Colusa County District Attorney

 

public prosecutor

The Colusa County District Attorney acts as the public prosecutor for all crimes committed in Colusa County (California Government Code Section 26500). In order to fulfill the duties of public prosecutor, the District Attorney employs attorneys (Deputy District Attorneys), Investigators, and support staff. This duty involves three significant tasks to be completed by the prosecutors: 1) to review all requests from law enforcement agencies for a criminal complaint; and 2) to determine whether to issue the criminal Complaint; and 2) to prosecute all cases for which a complaint has been issued.

DETERMINATION OF WHETHER TO ISSUE A CRIMINAL COMPLAINT


All local law enforcement agencies (Colusa Police Department, Williams Police Department, Colusa County Sheriff's Department, California Highway Patrol, California Department of Fish & Game, Department of Motor Vehicles, etc.), other Colusa County peace officers, and special task forces (District Attorney Bureau of Investigation and Colusa County Narcotic Enforcement Team (NET) agents) submit police reports and requests for the issuance of a criminal Complaint to the District Attorney. Each report and request is reviewed for sufficient evidence to support the criminal charge(s) and the issuance of a criminal complaint. The evidence is reviewed to determine if it is sufficient to prove the charge to a jury "beyond a reasonable doubt."

Following a review of the police reports, the District Attorney's Office may take one of several actions. The District Attorney may: 1) file the charges in a criminal complaint; 2) not issue the criminal complaint, but send the case back to the law enforcement agency with a request for additional investigation; 3) reject or decline the case for a number of reasons. Each request for complaint must be reviewed in a timely manner. This is a difficult task given the number of requests for complaints filed with the District Attorney's Office. It is not unusual for the District Attorney' Office to receive over 120 requests for complaints in a month.

Decision To Deny The Request For Issuance Of A Criminal Complaint
If the request for complaint is denied, no additional work is done on the case by the District Attorney's Office unless a law enforcement officer submits another request with additional evidence. If the suspect was jailed pending the issuance of a complaint, he or she will be released from custody.

Decision Not To Issue Pending Further Investigation
When further investigation is requested, the Deputy District Attorney provides the law enforcement officer with a request for specific additional investigation that is needed before a criminal complaint can be issued. It then becomes the responsibility of the requesting officer to complete the additional investigation and provide the information to the District Attorney's Office before a criminal complaint will be issued.

Decision to Issue A Criminal Complaint
Once the decision to file a complaint has been made, the task of successfully and fairly prosecuting the case begins. There are currently three prosecutors employed in the Colusa County District Attorney's Office. Each prosecutor works on behalf of the People of the State of California to see that individuals who commit crimes are convicted and punished so that justice is accomplished. Once a criminal case is filed, the matter may be resolved by a negotiated disposition, at which a defendant would admit the truth of the charges, or by a trial before a judge or a jury. Resolution can occur within days of filing a complaint or years. Many cases can also be extremely complex, requiring significant law expertise and a significant amount of legal paperwork and procedures to successfully complete the prosecution.

COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How do I contact the Deputy District Attorney who is handling my case?
The most effective form of communication with a Deputy District Attorney is a letter. To find out which deputy is handling the case you are interested in, call (530) 458-0545 and identify the defendant name and/or case number. The individual taking your call should be able to provide the name of a Deputy District Attorney for you to contact. If your matter is pressing, again call (530) 458-0545 and you will be connected with a Deputy District Attorney, or you can leave a message.

Do you have any tips for me so I can prepare for being a witness?

The section of this Website titled Overview of the Criminal Justice System contains information which can assist you in learning about the Criminal Justice System. and, the Victim Witness Services section contains some tips on testifying. The Deputy District Attorney handling your case is also a resource for you.