Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the District Attorney Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
DA highlights rising trial workload and expands Independent Investigation Bureau staffing
Summary
District Attorney George Gascon outlined increases in jury trials, growth in victim services, and staffing and expense needs for an Independent Investigation Bureau; the committee filed the hearing after Q&A about grant risks and lease arrangements.
District Attorney George Gascon presented his office's budget priorities and performance metrics, noting an increase in jury trials from roughly 212 to 287 in a two-year span and a corresponding rise in work hours per case. He described four major office areas (independent investigation; trial operations; community collaborations; support services) and highlighted growing litigation, translation and expert-witness expenses, plus personnel and fringe cost pressures.
Gascon detailed the Independent Investigation Bureau (IIB), funded in the prior year and now approaching full staffing. The unit contains attorneys and investigators with civil-rights and homicide investigation experience; it currently manages more than two dozen open cases including officer-involved shootings and in-custody deaths and has not yet begun a full conviction-review workload. Gascon asked for recurring funding for litigation expenses and equipment to allow the bureau to operate at full capacity.
He also discussed neighborhood courts and young-adult court expansions and an IT push toward a paperless office to reduce long-term costs. When asked, the DA confirmed some federal grant funding (such as BJA funds) could be at risk under federal policy shifts, and the Controller explained fringe costs are budgeted centrally and can change annually. The committee filed the hearing and thanked the office for the presentation.
