Statement of views

By Gordon Gower Panzak

Gordon Gower Panzak's statement of views.

1) The D.A.'s office is the weakest link in the Chain of Law Enforcement. It is dysfunctional and needs to be re-organized, re-trained and properly lead.

2) When the current regime came into power the conviction rate at trial was 95 %. It is now only 50% This is unacceptable!

3) The D.A.'s office has not been re-organized in 20 years; it is compartmentalized and needs to re-organized to be more flexible. A Chief and 2 Senior deputies should be assigned to each major area of prosecution (homicide, domestic violence, narcotics, White Collar Crime, sex crimes). They should be responsible for filing all cases in their area of responsibility, keeping the most serious cases for trial and assigning out the other cases to the trial teams. They should train and oversee these assigned trials.

4) There is no program to encourage specialization within the office. All deputies should be encouraged to seek specialization, all Chief and Senior deputies must have an in-office specialization.

5) There is no basic training for entry-level attorneys. This must be remedied by pairing them off with a Senior deputy that will teach them "the ropes"

6) There is no comprehensive training program aimed at raising trial proficiency. All Chiefs, Seniors, and specialized D.A.'s will be responsible for the training of new attorneys, monthly newsletters on updates in their areas of specialization and annual training of all attorney staff.

7) There is no effective White Collar Crime Unit. I will personally train this unit and the assigned investigators. The deputies assigned will be hand selected, and must be capable of handling complex cases that can take several years to complete.

8) Most Chief deputies and administrators aren't trying cases - all supervisors must lead by example and do trials

9) The D.A.'s office has been leaderless and without a moral compass for the past 10 years. It is riddled with inefficiency and corruption. It is time for new leadership, re-organization, and training to meet the challenges of the New Century.