Grand Jury Investigating Law Firm

The Ventura County Grand Jury has begun an inquiry into why a legal services firm under county contract has run $1.4 million over budget in the past three years.

In late February, supervisors granted Conflict Defense Associates $350,000 in addition to the firm’s $1.3-million annual allocation.

The Ventura-based firm--which represents those who cannot afford attorneys and who have legal conflicts with the public defender’s office--received an extra payment of $550,000 in 1997-98 and $500,000 the year before.

In a recent letter to jury foreman Marvin Reeber, Thousand Oaks resident Jere Robings raised concerns about a possible conflict of interest.

Robings’ letter noted that Supervisor Susan K. Lacey’s husband, Ed, is an attorney who subcontracts with the firm and questioned why Lacey--who abstains in votes relating to the law firm--doesn’t leave the boardroom when the item comes up for discussion.

“She does leave her seat, but stands at the side of the room where her presence could influence the vote of other board members,” Robings wrote.

On Thursday, Reeber and Lawrence Lowenberg, chairman of the jury’s complaint review panel, confirmed in a letter to Robings that a committee had been assigned to look into the matter.

Ventura County’s grand jury is a 19-member citizens panel that serves a yearlong term from July 1 through June 30.

It oversees all aspects of city and county government, such as inspecting and auditing records and financial expenditures to ensure that public funds are legally spent, examining the conditions of jails in the county and probing charges of misconduct by public officials.

It also reviews letters from citizens alleging mistreatment by officials, suspicions of misconduct or government inefficiency. Results of inquiries are disclosed at the end of June.

Although the grand jury often makes recommendations after an investigation, it has no power to mandate changes.

Robings said he was satisfied that the grand jury was looking into the legal services matter.

“I’m just curious about the appropriateness of a supervisor’s husband being on the receiving end of that kind of money,” Robings said Tuesday. “And how can they be 50% over budget for two years in a row and now 35% over budget?”

Robert Sherman, a county management analyst who oversees the law firm’s contract, blamed rising caseloads and several capital murder trials--Michael Dally, Diana Haun, Alan Brett Holland and Kenneth McKinzie in recent years--for the extra expenditures.

He said he doubted that Lacey’s presence in the boardroom during a vote would sway supervisors.

“I’m not sure that her presence would have an intimidating effect on anyone,” Sherman said. “They’re going to vote according to what they feel is appropriate.”

Neither Ed Lacey nor Susan Lacey could be reached Tuesday for comment.

Willard Wiksell, one of the three principal attorneys at Conflict Defense Associates, said the problem stemmed from being “unrealistically underfunded.”

“We’ve had an overflow of cases that we didn’t anticipate,” Wiksell said. “You predict the best you can. You say there’s going to be an X number of felony cases and an X number of misdemeanor cases. But no politician wants to predict an epidemic of crime.”

The firm, which has contracted with the county to assist the public defender’s office for 17 years, handles about 375 felony cases and 500 misdemeanor cases annually, Wiksell said.

During the past five years, the budget for the district attorney’s office has increased by $8 million, while the public defender’s budget has increased by $3 million, he said.

Yet, the budget for his firm has not been expanded.

“Everyone else gets raises in the millions except us,” Wiksell said. “And so we’re a few hundred thousand dollars over budget. That is not unusual.”

He said Ed Lacey, who is one of 14 lawyers to whom the firm subcontracts additional work, had nothing to do with the requests for extra funding.

“Ed Lacey has nothing to do with our budget, and Susan Lacey abstains from the vote, so it has nothing to do with anything.

“People think that if the Board of Supervisors allocates more money then Ed Lacey will get more money,” he continued. “But it may not filter down to him. He won’t necessarily get more cases, and it’s not like he gets a bonus.”

About two years ago, the county hired a consultant for $25,000 to review why its contract with Conflict Defense Associates had run over budget. The study determined that a major fraud case and the enactment of “three strikes” legislation were to blame.

The study concluded that the firm “does a good job” and that the request for additional funding was legitimate.