REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF THE COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO
AND RECORD OF ACTION
March 10, 2020
FROM
JASON ANDERSON, District Attorney
SUBJECT
Title v
Employment Contract for Part-Time Deputy District Attorney
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve employment contract with James Secord as a part-time Deputy District Attorney effective March 16, 2020 through September 15, 2021 for an estimated total cost of $117,772 ($115,690 Salary, $2,082 Benefits) to assist with appellate litigation concerning Senate Bill 1437 as part of the District Attorney’s Appellate Unit.
(Presenter: Michael Fermin, Assistant District Attorney, 382-3662)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Operate in a Fiscally-Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the need for additional Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The total cost of the employment contract is estimated at $117,772 through 2020-21. This cost is based on a maximum of 960 hours of work per fiscal year at the hourly rate of $80.34. Current year costs will be funded through salary savings from staffing vacancies within the District Attorney’s (Department) 2019-20 budget; costs will be included in the Department’s 2020-21 recommended budget.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Deputy District Attorney James Secord is currently scheduled to retire from the Department on March 13, 2020. Mr. Secord is assigned to the Appellate Services Unit and has played a significant role in addressing litigation arising from California Senate Bill 1437 (SB 1437). This bill became effective in January 2019 and could potentially reduce the sentences of incarcerated defendants by narrowing the legal definition of felony murder. Approximately 40 defendants have filed appeals related to resentencing, and the Department is preparing to argue against these appeals in the District Courts of Appeal. Mr. Secord is the attorney of record and has authored all briefings in 39 of these cases.
The Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division Two, which has jurisdiction over most of the District Attorney’s appeals, has indicated that oral arguments for the appeals will occur soon. Because Mr. Secord is currently the attorney of record on these cases, he is in the best position to argue against the petitions for resentencing. Currently, the DA does not have other attorneys who know the details of the cases to present effective oral arguments to the court.
In addition to arguing against the resentencing appeals, the Department, along with an overwhelming majority of other California counties, has challenged SB 1437 in court. A majority of the San Bernardino Superior Court judges have ruled that SB 1437 is unconstitutional. It is anticipated that the nature and importance of the issues concerning SB 1437 will subsequently lead to litigation before the California Supreme Court no matter the outcome from the appellate court. Mr. Secord’s familiarity and expertise on the issues are vital to the interests of the victims of these cases and District Attorneys across the State.
The Department seeks approval to contract with Mr. Secord to represent the People of the State of California for these cases until the California Supreme Court rules on arguments that SB 1437 is unconstitutional. A ruling on any appeal could be made immediately after oral arguments or up to several months later. Further litigation of the cases with the California Supreme Court will likely extend well beyond that time.
Under the California Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013, a retired person shall not be eligible to be employed for a period of 180 days following the date of retirement unless he or she meets one of the following conditions: (1) The employer certifies the nature of the employment and that the appointment is necessary to fill a critically needed position before 180 days has passed and the appointment has been approved by the governing body of the employer in a public meeting. The appointment may not be placed on a consent calendar. (2) The retiree is a public safety officer or firefighter hired to perform function or functions regularly performed by a public safety officer or firefighter.
The Department certifies the nature of the employment and that the contract for employment with Mr. Secord is necessary to fill a critically needed position before 180 days has passed.
PROCUREMENT
N/A
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Cynthia O’Neill, Supervising Deputy County Counsel, 387-5397) on February 19, 2020; Human Resources (Mark DeBoer, Human Resources Assistant Director, 387-5570) on February 19, 2020; Finance (Carl Lofton, Administrative Analyst III, 387-5404) on February 21, 2020; and County Finance and Administration (Kelly Welty, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on February 23, 2020.