Case Resolution

This section presents data on all cases prosecuted by the District Attorney's (DA) Office that have reached a final resolution (a case disposition). Cases can be resolved in a variety of ways, including by dismissal, diversion, deferred judgment, guilty plea, or by acquittal or guilty verdict at trial. Successful diversion completions will be categorized as dismissals, we are working on a solution to be able to share specifics on diversion.    

Why is this important? It is important to review how cases are resolved to ensure we are addressing serious crime effectively while minimizing unnecessary punitiveness.

Consistency is an important value in our office, and these charts reflect that we have good consistency over time with how our cases are being resolved.

Indicators

Below are a set of indicators that provide additional context about case resolutions. These indicators help the DA's Office ensure they are achieving outcomes efficiently, effectively, and fairly.

The slight uptick in felonies resolved as misdemeanors in the last three years is another effect of COVID-19.

Here we see that Native American defendants are more likely than White defendants to receive the opportunity to plead to a reduced charge in a plea agreement.

While the numbers look good regarding Native American defendants, Hispanic defendants are less likely to have charges reduced as compared to Whites- an area we need to improve.

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

Reducing the time to felony resolution will be a major area of focus for our office moving forward. Swift and efficient justice has a major impact on reducing recidivism.

Notes

• Underlying data counts for each chart can be accessed through this link.
• Each case is reflected by its top disposition. For example, if a charge on a case is dismissed as a part of plea negotiations and another charge on the case is plead guilty, the case will be reflected here as a “plead guilty.”
• The charge level represents the most serious charge filed in a case.
• Warrants are excluded (for all cases identified as a warrant).
• Cases disposed with a disposition reason “deceased defendant” are excluded from case resolution related charts.