On November 23, the Albuquerque Journal published a front page below the fold article entitled “Gov. urged to appoint deputy DA to office”. The article reported that group of 49 prosecuting attorneys in the Albuquerque based 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office signed and sent a letter requesting Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham to appoint 1 of 3 current Deputy District Attorneys to replace Raúl Torrez as District Attorney. The 49 attorneys who singed the letter are either Assistant District Attorneys, Trial Attorneys, Senior Trial Lawyers and one Deputy District Attorney. The attorneys are among 81 trial attorneys currently employed by the office with a total of 102 full time fully funded positions and 21 attorney positions vacant.
The 3 Deputy District Attorneys recommended in the November 18 letter to the Governor are Deputy DA John Duran, who oversees the DA’s Major Crimes Division, Deputy DA Diana Garcia who oversees the DA’s Juvenile Division and Deputy DA Josh Boone who oversees the Metropolitan Division. Duran and Garcia told the Journal they did not know about the letter until reading about it on the political website New Mexico Politics With Joe Monahan. Duran said he is interested in the position while Garcia said she is considering applying. The Journal could not reach Josh Boone for comment.
The Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office is budgeted for 337 full time positions. The office employs 102 attorneys, all who are at will, and 255 other “classified” employees who can only be terminated for cause under the state personnel rules and regulations. The classified employees consist of paralegals, administrative assistants, victim advocates, investigators, IT managers and personnel and finance division personnel. There are 276 that are “active” meaning filled. The office has an alarming 61 vacancies. The number of vacancies in the office is larger than most other District Attorney’s offices in the state.
NOVEMBER 23 JOURNAL ARTICLE
The Albuquerque Journal November 23 article reports in part:
“The letter of recommendation has come under attack by former Albuquerque City Councilor Pete Dinelli, who questioned its propriety on his blog. He also blamed Torrez for wanting to continue his influence over the office and contended the trial attorneys who signed the letter were engaging in prohibited political activities while on the job. … Dinelli, who was a chief deputy district attorney in the 1990s, has been a frequent critic of Torrez’s. In a recent blog post, Dinelli urged the governor to bring in an outsider to run the office. Moreover, Dinelli questioned whether personnel rules or regulations for state employees were violated. … Writing or signing letters of recommendation “is clearly prohibited ‘political activity’ while on duty,” he wrote. It wasn’t clear, though, where or when the letter was written or signed. … Dinelli wrote that Torrez needs to demand the letter be withdrawn immediately and demand an apology from the attorneys who signed it.”
Raúl Torrez, through the District Attorney Office spokeswoman, disavowed any knowledge of the letter. The DA spokeswoman said this:
“Attorney General-Elect Torrez is focused on the ongoing demands of leading the state’s largest prosecution office while simultaneously organizing a smooth transition into the Office of Attorney General. He was not involved in and had no knowledge of the letter submitted by prosecutors in the District Attorney’s Office regarding his possible replacement.”
Deputy DA Diana Garcia, who has been with the DA’s Office 16 years, when asked about the letter by the Journal said “I wasn’t a part of it at all.” Deputy DA Duran for his part dismissed Dinelli’s accusations as “far reaching” but said he is interested in being appointed but has not yet applied. Deputy DA Duran told the Journal:
“I’ve never seen the letter and no one asked me for permission to use my name.”
The Journal reported that Deputy District Attorney Josh Boone has developed and posted on the internet a website entitled “Joshua Boone for District Attorney” thereby making him an announced candidate to run in 2025. The website is a slick campaign web site for a candidate for office. The link to the Josh Boone for District Attorney web page is boonefornewmexico.com. The website has 3 major pages: a home page, a biographical page and platform page. All 3 pages have emblazoned at the top:
JOSHUA BOONE for District Attorney
Democrat for District Attorney
You can read full unedited and quoted Albuquerque Journal article here:
THREE OTHER ATTORNEYS APPLYING FOR OR EXPRESSING INTEREST IN APPOINTMENT
Confidential sources within the office and outside politcal observers have confirmed that in addition to Deputy DA John Duran, Deputy DA Diana Garcia and Deputy DA Josh Boone expressing an interest in applying for or who are running for the office, there are 3 other attorneys who have shown an interest in the Governor’s appointment with at least one application filed. Those attorneys are:
- Sam Bregman, a former Democratic Party State Chairman. He is a respected trial attorney who manages his own private law firm. His has trial experience in both civil and criminal defense and he has handled high profile cases. He served as an Assistant Bernalillo County District Attorney from 1994 through 1997. Bregman was an elected Albuquerque City Council from 1995 until 1999 and has a served as Deputy State Auditor for the State of New Mexico. Bregman unsuccessfully ran for Commissioner of Public Lands and Mayor of Albuquerque. Sources have confirmed that Bregman is making a serious run for the Governor’s appointment and has been making calls to gauge his support within the defense bar and the Democratic party. A firm confirmation of a Bregman application has not been made.
