How do I report a crime to the DA’s Office? In almost all cases crimes should be reported to the police or sheriff’s department which has responsibility for the location where the crime occurred. That department will investigate and send the reports of their investigation to the DA if it appears that there is evidence that a crime has been committed. Crimes involving welfare fraud can be reported to the DA’s IMPACT Unit and crimes involving consumer fraud or environmental violations can be reported to the DA’s Special Operations Unit. Crimes involving governmental officials can be reported to the DA’s Investigations Bureau. However, complaints about law enforcement officers should be directed to the internal affairs unit of the agency which employs the officer. I was the victim of a crime. How do I find out what is happening with the case in court? If criminal charges were filed against a defendant because of a crime against you, you can call the DA’s office to determine what is happening in court. Before calling the DA, you should check with the police agency that investigated the crime to obtain the name of the suspect and the police report number. Records in the DA’s office are not indexed under the name of the victim. If you have the suspect’s name or the crime report number we can locate the information that you need. For information on misdemeanor cases you may call the DA’s branch office for the court where the case was filed (Lodi, Manteca, Tracy, or Stockton). For information on felony cases you should call the Stockton office. If you need more information than just the date of the next court appearance, you should call the DA’s Victim-Witness office or ask to speak to the Deputy District Attorney assigned to the case. I need some legal advice or an attorney to represent me. Can the DA provide any help? The DA is the public prosecutor for San Joaquin County and does not provide legal advice or representation for individuals nor do we make recommendations about private attorneys. For advice or representation you should contact your own attorney or the Lawyer Referral Service of the San Joaquin County Bar Association at (209) 948-4620 if you wish a referral to an attorney handling your type of problem. People who are subpoenaed as witnesses may have seen or heard things that occurred before or after a crime has occurred or may have seen only part of the events surrounding a crime. Your testimony when added to the testimony of other witnesses may be important to explain how or why a crime occurred or may be a link between the crime and the suspect. If your subpoena was issued by the DA you may call the Witness Coordination Office and ask to speak to the Deputy DA assigned to the case. The Witness Coordination staff will obtain some identifying information from you when you call and will keep in touch with you to let you know if the subpoena is cancelled or if the day or time of your appearance needs to be changed. It is always a good idea to call the Witness Coordination office at (209) 468-2422 the day before you are scheduled to appear in case there has been a change in the date or time that your are needed for testimony. I received a subpoena from the Board of Parole Hearings. What is that all about? The Board of Parole Hearings conducts parole revocation hearings to determine if a person released from prison on parole should be returned to prison for violating the conditions of his release. If a person on parole commits a crime his parole agent may seek to return him to prison for violating parole at the same time the District Attorney is prosecuting him for the new crime. If you are a victim or a witness to the new crime you may be asked to testify at a parole revocation hearing and this may happen either before or after you testify in court. Neither your testimony in court nor you testimony at a parole revocation hearing can be used in place of live witnesses at a hearing in the other proceeding. You may have to testify in person at both a court hearing and a parole revocation hearing. Even though the District Attorney does not conduct parole revocation hearings and does not issue subpoenas for parole hearings, if you have any questions about the subpoena you received you should contact the District Attorney’s Victim-Witness Office at 468-2500. What if I am subpoenaed and do not want to testify in court? A subpoena is an order issued under the authority of the Superior Court. Failure to obey a subpoena can be punished as contempt of court. If you have concerns about appearing as a witness you should call the Witness Coordination Office at 468-2422 and ask to speak to the Deputy DA handling the case. For general information about appearing as a witness please see the Witness Information section of our web site. Can I talk to James Willett? I think he is the person handling my case. Mr. Willett is the District Attorney of San Joaquin County. Because he is the head of the office his name appears on letters and documents sent out by the DA’s office. The name of the Deputy District Attorney handling your case is usually found underneath Mr. Willett’s name or you can call the Victim-Witness Office at 468-2500 to get the name of the attorney handling your case. I need some help with child support. Can the DA help me? No. The District Attorney no longer handles child support matters. On July 1, 2002, the Department of Child Support Services became the county office responsible for child support cases. This department is located at 826 N. California Street, Stockton, CA, 95202. The phone number is 866-901-3212. I am the victim in a criminal case and I wish to drop charges. How do I do this? In California criminal cases are filed by the DA on behalf of the People of the State of California. All decisions about what cases to file and whether to continue on or dismiss criminal cases are made by the DA not by crime victims. If you have concerns about the case, you should call and talk to the Deputy DA handling the case. |
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