in the area of domestic violence. Violence Against Children Unit NACI In an effort to continue to address the problem of family violence in the County of Hawaii, the Office applied for and received a grant to deal with cases involving child physical and sexual abuse. The grants goal, to "bemr protect children and hold offenders accountable by tmproving the prosecution and interagency response to violence against children," further extends the concepts of protection for the wmmunity that was first addressed by the domestic violence project. Funded by an Edward Byrne Memorial Grant, the Violence Against Children Unit includes a deputy prosecuting attorney, an investigator, a victim assistance counselor and a legal clerk. One of the primary objectives of this grant is to develop a county-wide protocol between police, prosecutors, child protective workers, schools, family court, guardian ad lrtems, and substance abuse, mental health and other service providers to betur process child physical abuse cases. Interagency coordination is essential for effective prosecution. The project funding is limited to four years and will end on July 31, 2001. VICTLM/W1TN_F.SS ASSISTANCR tiN1T NAUI - The State established victim-witness assistance programs in the Department of the Attorney General to be implemented by the County prosecutors under HRS 28-111 "to provide information, assistance, and support services to the victims of and witnesses to crimes committed in the state." HRS 801D, more commonly known as the Victims' Bill of Rights, recognized the civil and moral duty of victims and witnesses to cooperate with law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies, and the importance of such cooperation for the general effectiveness and well being of the criminal justice system of this State. I3RS 801D also declared the intent to ensuro that all victims and witnesses of crimes are treated with drgnity, rospect, courtesy and sensitivity, and that the rights are honored and protected in a manner no less vigorous than the protections afforded criminal defendants. The victim counselors provide a multitude of services to victims, their significant others, and witnesses of crimes to minimize the oftentimes adverse impact of the criminal justice sysum. The services include, but are not limned to, notification of case and offender status, court procedure orientation, court accompaniment to provide support, assistance with criminal injuries compensation, property return, assistance with victim input for sentencing, plea agreements, and Parole Board minimum term hearings, transportation, emergency services (food, clothing, shelter, restrainrng orders), intercession with employers and creditors, referrals, short term and crisis counseling, making travel and other arrangements for returning witnesses, witness coordination to lessen the amount of time spent waiting at court, provrdrng a secure waiting area for witnesses away from defendants, providing support during interviews of victims of child abuse, domestic violence, sex assault and other sensitive cases in addition to other services to deputies, presentations to community organtzations and training to other agencies. The counselors also coordinate witnesses at gzand jury hearings, provide support and information to witnesses and call in returns and changes to the indictment. The clerical staff of the unit ate responsible for providing clerical support to the counselors and the coordinator. In addition, the Senior Clerk-Stenographer makes travel arrangements far returning witnesses and program staff. The Unit is staffed by fifteen positions: three funded by the Federal Victims of Crime Act grant, one by the Federal Violence Against Children grant, seven by the State Victim/Witness grant and four by the County. Present positions are as follows: County - ~ Coordinator -Hilo Counselor II -Hilo Counselor II -Kona Counselor I -Hilo Federal - Counselor II -Hilo Counselor II -Hilo 3/4 Time Clerk-Steno -Hilo Counselor I -Kona State - Counselor II -Kona Counselor II -Hilo Counselor I -Hilo Counselor I -Hilo vacant Sr. Clerk-Stenographer -Hilo Sr. Clerk-Typist -Kona Clerk-Stenographer -Hilo During the last six months of 2000, the unit provided services to 3,424 people. The office has developed a victim notification system where victims are now automatically notified when a case is referred to the office and when trial, change of pleas, and sentencings ors scheduled. Over 5000 notification letters were sent out in 2000. The Victim Assistance Unit is the only program that is available to ALL victims and witnesses of crime. The Unit's services dirsctly benefit the people of Hawaii County. However, the benefits would be seriously affected if funding is insufficient to maintain the present staff. INVESTIGATIONS UNIT The Investigations Unit consists of six investigators. Four are county funded, one