- Damon Martinez, a former United States Attorney for New Mexico. From 2000 to 2013, Martinez was an Assistant United State Attorney and in 2013 was appointed United States Attorney by President Barack Obama and unanimously confirmed in the United States Senate in 2014. Martinez led the US Attorney’s Office during the Department of Justice’s investigation and settlement agreement with the city of Albuquerque over the Albuquerque Police Department. On March 11, 2017 Martinez resigned as US Attorney and went into private practice. In 2018, Martinez was an unsuccessful candidate for the First Congressional District to replace Michelle Lujan Grisham. Martinez is currently an Albuquerque Deputy City Attorney who works on APD policy and legislative matters for the city and lobbies in Santa Fe during legislative sessions.
- Private Attorney Ed Perea, a retired APD Police Commander. Perea became an attorney after 24 years of service as a police officer. Perea ran for District Attorney against Raúl Torrez in 2016. Perea has served as a Special Assistant Prosecutor in the 13th District. He’s also served as Executive Director of the Center for Law, Policy and Public Safety and has taught at CNM.
According to the Journal November 23 article, the Governor’s Office has set December 2 as the deadline for all applications. A spokeswoman for the governor said the office has received “a number of letters of interest” but the Journal did not report who those letters of interest are from nor did the Governor’s office tell the Journal who has actually applied.
Applications for the post are due by December 2. Application forms can be downloaded from the governor’s website at www.governor.state.nm.us. Applications may be submitted via email to donicia.herrera@state.nm.us. The application is 3 pages long, asks about work history in both civil and criminal practice, requires 3 to 5 recommendations and writing samples.
JOURNAL EDITORIAL
On Friday, November 25, the Albuquerque Journal published the following editorial with the disclaimer that it was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers:
HEADLINE: “Editorial: Next 2nd District DA must be proven leader”
BY ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL EDITORIAL BOARD
PUBLISHED: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25TH, 2022 AT 12:02AM
“Wanted: Proven crimefighter.”
That should be the sign in the window of the Governor’s Office for the largest and busiest district attorney’s office in the state.
Second District Attorney Raúl Torrez, whose district is Bernalillo County, will step down sometime before he’s sworn in on Jan. 1 as New Mexico’s new attorney general. His four-year term as DA ends Dec. 31, 2024, meaning a successor needs to be named to fill that position for two years.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has the sole power to fill vacant DA positions. Senate confirmation isn’t needed. DAs are not subject to term limits and can therefore serve an unlimited time in office. The governor’s appointee will be only the third person to run the office in 22 years.
Applications are due Dec. 2. Minimum qualifications include a law degree from an accredited law school and seven years’ experience practicing law. That’s a pretty low bar for the top prosecutor in the state’s most populous and crime-ridden county.
Torrez, first elected DA in 2016 and again in 2020, had strong credentials as a DA candidate having been a former federal prosecutor and assistant New Mexico attorney general. And he inherited a mess, with 8,000 boxes of unlaunched felony case files lining hallways and rooms in the Steve Schiff Building when he took over the office in January 2017. It took a tremendous amount of work and leadership to clear that backlog; unfortunately, there is a new — albeit smaller — backlog due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
When Torrez took office, he increased grand jury capacity to draw down the felony case backlog, invested in technology to share crime data in real time, advocated to strengthen pretrial release rules to detain more serious violent offenders, and worked to mitigate secondary trauma on sexual assault and child abuse victims by aligning criminal procedure with national standards.
That record helped get him elected attorney general.
