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District attorney asks for $12.50 conviction fee to fund DA priorities; commission defers amid fairness concerns
Summary
The district attorney requested a local‑option $12.50 conviction fee—assessed only on convicted defendants with waivers for indigent defendants—to fund evidence processing and technology; some commissioners raised concerns about relying on conviction‑based revenue and disproportionate impacts on low‑income residents, and the item was deferred to June 15 for more review.
District Attorney Steve Mulroy asked the commission to adopt a local option that would permit a $12.50 fee assessed on convicted defendants (with waivers for indigent defendants) to fund DA needs such as software licenses for cell‑phone data analysis, body‑cam processing, and evidence‑management capacity. Mulroy said comparable conviction‑fee funds have supported public defenders for decades in other districts and estimated a similar fee could generate roughly $100,000 annually based on public‑defender receipts in recent years.
Commissioners expressed reservations. Commissioner Sugarman warned that conviction‑based revenue can function like an implicit tax on people already burdened by fines, court costs and insurance impacts, and argued core government functions should be funded through the budgetary process rather than incremental conviction fees. Others asked for projected annual revenue, specific use cases and metrics for evaluating the program’s effect on public safety; the DA’s office cited improved evidence processing and faster case resolution as expected outcomes. The commission voted to defer the matter to the June 15 meeting for further review and information.
