We Honor Their Courage and Sacrifice

SanSan DiegoDiego DeputyDeputy DistrictDistrict AttorneysAttorneys AssociationAssociation President: Robert Hickey Vice President: Steve Walter Treasurer: Cari Philpott Secretary: Chantal de Mauregne Directors: Robert Lafer, Bryn Kirvin, Brian Erickson, David F. Williams III, Matthew Dix, David February-March 2010Berry, Edition: & Brenda http://www.sdddaa.org Daly

May 2011 Edition: Follow the DDAA on Facebook and the Web We Honor Their Courage and Sacrifice…

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE By Robert Hickey

1. 2011 Hail and Farewell – Thursday, May 19, 2011: The 2011 DDAA Hail and Farewell will be held on Thursday, May 19, 2011 at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club. The Farewellees include Chief Deputy District Attorney Jeff Dusek, Judge Richard Monroy, Judge Michael Groch, and many more. Please be sure to RSVP to Janay Kruger for the event: (858)558-0521 or [email protected].

1 2. SDCERA Retirement Board Election – Vote for Doug Rose: DDA Doug Rose is running for re-election to the San Diego County Employees Retirement Board. The DDAA Board has endorsed Mr. Rose. The ballots for the SDCERA election have been distributed, and are due back by May 17, 2011. We urge you to vote for Doug Rose.

3. State Bar Board of Governors (District 9) – Vote for Heather Rosing: Within the next week, you should receive a California State Bar ballot for the District 9 Board of Governors election. District 9 covers San Diego, Imperial, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Voting closes on June 30, 2011. The DDAA Board has endorsed and urges you to vote for Heather Rosing.

4. 2011 SDCBA Law Week Luncheon: On Tuesday, May 3, 2011, the San Diego County Bar Association honored two DDAs at the Law Week Luncheon. Retired Chief Deputy District Attorney Jeff Dusek was honored for “Service to the Legal Profession.” Deputy District Attorney David Berry was honored for “Community Service.” Congratulations to both!

5. CYAC Battle of the Badges IX – Saturday, June 18, 2011: The Barona Band of Mission Indians, the Community Youth Athletic Center (CYAC), and the National Latino Peace Officers Association are holding the 9th annual "Battle of the Badges" charity boxing event on Saturday, June 18, 2011 at the Barona Valley Ranch Resort and Casino. The boxers are police officers from various law enforcement agencies, including San Diego Police Department, Donovan State Prison, San Diego Sheriff's Department, National City Police Department, and Chula Vista Police Department. CYAC is a non- profit organization dedicated to keeping youth off the streets and in school through boxing and mentoring programs. Based in National City, the CYAC features a boxing gym, computer facilities and a tutorial/mentoring center. Serving youths from eight to 18 years of age, the CYAC can accommodate up to 100 kids per day at their facility. For more information, contact DDA Victor Nunez. Please help support this event!

6. New Date for DDAA Awards Banquet – Saturday, September 17, 2011: The date for this year’s DDAA Awards Banquet has been changed – it is now Saturday, September 17, 2011 at the Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines. Please remember to put the new date in your calendars!

7. Save the Dates! Please mark your calendars for these events: Saturday, September 17, 2011: DDAA Annual Awards Banquet

Friday, December 9, 2011: DAI / DDAA Holiday Party

2 DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEYS ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES OF 5/3/11

Officers and David Williams, III Rob Lafer David Berry Directors Steve Walter Cari Philpott Present: Bryn Kirvin Chantal de Mauregne

Members Present: Child Support Attorneys Shannon Welton, Robert Harris

1. Call to Order: Vice President Walter called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m.

2. Association Comment: None.

3. PAC Update: The 3 open seats on the PAC Board have been filled by James Koerber, James Simmons and Kristie Nickoletich.

4. Treasurer’s Report: Primary Savings: $**** Money Market: $**** Litigation Money Market: $**** Certificate: $**** Checking: $****

As always, if any member desires to see an itemized list of our spending and savings, it is always available by contacting the Treasurer, Cari Philpott.

5. Consultant’s Report: None.

6. DDAA Event Sponsorship: In response to a recent increase in requests by local organizations for DDAA event sponsorship, Directors David Berry and Rob Lafer

3 will draft criteria to assist the DDAA Board in determining which events are appropriate for participation by the DDAA.

The Board voted to buy a table for $500 at the Earl B. Gilliam Luncheon on May 24, 2011. This luncheon put on by the Earl B. Gilliam Bar Association is for a tribute to the federal, state, and county judiciary. (Motion: Philpott; Second: Walter. Vote: Unanimous.)

The Board voted to contribute $400 to the Battle of the Badges boxing match. (Motion: Philpott; Second: Walter. Vote: Unanimous.) 7. Hail and Farewell/Awards Banquet/Holiday Party Update: A reminder to RSVP to Janay Kruger for this event. The date is: May 19th at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club. The Awards Banquet date has been changed to September 17, 2011 and will be held at the Torrey Pines Hilton Hotel. The Holiday Party will be on December 9, 2011 at the San Diego Natural History Museum. Details will be provided in the next several months regarding these two events.

