Felony and Misdemeanor Referrals

A felony referral to the District Attorney's (DA) Office occurs when law enforcement presents an individual suspected of a felony crime to review for potential charges, generally following an arrest. This section presents data on felony cases referred by law enforcement agencies to the DA’s Office for review. The DA’s Office decides whether to file charges – a formal accusation that a specific person has committed a specific crime – based on the evidence and reasonable likelihood of conviction.

Why is this important?  The DA’s Office makes decisions based on the cases it receives from law enforcement; it is not responsible for arresting or citing individuals. The office may decide not to file a case for a number of reasons, such as acceptance into a pre-charge diversion program, insufficient evidence/investigation by law enforcement, or when the charges did not rise to the level of a crime.

Indicators

Below are set of indicators that provide additional context about felony referrals. These indicators help the DA's Office ensure it maximizes government resources by making strategic decisions about which cases to accept for prosecution.

Click here for more information about race and ethnicity data collection and limitations.

Notes:

• Each referral is represented once. 
• Warrants are excluded (for all cases identified as a warrant).
• Misdemeanor cases are directly charged and filed by the law enforcement agency; the DA does not review these cases for charging. The DA’s Office can dismiss misdemeanor cases (see Case Resolution dashboard). 
• Law enforcement arrests and charges are based on a probable cause standard of proof, whereas the DA’s Office charges based on proof beyond a reasonable doubt.