A group of 49 trial attorneys in the 2nd District DA’s Office said in a letter to the governor last week the next DA will face a “herculean job” of managing over a thousand cases set for trial in the first half of 2023. In their Nov. 18 letter, the trial attorneys say the job should go to someone who can immediately pick up where Torrez left off for the “safety and welfare of our community,” while suggesting three current deputy prosecutors in the office to replace Torrez.
The governor has a big decision to make. Whether the next DA should be from within or outside the office is debatable. The bottom line is the next DA needs strong prosecutorial and case management experience, a passion for fighting crime and an ability to work well with lawmakers.
Working with lawmakers is key to moving the criminal justice system forward.
There are currently 84 trial attorneys in the 2nd District DA’s Office, and that’s proven not to be enough. The office launches between 7,000 and 9,700 adult felony prosecutions per year. Our DAs and public defenders both need more state funding. It’s imperative for the state’s largest DA’s Office to clear its backlogs because crime victims and suspects deserve swift justice.
Politics should absolutely not play a role. The job should go to the most qualified candidate, not the most connected, because Bernalillo County must have a proven crimefighter to succeed Torrez.
The link to the editorial is here:
https://www.abqjournal.com/2552678/new-da.html
COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
What Raúl Torrez said through the District Attorney Office spokeswoman disavowing any knowledge of the letter to the Governor merits repeating:
“Attorney General-Elect Torrez is focused on the ongoing demands of leading the state’s largest prosecution office while simultaneously organizing a smooth transition into the Office of Attorney General. He was not involved in and had no knowledge of the letter submitted by prosecutors in the District Attorney’s Office regarding his possible replacement.”
It is painfully obvious from the statement issued that District Attorney and Attorney General Elect Raúl Torrez has already “checked out” of the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office as he continues to be paid his District Attorney’s salary. Ostensibly, Torrez declined to be interviewed by the Journal but instead issued the statement. If Torres is in fact “focused on the ongoing demands of leading [the DA’s office] ” as the statement says, then why did he have “no knowledge of the letter submitted by prosecutors”. Confidential sources within the office have said Torrez was fully aware of the letter but chose not to do anything about it thinking it was no big deal.
For the sake of argument, even if Torrez was not aware of the letter at the time it is was circulated, he is aware of it now. The Journal failed to asked him personally about the letter and failed to asked if he intended to do anything or why he has not done anything about it.
Torrez has 49 attorneys within his office using their titles promoting their own political agenda to the Governor to select one of thier 3 supervisors. The Journal made no mention if it contacted the attorneys who did not sign the letter or refused to sign the letter and did not to mention the other 255 other “classified” employees within the office. The letter is a dream come true for any private attorney who practices employment law who may be approached by others in the office who want to argue they have been retaliated against for failure to sign the letter.
VIOLATIONS OF DISTRICY ATTORNEY PERSONNEL & COMPENSATION PLAN
All State prosecutors must be above politcal influence and approach. For the 49 attorneys to exert themselves in the politcal process and attempt to sway Governor Lujan Grisham as to who she should appoint and have a say as to who should be their next boss, is a clear conflict of interest. It’s an abuse of their titles and authority creating an appearance of impropriety. The conduct is unacceptable and should be condemned in no uncertain terms by the elected District Attorney.
Politcal blogger Joe Monahan never disclosed how he got ahold of the letter or if it was leaked to him by someone within the office so he could write about it. The prosecutors within the office all complain how busy they are with their caseloads but the Deputies appear to have enough time to read and gossip about what is in a politcal gossip blog.
It is not all likely given the “office gossip” reputation the agency has that any one of the 3 Deputies recommended did not know that the letter was being circulated on their behalf. It is believed by many within the office that all 3 of the Deputy District Attorneys were aware the letter and that it was being circulated with at least one Deputy condoning it. If they did know, and they condoned it, they failed to excercise their supervisory authority to stop its circulation. Ignorance on their part of the “District Attorneys’ Personnel & Compensation Plan” and its prohibition on political activities should be grounds for disqualification for the appointment
It’s damn laughable that Deputy District Attorney John Duran would say of the accusation that there is a violation of the personnel rules and regulation was “far reaching” . He admits he is interested in being appointed but has not yet applied. Deputy DA Duran told the Journal:
“I’ve never seen the letter and no one asked me for permission to use my name.”
Really? Confidential sources within the office have said it was Deputy District Attorney John Duran who was circulating the letter asking for signatures. Ostensibly, the Journal did not make any effort to ask those within the office who signed the letter who asked them to sign it to give the 3 their support.
