In Alameda County, California, a significant number of misdemeanor charges have been abandoned due to a failure to prosecute within the required timeframe.
This situation has been linked to the office of District Attorney Pamela Price, who assumed her role in January 2023 and is currently facing a recall effort. Price's office has attributed the backlog of cases to the legacy of her predecessor, Nancy OMalley, a claim OMalley has refuted.
According to an investigation by The Post Millennial, over 1,000 misdemeanor criminal cases in Price's files have lapsed due to the statute of limitations. This includes more than 600 cases that, while past their expiration date, are technically still pending and likely to be dismissed, and 360 cases that have been officially declined. All these cases are over a year old.
Among the misdemeanor cases are instances of alleged drunk driving, fraudulent returns of merchandise, and possession of stolen property and illegal weapons. Each case required the police to file a report or misdemeanor citation with the District Attorney's office. The responsibility then falls on the DA to decide whether to charge the individuals and for what offenses, all within a year.
Despite the revelation by staff members to The Post Millennial that over 1,000 cases have now become obsolete, Price has refrained from acknowledging any specific figures, resorting to the standard response of being unable to "confirm or deny" the number. However, The Post Millennial was able to corroborate the number by cross-referencing other city data.
Former employees of Price have indicated that the case backlog began almost immediately after Price took office. The actual number of expired cases could be even higher, as the information obtained by The Post Millennial does not represent all misdemeanor police reports submitted to the DAs office. The data only includes reports provided to prosecutors at the Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse in Oakland and excludes reports from smaller county courthouses and domestic violence cases.
The situation in Alameda County raises questions about the efficiency and effectiveness of the District Attorney's office under Price's leadership. The dismissal of hundreds of misdemeanor cases due to a failure to prosecute in a timely manner not only undermines the rule of law but also potentially endangers public safety. It remains to be seen how this situation will impact Price's ongoing recall effort and the public's trust in her office.
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