Agenda

Return

C. 19

To:	Board of Supervisors
From:	Ellen McDonnell, Public Defender
Date:	January 17, 2023

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

Add one (1) Legal Assistant to the Public Defender's Office

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 01/17/2023

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor
Diane Burgis, District III Supervisor
Ken Carlson, District IV Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor

Contact:	Erica Ellis (925) 335-8093
cc:	Erica Ellis Sylvia WongTam

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: January 17, 2023
Monica Nino, County Administrator

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

ADOPT Position Adjustment Resolution No. 26094 to add one (1) Legal Assistant (2Y7B) (represented) position at salary plan and grade ZB5 1337 ($5,346.29 - $6,498.45) in the Public Defender's Office.

FISCAL IMPACT:

100% General Fund. The cost of adding the Legal Assistant position to the Alternate Defender will be offset with the cancelation of one Alternate Defender Clerk- Specialist Level position which will be canceled at a later date.

BACKGROUND:

The Alternate Defender provides legal representation of accused indigent individuals where the Public Defender has a legal conflict of interest. The Alternate Defender handles complex criminal cases that often involve multiple accused individuals, robust electronic discovery, and complicated legal issues. Currently, the Alternate Defender only has one Legal Assistant who is responsible for providing specialized legal assistance to all the Alternate Defender attorneys. The limited legal assistant staffing has resulted in inadequate case support for the attorneys, requiring them to engage in non-attorney work to ensure that they comply with their constitutional mandate to effectively represent clients.

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

The Alternate Defender will not have the necessary legal assistant resourcing to support the litigation work of its attorneys.