Changes to Criminal Justice System in Burbank

A major restructuring of the criminal court system begins on October, 1, 2011, and will have a big impact in the Burbank community. While the most serious violent and serious offenders will still be facing state prison, that option is no longer the case for most other criminal matters. Significantly, convicted persons who would have been sentenced to state prison prior to October, 2011, will now only be sentenced to county jails. These new felonies are referred to as "County Jail Felonies." So how will that directly affect the city of Burbank? I think, in part, important changes will occur based on the new policies of the LA District Attorney's Office, as will be explained below.

In Burbank, criminal cases are prosecuted by two separate government agencies: the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office (Glendale Branch) and the Burbank City Attorney's Office (Burbank City Prosecutor). The LA District Attorney prosecutes all felony cases in the Burbank jurisdiction. Felony arrests which do not meet the criteria of the LA District Attorney's filing policy manual are sent to the Burbank City Prosecutor's Office, which handles all Burbank misdemeanor and municipal code violations.

In past years, it was not uncommon for the DA to refer many felony arrests to the City Prosecutor in cases which the DA did not deem substantial enough, including some cases involving repeat offenders and persons on parole. I think that beginning October, 2011, since a significant amount of arrested persons will now not be facing state prison sentences, that the DA will be more selective in deciding whether to take the cases or send them to the City Prosecutor for misdemeanor consideration.

What are some examples of new "County Jail Felony" cases which may be evaluated differently? Drug possession and theft cases, which historically have been eligible for state prison, will now be punishable to a maximum of county jail. If the DA deems these cases to not meet their standards, because they want to focus on more important cases, they could potentially be sent to the City Prosecutor for misdemeanor filing consideration, overloading the local misdemeanor courtrooms.

Because of the above issues, I think it is important for each agency to evaluate the possible end results of their policy decisions, and how it directly impacts the justice system.