A while ago a number of people on a.r.s wrote the California Attorney General. It did produce results. BILL LOCKYER
State of California
Attorney General
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE P.O. BOX 944255
SACRAMENTO, CA 94244-2550
(916) 322-3360
TOLL FREE (800) 952-5225
TDY: (916) 324-5564
or (800) 952-5548
April 12, 2001 Mr. Keith Henson 302 College Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94306 Dear Mr. Henson: Thank you for your recent letter to Attorney General Bill Lockyer regarding your allegations against a deputy district attorney. We appreciate the time and effort it has taken to prepare your written document to this office. An individual who wishes to make a complaint against an employee of a county should first contact the employees' supervisor in the department where the employee works. The complaint should include a factual statement which clearly describes the date. place and nature of the incident, the name(s) of the employees involved, the names of witnesses, and if possible, the specific law violation. A supervisor would then investigate the complaint. If the matter is not resolved, an individual may then contact the county grand jury for a review of the matter. The grand jury is an arm of the Superior Court and is supervised by the presiding superior court judge. The grand jury has two functions, they investigate the performance of local government agencies and they investigate citizen's complaints often becoming involved in criminal proceedings. They are not limited in their choice of subjects or depth of inquiry except by their one-year term of office. Local authorities are responsible for handling complaints against their employees. The Office of the Attorney General is not prepared to supersede the local agency in these matters. The Attorney General will review a complaint for possible investigation only when a specific allegation of unlawful conduct is made and the complainant can show that they have contacted their local authorities, and the local authorities have without justification, failed to act. While we value the opportunity to assist you, from the information contained in your letter it is not apparent that you have yet contacted the appropriate authorities in your area. Until such remedies have been exhausted, our office is not prepared to intervene. We hope you find satisfaction in resolving your complaint through the local law enforcement authorities. Again, thank you for contacting our office. We regret that we could not provide more assistance to you in this matter at this time. Sincerely, Public Inquiry Unit (continued next posting)