The letter of recommendation violates a number of the Administrative Office of the District Attorneys Personnel and Compensation Plan provisions that applies to all at will attorneys within the offices. The link to review the District Attorneys Personnel and Compensation Plan is here:
Click to access 082020_DA_Pers_Plan.pdf
The violations are as follows:
All the attorneys are “AT WILL” employees, who serve at the pleasure of the District Attorney and can be terminated without cause. As such they have given up a degree of their first amendment rights of “free speech” while at work. As “at will employees,” they are strictly prohibited from engaging in political activities while on duty. Writing and/or signing letters of recommendation to the Governor to recommend who should be appointed District Attorney is clearly prohibited “politcal activity” while on duty. (Section 9.2 “AT WILL” EMPLOYEES, District Attorneys’ Personnel & Compensation Plan”.)
Use of District Attorney titles is use of official authority for the purpose of interfering with or to affect the result of the selection or a nomination for office of a person is prohibited activity. (Prohibited activity, Section 17.2.3 “District Attorneys’ Personnel & Compensation Plan”.)
If District Attorney office letter head, fax machines or District Attorney office postage was used to send the letter to Governor Lujan Grisham it would be “using office supplies, equipment or facilities in connection with political activities” (Prohibited activity, Section 17.2.4, District Attorneys’ Personnel & Compensation Plan.)
If any attorney who was a supervisor of another attorney solicited signatures on the letter, that would be “directly or indirectly coercing, attempting to coerce, commanding or ordering any employee to … contribute anything of value (in this case a recommendation to the Governor) to a party, committee, organization or person for a political purpose” which would be for the appointment of District Attorney. ” (Prohibited activity, 17.2.5 District Attorneys’ Personnel & Compensation Plan.)
Deputy District Attorneys John Duran and Diana Garcia mentioned in the letter both told the Journal they are interested in applying for the job. Deputy District Attorney Josh Boone is an announce candidate with his web page. All 3 can seek the job so long as it does not interfere with the function of the office and the District Attorney, otherwise, they must resign to seek such public office. The circulation of the letter for signatures of support was interfering with the functions of the office.
State law is also clear that full time state employees cannot run for any state office and must resign once they become announce candidate. (NMSA 10-9-21, 1978) In order to avoid the appearance of impropriety, all 3 Deputies should take a leave of absence if in fact they have applied until the Governor makes the final appointment.
TORREZ HAS ABANDONED POST AS DISTRICT ATTORNEY
Confidential sources within the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office have said that Torrez has not been seen in the office since election day. It is painfully obvious that Torrez has at a minimum abandoned his post as District Attorney as he organizes “ a smooth transition into the Office of Attorney General” when he says through his spokesperson he has “no knowledge of the letter submitted by prosecutors.”
Torrez has allowed his appointed prosecutors to run amok and engage in prohibited political activities and practices that are in violation of the Office of District Attorney’s Personnel Rules And Regulations prohibiting politcal activity on duty. They are attempting to influence the Governor as to who she should appoint to replace him. Hell, Deputy District Attorney Josh Boone has even set up a slick campaign webs site proclaiming he is Democrat running for District Attorney.
ALUQUERQUE JOURNAL EDITORIAL IGNORED TORREZ RECORD OF FAILURE
The Albuquerque Journal editorial should come as absolutely no surprise to anyone for its failure to call out Raúl Torrez for not doing anything about the letter sent by his appointed prosecutors. For 6 years, the paper has promoted his every move on its front pages. The editorial simply ignores how the District Attorney office has become politicized under Torrez. The letter is proof of just how politcal posturing and politcal considerations in the office have become systemic.
The Journal editorial embellished the Torrez record of accomplishments proclaiming those accomplishments are what got him elected Attorney General. The Journal editors totally ignore the smear campaigns Torrez ran against his opponents Democrat State Auditor Brian Colon and Republican Jeremy Gay as he proclaimed only he, as a career prosecutor, could be Attorney General.