is funded under the State Career Criminal Program (CCP) grant and one under the federal Violence Against Children (VAC) grant. The CCP investigator is assigned all cases that involve offenders that qualify as a career criminal undo the Hawaii Revised Statutes. This allows the investigator to concentrate on assisting solely in the preparation of cases for these types of offenders. The VACA investigator is assigned all felony cases where a violent act has been committed against a child victim. Also part of the VACA investigator's duties is to develop a database of offenders and to track offenders as they progress through the system. Generally, this unit conducts investigations in a variety of cases, from simple traffic cases to cases of the most complex, confidential and diverse nature. The primary responsibility of the unit is to assist the attomeys in preparing cases for trial. This includes: conducting follow-up investigations on cases refereed to the office by the Hawaii County Police Department, preparing exhibits for courtroom presentations, locating and securing the testimony of expert wimesses, coordinating appearance of witnesses at trial and monitoring bench warrants. In addiaon, the unit is also responsible for assisting rn locating and apprehension of fugraves. The unit, with the cooperation and assistance of the Hawaii County Police Department and other law enforcement agencies locally, nationally and internationally, attempts to locate and return fugitives back to Hawaii County. i .Rr';Ai . l'i .FRT(' Ai . i TATi'1' The Office of the Prosecuting Attorney has the lazgest legal clerical staff in Hawaii County with seventeen clerical employees in the Hilo Office, five clerical employees in the Kona Office, and one island-wide supervisor. The unit provides assistance to office attorneys and investigators. Administration and the Vrctim Assistance Unit have their own clerical staff. Responsibilities include: Hilo: District Court (Kilo, Puna, S. Kohala, Hamakua) Family Court (Hilo, Puna, S. Kohala, Hamakua, Ka'u) Circuit Court (Hilo, Puna, Ka'u, S. Kohala, Hamakua) Grand Jury (Hilo, Puna, Ka'u, S. Kohala, Hamakua) Receptionist Supervisors Kona: District Court & Family Court (Kona, N. Kohala) Circuit Court (Kona, N. Kohala) & Grand Jury (Kona, N. Kohala) South Kohala: no clerical position Unique demands placed upon the legal clerical staff -time constraints, ever- increasing court requirements, and the public's and other agencies' demands for more services done in less time -continue to strain the unit. Over the past several yeazs then; has been a significant increase in the volume of cases, primarily on the misdemeanor level. The staff continues to work diligently to handle the volume despite no additional staff positions. Doing more and doing it faster leads to increased frustration and difficulty in maintaining acceptable efficiency levels. In addition to doing traditional legal work, the clerical staff is responsible for input and update of case information to the Office's File Access Case Tracking System (FACT'S). FACT'S is utilized by staff as well as by Police, Public Safety and some branches of the Judiciary. An average of 360 to 400 new charges are input weekly once cases are referred from the Police Departrnent or when defendants are detained pending arraignment. Traffic citations are not generally input into the system until the offender erects to go to trial. This then requires input to the case tracking system and additional processing, including creation of case files, processing of discovery, and issuing subpoenas to witnesses. Throughout, computer arcking input must be done to document the status, file location, and calendar disposition of each case. As Hawaii County's economy has declined, an increasing number of defendants have been unable to make restitution payments, pay fines or do required community service. This results in their returning to District Court prompting further tracking by our clerical staff. The increase in contempt of court charges, domestic abuse cases, and defendants requesting legal counsel also requites additional processing by legal clerks. It has been difficult for our Kona clerical staff to keep up with the rising number of cases, and over the past two years we have shifted work to the Hilo office to provide assistance. Through active recruitment by our Volunteer Services Coordinator, we have utilized volunteers and work development training programs. While this assistance is greatly appreciated, the general short-term nature and constant training required places additional demands on the staff. Our office is the largest litigation office in Hawaii County. We are proud of our clerical staff's professionalism and the contribution they make to our litigation efforts. Along with the other support units, the clerical staff provide quality legal services to the public.