District Attorney Bob Kochly

Contra Costa County’s Public Protection Committee — a subset of county supervisors Federal Glover of Pittsburg and John Gioia of Richmond — will address on Monday afternoon a new report from District Attorney Robert Kochly on how to prosecute misdemeanors.

As you may recall, Kochly sparked a firestorm earlier this month when he announced that budget cuts to his department were so severe that he could no longer punish certain miscreants.

Kochly’s report is thin on solutions. He wrote that he cannot do the job without an adequate number of attorneys. But he said that volunteer or retired attorneys are not a “reliable, ongoing substitute” for permanent staff and noted that the county already uses a significant number of diversion programs, or steps that allow small-time offenders to avoid jail through treatment or other programs.

The more interesting memo in the agenda packet comes from Deputy District Attorney Bob McMaster on whether or not the county could shift misdemeanor prosecution responsibilities to the cities and the potential oversight of Attorney General Jerry Brown.

McMaster wrote that the county could give permission to cities to handle the prosecutions but it cannot force them to do it. Given the state of most city budgets, it seems unlikely that cities want the job.

Brown could come in and prosecute misdemeanors if he determines that the county has failed to administer justice. But the state cannot force the county to do it, McMaster said. In other words, the costs would be on the state’s dime and we all know the state has no dimes.

All in all, there’s nothing in either of these memos that suggests longterm solutions to the problem of no money to pay the required number of prosecutors to go after the county’s scofflaws.

The meeting is set for Monday, May 11, 2:30 p.m., at 651 Pine Street in Martinez.

I’m sure the supervisors would love to hear your ideas.