How to prosecute crimes in Stanislaus County; new DA Jeff Laugero, in his own words
Does any office seeker deserve this kind of luck?
No one opposed Jeff Laugero when he ran in the June primary for Stanislaus County district attorney. For context, his predecessor, Birgit Fladager, faced no challenger only once (2010) in the four times she ran for election.
And, by sheer good fortune and timing, Laugero’s first term will last six years instead of four; Sheriff Jeff Dirkse also automatically gets two more years thanks to a shift designed to put some important offices on the same track as presidential elections instead of midterms.
Laugero, 55, has an intriguing backstory that includes police jobs in Modesto and Pleasanton and with the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department, as well as 13 years on the Escalon City Council, part as mayor. He had to resign that post and move to Stanislaus County to run for DA when Fladager decided to retire.
He’s not new to the Stanislaus District Attorney’s Office, however, having started here in 2005. Laugero became assistant DA in 2021, and will be sworn in as DA on Jan. 3.
Laugero granted The Modesto Bee Editorial Board a remote interview, which can be viewed at modbee.com/opinion. Below are excerpts, edited for space and clarity.
Q: Was it hard to leave Escalon?
A: (The Escalon Council) was very educational for me; I felt it was important to give back to the community I was raised in, that my daughter was raised in. When it came to my career and the opportunity to serve this (Stanislaus) community in a different capacity and scale, there is no question that was going to be what we were going to do. (Family members) were on board.
Q: What are your thoughts on Birgit Fladager?
A: She has been a very good leader for this office. Her focus on victims and victims’ rights has been a very good example for the entire office, making sure the victims weren’t forgotten and weren’t left behind.
Q: Share your approach to criminal justice.
A: We encounter people who usually are having the worst event of their lives. We’re dealing with human beings, whether defendants, victims or family members. All of us have different experiences growing up, different challenges and opportunities. We have to look at individuals, look at the system and look for options. Ultimately, my goal is not to have people in the criminal justice system. If we can avoid that by giving them life skills and helping them make better decisions in life, I’m all for that. Incarceration doesn’t necessarily have to be the first stop. It certainly is an element of criminal justice that may have to be used. But the criminal justice system is not just about punishment.
Q: What will you tackle right away?
A: The big thing is making sure we have proper staffing. The county has been helpful in allowing us to try creative things to make sure we’re recruiting quality candidates. Attorney trainees are law school graduates who want to be prosecutors and are waiting to take the bar (exam). It’s a good training ground, to bring them on board, see how they do and if it’s a good fit for the office. We’re also hiring some senior attorneys from other offices.
Q: Do you get along with Public Defender Jennifer Jennison?
A: We have no problem sitting down (and saying), ”How are we going to make this work?” She is very pragmatic, which is helpful because we can look at a problem and be creative on how we address it. It is an adversarial system, but that doesn’t mean we’re adversaries as we try to come to decisions on how to move forward.
Q: Is deferred sentencing working?
A: It definitely has helped with the backlog, (to) figure out if we can get a (misdemeanor) plea upfront and get the person into training or a program. If they enter a plea and if they’re successful in completing the program, we dismiss the case. If they don’t attend training or the program, they’re sentenced and there is punishment. We should start to get some feedback (soon) on how effective the system actually is as far as people completing the program and not reoffending.
Q: What was your involvement in the Frank Carson case?
A: I wasn’t involved in the decision process. Generally, any time we file charges, we have a belief that we can prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt; we have to meet that ethical obligation. However, most prosecutors have been in a situation where you file a case, then something happens at trial — information comes out in a way that wasn’t presented before, or witnesses change their story. That does happen. Anytime there is an acquittal, it’s always good to go back and evaluate the case and see if there is something you might want to change or do differently.
Q: Any parting thoughts?
A: I’m looking forward to the challenges and hoping we can provide the most professional prosecution agency the county could ever expect. I’m looking at building community trust and making sure (people) know we are here to protect them, so they know public safety is Job 1.
This story was originally published December 30, 2022 at 6:00 AM.