County Judge Questions Funding Of District Attorney's Program
Daniel Novick-KFOX News Weekend Anchor/Reporter
Posted: 4:52 pm MDT August 30, 2010
EL PASO, Texas -- El Paso County is still trying to squeeze every penny from every department before its budget is due and the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
The District Attorney's Office DIMS program was the latest to receive scrutiny and criticism by some on the El Paso Commissioners Court, though the County Commissioners ultimately decided to keep funding the program on a 3-1 vote.
In the DIMS program, instead of a magistrate judge determining whether there is enough probable cause for a case to go forward, a prosecutor from the District Attorney's Office does the job.
El Paso County has used the DIMS program for more than 10 years.
"It collapses the amount of time it takes a prosecutor to evaluate the case," said El Paso District Attorney Jaime Esparza.
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