Prosecutors Blast Plan to Cut Parking Spaces
The head of a group of Los Angeles County prosecutors on Monday criticized a plan to reduce downtown parking spaces available to prosecutors by 35%, predicting it will lead to the release of criminals.
In a letter dated Aug. 24 to the Board of Supervisors, David Ross, president of the Assn. of Deputy District Attorneys, said the quality of cases prepared for trial will suffer.
“A trial prosecutor often must visit the crime scene, interview witnesses, confer with police agencies and conduct investigations,” Ross wrote.
“Without an automobile which is easily and inexpensively accessible, cases will not receive proper preparation. Some criminals will be returned to the community because of an improperly prepared prosecutor.”
Elliott Marcus, director of the county’s Employee Relations Programs, said he can understand why prosecutors would be unhappy with the plan, but he doubted that restricting parking will prevent prosecutors from doing their jobs.
“I don’t see how providing them free parking is critical to the criminal justice system,” Marcus said.
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