Superior Court Division
At the beginning of 2010, The Superior Court Division and Central Pre-Trial/Case Disposition Division were merged together to form one Division in an effort to become more efficient. The Division was headed by Chief David Greenberg and Assistant Chief Dwain Woodley and is responsible for prosecuting some of the most challenging cases in the District Attorney’s Office, including kidnapping, assaults, robberies, attempted murders, and murders.
One of the largest divisions in the office, Superior Court deputies handle all felonies not assigned to a branch or vertical prosecution division and are responsible for more than 25% of all felony cases tried by the District Attorney’s Office.
The Division is four distinct teams: Pretrial, Case Disposition, Trials and Major Violators.
The pretrial deputies handle a large number of serious cases. They arraign defendants charged in felony complaints, then prepare and conduct preliminary examinations in front of a judge to prove the charges based upon a probable cause standard. In doing so, the preliminary hearing deputies essentially are liaisons between the DA’s office, law enforcement and the victims and witnesses of crime.
The pretrial deputies also handle suppression motions, bail reviews, and miscellaneous court calendars. Occasionally, they conduct misdemeanor trials, which result if felony charges are reduced at the preliminary hearing.
The case disposition team works to appropriately assess felony cases in an attempt to reach fair and equitable resolutions of the cases at the earliest possible opportunity. The team encourages the immediate sentencing of defendants, where appropriate, significantly reducing costs to the County of San Diego.
The trial team is responsible for trying the cases that are bound over by the pretrial team and also serious trials that the deputy has handled vertically from the time the case was presented by law enforcement. Those cases involve murders, attempted murder arson and other complex felony cases. The John Gardner murder prosecution is an example of a case this team handles from the very beginning.
The Major Violators Unit prosecutes criminals with extensive felony backgrounds, serial bank robbers and other defendants charged with numerous serious felonies that face extraordinarily long prison sentences.
In addition, the Superior Court Division handles post-conviction mental health cases for those found to be a danger to the community as a result of mental illness.
Training and development of Deputy District Attorneys is an important aspect of the Superior Court Division. Monthly training sessions are presented on various aspects of criminal prosecution. Riding along with law enforcement officers is encouraged as well.
The unique combination of senior trial attorneys and junior deputies in the division helps junior deputies develop the skills and knowledge necessary to become formidable felony trial attorneys.