8. CHCRS Contribution: The Board voted to contribute $2500. (Motion: Berry; Second: Williams. Vote: Unanimous.)

9. President’s Report: The DDAII’s are still on schedule for June 2011 to receive their merit-based increases.

10. New Business: James Koerber sent an email to the Board proposing that the DDAA add a new category for the Awards Banquet. The category would recognize the phenomenal paralegals and/or support staff in our office recognized for their work. Of course, as with all categories, the Board would have the option of not giving it out any year where there is no appropriate recipient. This issue was discussed during the Board meeting. (Motion: Walter; Second: de Mauregne; 4 in favor, 2 opposed, 1 abstain. Motion passed.)

Heather Linn Rosing requested the Board’s endorsement as she is running for the State Board of Governors. (Motion: Berry; Second: Philpott. Vote: Unanimous.)

DDA Doug Rose has been endorsed by the DDAA Board for SDCERA. The Board voted to send an email to the membership to support Doug Rose. (Motion: Williams; Second: Lafer. Vote: Unanimous.)

11. Old Business: None.

12. Adjournment: 6:20 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted, Chantal de Mauregne, Secretary

4 April 13th, 2011 County loses fight to overturn deputies’ pension boost by Kimberly Edds, Staff Writer

The County of Orange’s years-long fight to overturn the its generous “3 percent at 50″ pension plan for sheriff’s deputies came to an abrupt halt Wednesday when the California Supreme Court refused to hear its appeal. The contentious case had stretched into its fourth year of litigation. A win by the county could have saved as much as $500 million, according to Supervisor John Moorlach, who pushed the lawsuit to a final legal answer. Losing the fight means the county will now have to pay its own $2 million-plus legal bill and may be on the hook for the deputies’ legal bills as well. The deputies’ union has pledged to “vigorously” pursue having the county pay their legal costs to fight the suit – meaning the county could be liable for nearly $5 million in costs. “John Moorlach owes a lot of people apologies, starting with his colleagues on the Board of Supervisors for allowing Mario Mainero to present a legal argument that was flawed from the start (and) that cost the taxpayers $2.5 million,” said Wayne Quint, president of the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs. Moorlach also owes the retired deputies who have had the legal challenge hanging over their heads for the past several years, Quint said. “Most importantly he owes an apology to the taxpayers.” “ I don’t think I owe anyone an apology for doing what I was tasked with doing,” Moorlach said. “And that’s to uphold the constitution of the state of California and to defend the taxpayers.”The County of Orange sued the association in 2008, trying to pull back the so-called 3 percent at 50 benefit, which allows deputies who have worked for 30 years to retire at age 50 with 90 percent of their salaries. County supervisors signed off on the benefit in 2001, despite warnings that the good economic times would not last forever. Seven years later, the Board of Supervisors – now with some new members – determined that granting retroactive benefits violated state law, because retiring public safety employees were paid extra compensation for work they had already performed. The county also argued that it was illegal, because it spent money without voter approval. The county took its fight to court. It was Mario Mainero, formerly Moorlach’s chief of staff, who led the battle cry for the county to file the suit against the deputies association.

5 Mainero, who left the county in May to teach law at Chapman Law School, was hired back by the county to continue its fight against the deputies’ pension benefits. Chief Executive Officer Tom Mauk hired Mainero in December for $75 an hour. It is not yet known how many hours he has totaled up – the Watchdog will be checking that. Together, Moorlach and Mainero pushed for the lawsuit to help reduce the county’s $3.7 billion unfunded pension liability – the huge gap between what the county retirement system owes to future retirees, and what it can afford to pay right now. The added benefits immediately added $100 million to the future pension liability, court documents say. Justices for the Second Appellate District in Los Angeles sided with the sheriff’s union, agreeing the pension plan’s benefits do not violate the state constitution. “The County emphasizes its current difficult financial situation and the ‘ruinous fiscal irresponsibility’ of the prior board of supervisors,” read the 29-page appellate opinion issued Jan. 26. “Imprudence, however, is not unconstitutional.” The county refused to take no for an answer, taking the fight to the state Supreme Court. Supervisor Janet Nguyen was the only supervisor to vote against taking the appeal to the state Supreme Court. Nguyen also voted against appealing the trial court judge’s decision in the deputies’ lawsuit, explaining she didn’t want to risk any more county resources to pursue the appeal. “It’s kind of scary what the taxpayers can be saddled with. We’ve got to deal with this (pension) crisis a lot harder and a lot faster,” said Moorlach said. “It’s not going away.” “ We owed it to the taxpayers to get this figured out,” Moorlach said. “I will always believe it was the right thing to do.”