Facing a potential recall vote, Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price shared that her office has been grappling with a significant backlog of misdemeanor cases since mid-July. Since August, they have been working diligently to address this issue. Price acknowledged criticism from the San Francisco Chronicle regarding over a thousand misdemeanor cases that allegedly exceeded the statute of limitations without prosecution. However, she stated that she could not confirm that number.
“After uncovering the backlog issue in mid-July, we have been actively working to resolve it since August,” Price explained. She described the backlog as a longstanding challenge, attributing some of the difficulties to her predecessor, Nancy O’Malley, for not adequately informing her about the backlog situation. Price also mentioned that an outdated computer system requires significant upgrades to improve their processes.
According to documents provided by Price’s office, there are 360 cases that have been declined for prosecution, and 646 pending cases involving offenses committed over a year ago may not meet prosecution criteria. Prosecutors have one year from the date of the alleged misdemeanor to decide whether to file charges. Cases exceeding this statute of limitations mean that arrested individuals are almost certain to escape potential jail time or treatment.
In early 2023, Price hired Senior Assistant District Attorney Evanthia Pappas to lead a new branch focused on family justice. At that time, the team discovered a substantial backlog of domestic violence cases and U-Visa applications for certain crime victims. They recognized that failing to address these issues promptly posed a significant risk. The new team has since worked at the family justice center and replicated their successful backlog-clearing strategies at the Wiley Manuel Courthouse to tackle the misdemeanor case backlog.
Price described the backlog as a complex issue, noting that police reports come from 22 law enforcement agencies, with the Wiley Manuel Courthouse receiving up to 70 to 100 reports daily. Historically, misdemeanor cases have been processed manually. O’Malley’s case management system did not allow staff to input the date of alleged incidents, but her office is currently working on updating the system to better track dates and deadlines.
In response to accusations from Price, O’Malley denied failing to inform her about the backlog. She maintained that the tracking system could certainly record the dates of alleged crimes and that she had ensured proper staffing for related departments to monitor deadlines effectively. “We need to ensure things are handled properly,” she stated.
Price further emphasized that if the database does not require—and in some cases, does not allow—the documentation of when incidents occurred, the case management system cannot keep track of statutory deadlines. Her approach to resolving the issue includes reallocating staff, collaborating with Alameda County’s IT department to incorporate incident dates during processing, and introducing a memo system to track judicial timelines. Until necessary system upgrades are implemented, her office will continue to manually track the dates of any new reports under review.