The Journal overlooked Raúl Torrez’ s many shortcomings during his time in office and as he ran for Attorney General. Those shortcomings include Federal Judge Christina Armijo and State District Judge Charlie Brown admonishing him for his misconduct. Federal Judge Armijo admonished Torrez in a court order when he was an Assistant Unites States Attorney for altering a transcript in a drug case he was prosecuting. The court said he intentionally mislead her and the defense counsel. State District Judge Charlie Brown admonished DA Torrez for his out of court statements in a pending murder case. It was surprising that neither judge did not sanction Torrez nor refer Torrez to the state bar for disciplinary action.
TORREZ FAILURE TO WORK WITH CRIMINAL JUSTICE STAKEHOLDERS
The Journal editorial sentence “Working with lawmakers is key to moving the criminal justice system forward [and the] ability to work well with lawmakers” is a reflection that the Journal editors do not fully understand the District Attorney’ s office nor how it needs to function nor what Torrez has done. Lawmakers are the very last who any District Attorney needs to be able to work with. All District Attorneys are critical to making our criminal justice system work. They need to be able to work with the courts at all levels (Metro Court, State District Court, Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court.) They need to work with the State Public Defenders office, private defense attorneys, and municipal, state and federal law enforcement agencies.
DA Raúl Torrez’ is well known for his constant public disparagement of judges and orders despite ethics rules that prohibit such conduct and comments. Torrez has blamed judges for high crime rates. He has had very public disputes with New Mexico Supreme Court over the case management rule mandating expediting criminal prosecutions and evidence disclosures.
Torrez has refused to cooperate and has done his best to interfere with the Second Judicial Courts move to “preliminary hearings” which are a proven best practice. The overwhelming majority of DA offices in the state rely on preliminary hearings instead of grand juries. Torrez has accused defense attorneys of “gaming the system” to keep his office from getting convictions and forcing trials accusing defense attorneys of not recommending to their defendant clients to take plea agreements.
The Journal Editorial proclaims that we need a District Attorney that has the “ability to work well with lawmakers” yet that has not been the case with Torrez. For the last 2 years, Raúl Torrez has advocated a change in law that would create a “rebuttable presumption” that a defendant is a threat to the public when charged with a violent crime. Torrez claims that defendants accused of violent crimes should be jailed until pending trial without bond or conditions of release.
In 2022, the New Mexico legislature rejected the change in the law. In March of this year, the Legislative Finance Committee released their analysis that conviction rates inside the Bernalillo County District Attorney office had fallen to 59% and that showed why rebuttable presumption would not improve Albuquerque’s crime crisis. In response, Torrez accused the legislature of using erroneous data and said the legislature and the judiciary were making changes to the criminal justice system that were detrimental to public policy and public safety.
https://www.kob.com/archive/district-attorney-responds-to-lfc-report-on-rebuttable-presumption/
Reputable presumption of being violent is an affront to our constitutional right of the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. When the legislature rejected rebuttable presumption, Torrez became openly hostile to the legislature condemning the legislature as a failure and alleging the legislature was contributing to the “revolving door” of releasing violent criminals.
DA’S OFFICE FAILURE TO PROSECUTE
A District Court study in 2018 presented to the New Mexico Supreme Court revealed the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office under Raúl Torrez has a 65% combined dismissal, acquittal and mistrial rate. For the full 6 years Torrez has been District Attorney, Torrez has proclaimed that our criminal justice system is broken, yet he has refused to take any responsibility for his offices failure to prosecute serious violent crime cases authorizing prosecutors to dismiss cases. The data presented to the Supreme Court showed in part how overcharging and a failure to screen cases by the Bernalillo County District Attorneys Office was contributing to the high mistrial and acquittal rates.
PERSONNEL MISMANGEMENT
The Journal editorial totally ignored the office mismanagement by Raúl Torrez. There are currently 61 vacancies withing the DA’s office, which includes 21 attorney vacancies. Attorney vacancies has been a chronic problem the entire 6 years Raul Torrez has been District Attorney. He has never had a fully staffed office of attorneys during his tenure. The sure volume of vacancies is a sign of mismanagement of the office. This coming from a DA that constantly complained to the New Mexico legislature that he needed more funding and was short staff. The truth is Torrez could not attract attorneys to go to work for him given his reputation of politicizing the office.
