New Santa Clara County DA dashboard shows backlog of criminal cases

(KRON) — The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office launched a new public data dashboard on its website Thursday to increase transparency about the outcomes of criminal cases.

“These numbers show the reality of our criminal justice system, highlighting what we are doing right and what can be improved,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said. “Transparency should not be a buzzword. It means that we are all partners in making Santa Clara County as safe and as fair as we can.”

The COVID pandemic caused lengthy delays for felony cases and created in a huge backlog of cases. In 2024, cases are still not moving through the court system as quickly as they did before the pandemic.

One high-profile case in Santa Clara County involves three family members who are charged with performing an exorcism in a San Jose church. Prosecutors say 3-year-old Arely Naomi Proctor was tortured during the exorcism by her mother, uncle, and grandfather until she died. When Arely was found dead inside the church on Sept. 24, 2021, her mother said she believed that the girl was possessed by a demon, according to prosecutors. Nearly three years later, Arely’s accused killers are still awaiting trial.

SCCDAO wrote, “A clear area for improvement for the criminal justice system is the length of time that it takes to complete a criminal case in our County. Since the pandemic, that length of time has increased for both felonies and misdemeanors.”

Once a case is filed by the District Attorney’s Office, it can be resolved in a variety of ways, including by: dismissal, diversion, guilty plea, or by acquittal or guilty verdict at trial.

The dashboard’s data shows that some accused criminals are offered alternatives to going to prison, or their cases are dropped entirely.

“Dismissed cases include cases where defendants have been determined by a judge to qualify for mental health diversion or another diversion program, and have their cases dismissed upon completing the requirements of the diversion program,” the DA’s office wrote.

SCCDAO said, when viewing data on its new dashboard, there are important state law changes to account for:

• 2021 – Judicial Diversion: California Legislature authorizes judges to offer misdemeanor defendants, with or without mental health or addiction issues, judicial diversion. Upon completion of court-imposed requirement, the judge shall dismiss the case. Applies to most misdemeanors that are not DUI or domestic violence.

• 2019 – Narcotics Public Safety Program: DA’s Office begins Narcotics Public Safety Program – filing low level drug offenses against defendants who have three in a year, referring others to treatment.

• 2018 – Mental Health Diversion: The California Legislature passed mental health diversion for most felony or misdemeanor cases, resulting in qualifying defendants who had mental health issues that played a significant role in their crime. Defendants receive mental health treatment and ultimately have charges dismissed by a judge.

One recent high-profile case in San Mateo County that resulted in mental health diversion involved Dharmesh Patel, a doctor who attempted to kill his entire family by driving the family’s Tesla over a cliff at Devil’s Slide. Earlier this July, Patel was freed from jail, attempted murder charges were suspended, and he began an outpatient mental health treatment for depression in the Bay Area. The San Mateo County District Attorney’s office strongly opposed diverting the case and urged a judge to move the case forward to a trial. A judge, however, ruled in favor of mental health diversion, resulting in Patel’s release from custody without charges.

The new dashboard was created through a collaboration between the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office and Prosecutorial Performance Indicators.

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