Small Town News

Pinal County Attorneys Office streamlines and serves

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The Pinal County Attorney's Office has minimized the time and cost of resolving certain felony cases with their new Early Disposition Court (EDC).

The EDC began as a pilot program in December 2009. The Superior Court, Public Defender's Office, Adult Probation Department, and the Sheriff's Office cooperated on the creation of the court.

The EDC was created to expedite cases. It takes advantage of the fact that most cases all over the country are resolved by plea bargains. It works by concentrating all the resources devoted to acase to save time and public funds.

In a regular case, someone arrested on Friday might have his case resolved in year. That's how long it takes to go before the court, enter into a plea bargain, get on the regular court calendar, and so on.

With the EDC, the same person arrested on Friday could have his case resolved by the following Wednesday.

Cases sent to the court include property crimes and drug cases. The court handles class four, five, and six felonies.

Violent crimes, like murder or domestic violence, stay in the . traditional court system.

Since the EDC startedin December, 726 cases have been sent there. That's about half the average number of serious felony cases that the

County Attorney's Office indicts per year. Over 400 of the 726 cases have been sentenced.

James P. Walsh, county attorney, said that it was an important move because the longer a case stays in the system the more expensive it is.

Expedited cases require fewer resources. "That frees up resources that are needed for other things," he said.

The number of cases being sent to the EDC is gradually expanding. It seems to be working. The old backlog of casesis gone.

"We had a backlog of cases pending in our office that would have gone to the grand jury," said Walsh. "We were able to pretty much eliminate that backlog as well as addressing the new cases that came along."

Another newer service being offered by the County Attorney's Office is the Prescription Drug Turn-in Program. This prevention program was started more than two years ago as a way to keep old leftover prescriptions away from kids, and out of the local groundwater supply.

The County Attorney's Office doesn't collect prescriptions all the timebecause they're not law enforcement. What they do is arrange booths at events where people can drop them off.

They work with local agencies, like the Sheriff's Office, and get approval from the Drug Enforcement Administration to collect the old prescriptions.

The program has been so popular in some places that police departments have started offering it all the time. At these departments, such as

Apache Junction, people can drop off prescriptions anytime during normal business hours.

There have been a couple prescription turn-ins this year in Oracleand San Manuel. Walsh said that the Miner has helped out by publishing press releases when the turn-ins were scheduled.

In addition to these new services, the County Attorney's Office offers many other established services under five divisions.

These divisions are the Administrative, Criminal, Community Services, Civil, and Child Support Divisions. They also have a Family Advocacy

Center and Senior Resource Center.

The Criminal Division prosecutes crime. The Community Services Division notifies victims of their rights and also runs the Adult Diversion and Bad Check Program.

The Civil Division provides county departments with legal services. The Child Support Division has over 12,000 active cases. It collects child support and establishes paternity.

Law enforcement uses the Family Advocacy Center to investigate child abuse and sexual assault cases while putting minimal stress on the victims.

The Senior Resource Center is a partnership with the Arizona Attorney General's Office.

Within these divisions, the County Attorney's resources are mostly devoted to prosecuting crimes and assisting victims.

Walsh said that being able to be of service to the people of Pinal County in all these capacities gives him a lot of satisfaction.

He's been the county attorney since May 2007. He was first appointed by the Board of Supervisors and then elected in November 2008.

He said that his job was challenging but also rewarding. "We are ministers of justice," he said. "It's always challenging to make sure you're doing that job."

"We want to serve victims. Even the people that we charge with crime, we want to make sure they're treated justly and fairly.

That is a big challenge; no one should think that justice comes easy."

He said that he didn't see the challenges as a burden though.

"In our society everyone should be protected from harm. We try to help them when crime does occur. We try to help them with support programs," he said. "All those things are a very important. Being able to do that, for me, brings great satisfaction."



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