COMMONWEALTH’S Assistants ATTORNEY Erin B. Barr William W. Davenport Kenneth M. Chitty Kelly H. Cotting

Sangeeta J. Darji Senior Chief Deputy Geoffrey A. Easton Kenneth E. Nickels Jeffrey L. Einhaus Senior Deputy Robert J. Fierro, Jr. Dennis H. Duncan Benjamin H. Garrison

Shawn A. Gobble Deputies Jennifer L. Guiliano John F. Childrey Reneen E. Hewlett Barbara B. Cooke Chesterfield County Christopher L. Miller Larry S. Hogan E. Temple Roach Melissa H. Hoy Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney Bernice M. Sharpe Frank J. LaRuffa P.O. Box 25, Chesterfield, VA 23832-0025 Stephen P. Sharpe Thomas M. McKenna Graham M. Stolle 9500 Courthouse Road Extension Juan L. Vega Administrative Attorney (804) 748-1221 FAX (804) 717-6277 Julian P. Viscidi Melissa N. Ringer

April 26, 2018

WHY I CAN NO LONGER ASSIGN A PROSECUTOR

TO MOST MISDEMEANOR CASES IN GENERAL DISTRICT COURTS

I am Billy Davenport, the elected Commonwealth’s Attorney (prosecutor) for Chesterfield County.

My assistants and I are part of the County’s “department of law enforcement”, and for 30 years in this job I

have made sure that my prosecutors provided quality services in every court (circuit courts and district

courts) to every victim of, and every witness to, every crime, whether that crime be a felony or a

misdemeanor. This has always been my pledge to the citizens of Chesterfield – to work with law

enforcement and government officials to make sure that Chesterfield is a safe, vibrant, and growing

community.

This tradition of prosecuting cases in all courts has existed in this County for decades, and it is the

norm throughout the Commonwealth. However, and oddly enough, although I am duty-bound by statute to

prosecute only felony cases, I have discretion to prosecute most misdemeanor cases in district courts. This

means that if a situation arises that creates an undue burden on my prosecutors and staff such that we

cannot devote enough time, energy and resources to successfully prosecute thousands of cases, felonies and

misdemeanors, and to handle the many other duties we are called upon to perform, I have the option to

remove my prosecutors from misdemeanor cases in district courts. Unfortunately, such a situation has now

arisen, and I have decided that beginning May 1, 2018, prosecutors will no longer be assigned to handle

misdemeanor cases district court.

I am one of five constitutionally-elected officials in the County. The funding for our offices comes

primarily from the State Compensation Board (“SCB”), an agency of state government. Although my

office handles thousands and thousands of misdemeanor case s every year, mostly in district courts, the

SCB uses only the number of felony cases my office handles in our circuit courts to determine how many

prosecutor positions it will fund. The SCB’s staffing standards currently recommend that my office have

27 prosecutors to prosecute only felony cases. Although we have 28 prosecutors, one does not handle cases

in court. So, on paper, my office is fully allocated. However, the SCB, through the state’s budgeting

process, has funded only 18.5 positions. That leaves 8.5 prosecutor positions unfunded by the state.

Juvenile Office Victim Witness Program 7000 Lucy Corr Blvd. P.O. Box 554 Chesterfield, VA 23832-0520 Chesterfield, VA 23832-0554 (804) 748-1341 FAX (804) 717-6275 (804) 796-7087 FAX (804) 717-6066

This deficit is by far the largest of any Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office in the state. (It is worth noting that both Henrico County and the City of Richmond have more than their allotted number of SCB prosecutors.) These statistics, unfortunately, are not due to recent actions by the SCB and the state government. This reality has existed for years. In order to maintain the level of services that my office has provided through these years to all our courts and for all felonies and misdemeanors, I developed a solid and professional relationship with the members of our local government, with whom I worked for years to secure additional county funding so that Chesterfield County could at least have the full complement of prosecutors to handle felony cases. However, the fact remains that the funds my office receives from the SCB and the county still only allow me to hire enough prosecutors to handle felony cases; there has been no extra funding provided by the SCB or the county administration to hire additional prosecutors to handle the huge numbers of misdemeanor cases that we prosecute every year, or to provide the many other services that come along with prosecuting the volume of cases my office handles each year. And recently, the county police department implemented the use of approximately 400 body-worn cameras (“BWC”), which has added even more strain on office resources and manpower. And, it appears as if the Virginia State Police will also begin using BWCs. I warned the county government that the implementation of BWCs would create an even greater burden on my office, and that any decision to use the devices, especially in such huge numbers, would need to be accompanied by extra funding for my office so that the hours and hours of video from almost every arrest could be downloaded, reviewed, redacted, copied and disseminated as appropriate. These processes don’t happen by themselves – they require hours of work and the use of new technology. My office for decades has done everything possible to ensure that the laws of this Commonwealth have been executed fairly, equitably, and in a manner that has accommodated every person who interacts with the criminal justice system in Chesterfield – victims, witnesses, law enforcement officers, sheriff’s deputies, clerks, probation officers and many others. We have been steadfast in our adherence to justice and fair play, and we have worked tirelessly to ensure that every case has received the attention that it deserved. Now, however, I find that my thinly-spread resources have reached critical mass – I cannot ask my staff, that for years has done more with less, to continue to withstand the extra demands now placed upon them. If you believe that this office should continue to prosecute ALL cases in this county, then I urge you to contact your elected representatives and those others who oversee the funding process. I have included below a list of the names, numbers and email addresses for those who need to hear from you. Maybe you can explain it to them in terms that are more personal and perhaps more understandable. Let me be clear about one thing: I am not assessing blame. Each person on the following list is a public servant who is openly and completely dedicated to ensuring the smooth operation of the criminal justice system in Chesterfield, and to the continuation of a process that ensures the public’s safety and protects the rights of victims. These are the people who can act to remedy this situation so that the citizens of Chesterfield County can continue to receive the services they expect and deserve.

William W. (“Billy”) Davenport Commonwealth’s Attorney

______

Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors (748-1211)

Bermuda District - Dorothy A. Jaeckle, Chair [email protected] Midlothian District - Leslie Haley, Vice Chair [email protected] Matoaca District - Steve A. Elswick [email protected] Dale District - James Holland [email protected] Clover Hill District - Christopher M. Winslow [email protected]

Virginia State Compensation Board

102 Governor Street, Suite 120 1st Floor Richmond, VA 23219

P.O. Box 710 Richmond, VA 23218-0710

Paige Christy, Senior Fiscal Technician, Clerks of the Circuit Court Commonwealth's Attorneys 804- 225-3442 [email protected]

Robyn M de Socio, Executive Secretary 804-225-3439 [email protected]

Charlotte L Lee, Senior Budget Analyst 804-225-3366 [email protected]

State Delegation (Senate and House of Delegates)

Sen. Amanda F. Chase (804) 698-7511 [email protected] Sen. (804) 862-2922 [email protected] Sen, Glen H. Sturtevant, Jr. (804) 601-4046 [email protected] Del. , 68th District (804) 698-1068 [email protected] Del. , 63rd District (804) 452-7076 [email protected] Del. Betsy Carr, 69th District (804) 698-1069 [email protected] Del. M. Kirkland Cox, 66th District (804) 526-5135 [email protected] Del. Riley Ingram, 62nd District (804) 452-2202 [email protected] Del. Delores McQuinn, 70th District (804) 698-1070 [email protected] Del. , 27th District (804) 698-1027 [email protected] Del. Lee R. Ware, Jr., 65th District (804) 598-6696 [email protected]