Calcasieu Parish District Attorney John DeRosier said streamlining the criminal justice process is his goal for the new year. DeRosier said he hopes to reduce the amount of time that elapses between making an arrest and the case’s final disposition. Changing the way his office takes in police reports could also save time on the front end of the prosecution process, he said. “Every case in the office is generated by an offense report filed by a law enforcement agency. Until we get that report,there is no case,” he said. Sometimes that process can take weeks, he said, leaving defendants in jail for up to 45 days or more in the interim. If officers in the field could generate those reports the same day a crime occurs, DeRosier said the assistant district attorney on duty could review the case immediately and file the charge within a day. “Now we’ve saved the first 20, 30, 40 or even 50 days of the process by getting the report

now,” he said. DeRosier admits some crimes would require more time, but said he hopes to look into some ways to get reports faster in 2012.

He said criminal justice officials are also working to regain control of trial dockets, which now can contain up to 100 cases set for trial during one or two weeks.

“Right now the problem is that our dockets are not being controlled by us (D.A.’s office), the judges or the Public Defender’s Office. They are being controlled by defendants who will absolutely not plead guilty until they see that jury,” DeRosier said.

He said that District Attorney’s Office officials have met with judges, public defender’s office representatives and law enforcement agencies to discuss possible solutions to this problem.

One possible solution involves setting several status conferences before defendants’ trial dates to work toward a pre-trial resolution.

DeRosier said after one or two such conferences, prosecutors would offer the defendant a one-time plea offer.

“We will make what we consider an offer of our best recommendation,” DeRosier said of the possible system. The assistant district attorney would explain his or her rationale for the plea proposal given the evidence and the circumstances surrounding the case.

DeRosier said the judge and defense counsel would then have the chance to go over the agreement with the defendant.

If the defendant didn’t take the deal during that conference, DeRosier said only two options remain: go to trial or plead guilty as charged.

If officials find a way to make these changes work in the 14th Judicial District, it could cut down on crowded trial dockets and the total time it takes to close the average case, DeRosier said.

Brett Sandifer, Calcasieu Parish’s newest assistant district attorney, said he is looking forward to starting his career in the 14th Judicial District.

A May 2011 graduate of Mississippi College School of Law, Sandifer said his interest in history led him to attend law school after he earned his undergraduate degree in history from Louisiana State University in 2008.

Sandifer, 25, said law school was tough, but he is happy with the career path he has chosen. “It (law school) was a lot of studying and a lot of long nights, but I think I made the right decision. There are a lot of different options available to me in this field,” he said.  After he was hired in October, Sandifer dove right into handling misdemeanor cases

in Judge Kent Savoie’s court, he said. Although this is his first job out of law school, he said an internship with the prosecutor’s office in Baton Rouge helped prepare him for his current post. Sandifer is paired with

prosecutor David Kimball, who handles felony cases in Savoie’s Court.  In addition to his misdemeanor case duties, Sandifer assists Kimball during felony matters before and during trial, he said.  “He’s right out of law school and he’s been thrown right into the middle of everything,” Kimball said. “Between misdemeanors and felonies it’s good experience. You can’t really get any better experience than working in the DA’s office.”

Kimball said being paired with a misdemeanor prosecutor is a new experience, and he appreciates the assistance.

District Attorney John DeRosier said he began earlier this year assigning two lawyers to each division of court — one to handle misdemeanors and one to handle felonies.  DeRosier said devoting one attorney to misdemeanors helps concentrate the divisions on the more serious cases.

Having two attorneys in the division also helps speed

up matters in felony court, he said. One attorney can make plea negotiations while the other prosecutor handles the actual pleas before the judge.  “Pairing misdemeanor and felony prosecutors is just one of the many things we are doing to try to streamline the criminal justice process,” he said.