EDMUND G. BROWN JR. State of California Attorney General DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 455 GOLDEN GATE AVENUE, SUITE 11000 ‘SAN FRANCISCO, CA: 94102-7008 Public: (415) 703-5500 Telephone: 15} 703.361 Facsimile: (415) 703-5889 E-Mail: gerald engler@doj.ca.gov ‘September 26, 2007 Milton J. Boyd, Chair Humboldt County Central Committee Post Office Box 1392 Eureka, CA. 95502-1392 RE: Request to Assume Local Investigation Dear Mr. Boyd: We have received your letter of September 13, 2007, requesting that the Attorney General’s Office “take the lead in the investigation and prosecution” of an incident involving a Eureka City Council member and a local businessperson, You state that the Humboldt County District Attorney “will no doubt want to recuse his office” due.to unspecified “political conflicts.” We must respectfilly decline your request to intervene for the following reasons. First and foremost, the District Attorney is the elected prosecutor of Humboldt County. The Jaw maintains a strong presumption that the District Attorney ~ not the Attorney General ~ will handle prosecutorial matters within the county. Only in extraordinary cases where an actual conflict of interest makes it unlikely that the district attorney can fairly prosecute the case may the district attomey be recused. A mere appearance of conflict is insufficient to warrant recusal. Thus, there are numerous cases where recusal has been denied even though the district attomey is called upon to prosecute cases involving county supervisors, sheriffs, or other political officials. The mere fact that the case involves a political supporter or apolitical opponent of the District Attomey will almost never suffice to justify recusal, Second, neither the District Attomey nor any involved party has asked us to intervene. Even ifsuch a request were made, itis unlikely we would do so given the considerations set forth in the preceding paragraph. As a general rule, the Attorney General will not intervene in a local matter at the request of a third party, such as the Central Committee. Third, any request at this time appears premature, Nothing in your letter suggests that the appropriate local law enforcement agency such as the sheriff's office or city police are unwilling or ‘unable to investigate the alleged crime, ‘That is an essential first step before it is even appropriate for a prosecutor to consider whether to bring charges.Milton J. Boyd, Chair September 26, 2007 Page 2 We understand the concern of your Committee that this matter be handled in a fair matter. However, for the reasons set forth above, we have no reason to believe that local authorities cannot discharge their duties in an impartial fashion. Accordingly, we decline your request to intervene. Sincerely, GERALD A. att A Ef Senior Assistant Attorney General For EDMUND G. BROWN JR. Attorney General GAE:dmn ce: Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attomey General