As the workweek commenced, hundreds of attorneys from the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office, along with those from the Department of Child Support Services and the Public Defender's Office, gathered in unified protest. The strike, which began at 10 a.m. in front of the main courthouse downtown, was a call for a pay increase with 94% of their union members voting in favor. "We are experiencing a lack of experienced attorneys for serious cases in our unit because everyone is leaving for better-paying jobs," TeriAnn Grimes, a homicide and cold case prosecutor, told ABC10.
The Sacramento County Attorneys' Association, representing these legal professionals, believes a minimum raise of 5.5% is deserved, while the county's offer stands at a cost of living adjustment. "It was a take it or leave it offer. We believe that we deserved more based on the salary survey that we provided to the county," Quoc To, a senior attorney in the Public Defender's Office, echoed in the ABC10 report. Despite the county spokesperson's assertion that annual salaries, ranging from $204,000 to $247,000, are well above market averages, the attorneys press on for what they see as equitable compensation.
This strike did not emerge without warning; in fact, the foundations were laid earlier this month. The SCAA, as reported by FOX40, had already notified the county of their intent to strike starting August 26. This issue is not merely one of wages, but of the sustainability of the criminal justice system within Sacramento County. "It’s not sustainable and directly impacts the public. That is why we are fighting for a more competitive compensation package," a board member of Sacramento County Attorneys' Association and senior attorney at the Public Defender's Office.
While the strike is expected to affect certain operations within the court system, essential legal proceedings will continue. "We will show up for every trial that's already in progress. We will show up for last-day trials, meaning that the accused has a constitutional right to have it within a statutory period, we will show up for the end of that statutory period. We will show up for our last day preliminary hearings," Grimes assured the concerned public in her interview with ABC10. This decision reflects an understanding of the gravity of certain legal commitments, even amidst a struggle for betterment of their own working conditions.
