August 15, 2005

JUDGE CARR ANNOUNCES FOR DISTRICT ATTORNEY

Superior Court Judge Dolores Carr today announced that she is giving up her judgeship in order to run for the Santa Clara County District Attorney seat being vacated by retiring DA George Kennedy.

Judges are required to take a leave of absence without pay when they run for a non-judicial office. By running for District Attorney next year, Carr will be unable to run for re-election to her own Superior Court seat—thereby effectively giving it up.

“My decision to leave the Court to run for District Attorney has been one of the most difficult decisions of my life,” Carr said. “Serving our community as a Superior Court Judge has been incredibly challenging and fulfilling. I love my job on the Court.”

Carr has been Supervising Judge of the Superior Court’s Family Division for the last three years. During that time, she also handled a personal caseload of 75-90 cases each week.

Prior to being elected to the Court in 2000, she worked for 15 years in the District Attorney’s Office. At the time she was elected, Carr supervised the District Attorney’s Sexual Assault Unit, charging virtually all of the sex crimes in Santa Clara County. She was the first prosecutor in California to specialize in handling sex offender registration violations.

Carr said that the range of experience gained in 25 years as a DA, private attorney and judge has given her a “balanced perspective” on the role and character of the office.

“The District Attorney must operate in a way that brings honor to the office,” Carr said. “The standards required to lead the office successfully are high.” She said that she decided to run because she believes that she has the perspective and experience to meet these standards.

“The DA has the power to charge people with crimes. In this role, the office has a profound impact on the effectiveness of police departments, public defenders, the private criminal defense bar and the courts,” said Carr, adding that each partner in the system shares responsibility for ensuring that justice is served.

“However, I believe that the District Attorney has primary responsibility for fostering equal justice under the law. The office must work hard to create respect and cooperation among all partnering agencies in the system—as well as with the Board of Supervisors. It must take a leadership role rather than an adversarial role with these agencies,” she said.

Carr does not feel that justice should be a “win-at-all costs” proposition. “It is the ethical obligation of the District Attorney to seek truth—not simply convictions,” she said. “This means that the office must manage its own personnel effectively. Its lawyers must be able to exercise discretion independently, without fear of public criticism or reprisals. Management must create an environment where prosecutors, investigators and staff are enthusiastic about their work.

Carr began her career in the District Attorney’s Office under Leo Himmelsbach. She worked both as a trial lawyer and supervisor under George Kennedy. She said, “Under their leadership, I came to understand the power of the District Attorney’s Office—and why it is the most important law enforcement agency in our county.”

When she was elected to the Superior Court bench, Carr was assigned to a criminal calendar. She volunteered for assignment to the Family Division, a job known to be among the most grueling on the bench. She became the Supervising Judge of the Family Division in 2002.

In 2003, Carr developed a unique program that provides services to families with children ages 5 and under, whose parents have a case in Family Court. The program was funded by FIRST 5 of Santa Clara County, with a $3 million multi-year grant.

While supervising the Family Division, Carr spearheaded establishment of the Family Treatment Court to support parents’ recovery from drug and alcohol abuse in order to improve family stability. She also convinced the Board of Supervisors to fund a site for supervised visitation in San Jose, which allows safe access between children and parents whose contact is restricted by court order.

In January 2005, she was selected to develop the county’s first Unified Family Court, the goal of which is to bring all of a family’s legal issues involving children before a single judge for resolution.

In addition to her Court and District Attorney duties, Carr has been involved in a wide range of community and professional roles, including service for more than 14 years as one of 9 lawyers in the state responsible for developing and grading the State Bar Examination. She also was elected President of the prosecutors and public defenders labor association from 1994-1999.

Carr made her announcement on the steps of the old County Courthouse where she has been sitting this year. Her announcement was supported by San Diego Police Chief and former San Jose Chief William Lansdowne, former Palo Alto Police Chief Pat Dwyer, retired Assistant SJPD Chief Tom Wheatley, retired SJPD Deputy Chief Adonna Amoroso, County Counsel Ann Miller Ravel, County Supervisor Jim Beall, retired Chief Assistant Public Defender David Mann and private criminal defense attorney Ken Robinson.

Carr, 52, was graduated from UC Berkeley with honors in Spanish. She received her JD from Southwestern University School of Law in 1980 and was admitted to the California Bar that same year. She is married to a lieutenant in the San Jose Police Department. The couple has four grown children. (Complete announcement information is available at www.JudgeCarrforDA.com.)

# # #