Sometimes there are other reasons such as Adrian Kamada or Ian Harris who briefly came back from medical leave and is gone. Joel Buckingham and Luke Bernthal are two prosecutors who were an asset to the Humboldt County DA's office.
I overheard something few days ago which makes me think Deputy DA Dave Watson is leaving or will be gone soon. He has been at the office for barely over a year.
Cases of repeat offenders are being lost because the experienced prosecutors are already overburdened.
Management skills is important for a DA. You rarely see DA Stacey Eads on the floor. She should not run for another term. First, going over budget. Prosecutors and investigators leaving. Then there is the issue of how money is handled. More than one source has confirmed what someone no longer working in the courts has told me that several office positions in the DA's office are classified as admin analysts at $35 an hour. Still the Humboldt County DA is behind discovery and subpoenas. Prosecutors and investigators are needed to win a case. Office positions and Victim Witness Advocates are not a neccessity except in child abuse cases.
There are tons of examples of victims and families finding out through my reporting about court cases and court dates. If the CAO's office and the useless Board of Supervisors were paying attention, all these admin analyst positions should be reevaluated. It should also be done for HCSO, DHHS and other departments.
Your average person has to cut expenses, go without and doesn't get paid extra due to a title. If the County is over budget, the fault is because there is no oversight.
This is a result of California special interest women groups who need to be pacified in PC California; all non profits, living off grants who should contribute to the DA's budget if they have demands.
In addition to an increasing workload due to Humboldt criminals on steroids and repeat offenders including failed CARE Court and mental health diversion where no one has time to breathe; being short staffed does not help. The slack is being picked up by Senior Deputy District Attorney Whitney Timm, Senior Deputy DA Roger Rees and Deputy DA Trent Timm. If these three left the Humboldt County DA's office; Humboldt victims and the public are screwed.
Anyone who works at 825 Fifth Street and the local legal community knows that the 4th floor is very women centered to the point that testosterone is a negative. White men are a minority. Investigators and prosecutors are the only male employees.
I am all for equal rights but it applies to all individuals. Women, LGBTQ and people of color employees to the point where merit is not a consideration is wrong.
At the Humboldt Public Defender's Office it is the opposite problem. We have one woman attorney. There were two briefly but women end up leaving. It has been that way since I have covered Humboldt courts.
DEI is a problem in Humboldt, in California and in courts all over the state and at every level of government. So is the good ole male clique and mentality in the very liberal PD's office.
Democrats talk a lot about equality and fairness. Their actions say the opposite.