Throughout his 6 years as District Attorney, Raul Torrez has never once been the lead prosecutor in a criminal trial. His predecessors District Attorneys Kari Brandenburg, Jeff Romero, Bob Schwartz and Steve Schiff were all known to go to court and actively being involved with prosecuting cases. The Journal editorial brought into the “red herring” argument that the office is faced with a “herculean job of managing over a thousand cases set for trial in the first half of 2023.” It’s the 81-trial attorney’s already on the job, with 21 vacancies that should be filled, that will by trying those cases. The blunt truth is those thousands of cases are on trailing dockets and many will likely go away. It’s highly likely 95% of those cases will be plead out, voluntarily dismissed by the District Attorney’s Office or motions and agreements to vacate filed. There will be very few trials.
It was very disappointing that the Journal editors made absolutely “no comment” on the propriety of the 49 prosecutor’s attempting to influence the Governor. The letter reflects just how politics has infected the office. Politics within the office is systemic because Torrez allowed it to be. Failure to condemn the conduct is condoning the unethical conduct and condoning prosecutors to be involved with promoting their own politcal agendas.
It also disappointing that the Journal editors wrote “Whether the next DA should be from within or outside the office is debatable.” Selecting any one of the 3 Deputies, or someone else from within the office, means a continuation of the Torrez policies and defending his failed legacy. The office needs a complete overhaul that only outside new leadership can bring to the office.
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham should order the release of the names of all applicants and allow the general public to make comment before she commences the selection process, interviews and makes a final decision.
There are only 3 sentences in the Journal Editorial that make any real sense and that people should be able to agree with:
“The governor has a big decision to make. … The bottom line is the next DA needs strong prosecutorial and case management experience, a passion for fighting crime and an ability to work well [with others] … Politics should absolutely not play a role. The job should go to the most qualified candidate, not the most connected, because Bernalillo County must have a proven crimefighter … . “
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POSTSCRIPT
Following is the full, unedited letter sent to Governor Lujan Grisham by the 49 attorneys within the office:
November 18, 2022
Dear Governor Michelle Lujan-Grisham,
Those of us signing this letter are line attorneys from various divisions within the Second Judicial District Attorney’s Office. We all want to do everything in our power to keep Bernalillo County safe, and we need a leader who will enable us to do exactly that. In light of Raul Torrez’s recent election as the Attorney General for the State of New Mexico, we are respectfully writing you to request that Joshua Boone, John Duran, or Diana Garcia be appointed as the next District Attorney of the Second Judicial District.
As you are well aware, Raul was a career prosecutor before becoming the District Attorney for the Second Judicial District, and worked as a prosecutor for the Thirteenth Judicial District, the New Mexico Attorney General, and as an Assistant United States Attorney. Under his leadership, our office cleared out an extensive back log of cases that had been neglected by the previous administration, and was modernized so we could focus our attention on the criminals causing the most harm in our community. Now, we are facing a backlog of cases that accumulated under the delays caused by the pandemic.
In the first half of 2023 alone, the next District Attorney will have to deal with over a thousand cases that have been set for trial in the District Court. It will be imperative to the success of this office, and therefore the safety and welfare of our community, to have a District Attorney that can hit the ground running, that already understands how this office has been run and the systems that are already in place. We will need a District Attorney who is already familiar with the challenges our district faces, from the complexities of the timelines mandated by LR2-308 (that has only recently gone back into effect with recently introduced nuances to account for COVID) to the multiple software platforms and legal agreements needed just to send and receive discovery from multiple law enforcement agencies (Albuquerque Police Department, Bernalillo County Sheriff’, s, New Mexico State Police, Isleta Police Department, Laguna Police Department, etc.) The days of showing up to court with paper files are over, our office has been technologically integrated directly with law enforcement. We have new systems (such as Case catcher) that have already been funded and developed that are just now being deployed and are already understood by our current managers. The herculean job of the next District Attorney will require someone who already has considerable, and recent experience managing the people of this office specifically.
As our caseloads continue to skyrocket and we struggle to fight the crime of the past and present simultaneously, we are asking for a leader who knows what we are up against, because they have been in the same position themselves. We are asking for someone who already knows the strengths and weaknesses of the individual employees, and already has a team in place that can immediately continue where DA Torrez left off. We believe that leader is already in our office. If we stumble and have to start over again with someone who has no experience running this office, the community is the one who will pay the price.
Sincerely,
Assistant District Attorneys of the Second Judicial District
The link to review the letter is here:
https://www.scribd.com/document/609067682/Letter-to-the-Governor-Final