Joyce Dudley, a senior deputy district attorney vying for the title of district attorney, listens yesterday as county leaders discuss how to handle the vacancy created by the retirement of ailing former district attorney Christie Stanley.
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DA title falls to Bramsen
By doing nothing, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors yesterday circumvented a potential political land mine, declining to appoint an interim district attorney to complete the term of Christie Stanley, the ailing top prosecutor who retired last week.
Instead, Stanley’s title fell to the person next in line, Chief Assistant District Attorney Ann Bramsen. She will be the interim district attorney until at least June, when voters will hit the polls and, possibly, select a new district attorney. However, it’s possible that a permanent district attorney won’t be selected until the general election in November.
Bramsen’s default appointment seemed to appease the two prosecutors vying to succeed Stanley.
If either contender had been appointed interim district attorney, it would have been difficult to ignore the sludge of politics on the gears of a branch of the legal system that prides itself for having a robust sense of ethics.
Many who have followed the saga surrounding the district attorney’s race said having Bramsen at the helm would ensure a toxic political environment isn’t left to fester until Election Day.
“I have the privilege of saying she [was] my law clerk and now she’s my boss,” said Aimee Libeu, a veteran prosecutor, noting that she felt Bramsen would provide the continuity the office needs as it grinds through a period of transition. “Stability is what we need.”
Since Stanley announced her intention to retire just over a week ago, the question of who would succeed her was compounded by the political aspirations of Senior Deputy District Attorney Joyce Dudley and Joshua Lynn, who until yesterday carried the title of acting district attorney.
Along with taking politics out of the equation, Bramsen’s rise to the role of interim district attorney was, apart from her new job title, most immediately felt by Lynn, who was essentially demoted back to the role of chief trial deputy.
Lynn told the Daily Sound on Monday night that he hoped the Board would “leave well enough alone,” and allow him to continue on as acting district attorney, a title he assumed in October after Stanley took an indefinite leave of absence. Many people, including Dudley, felt Lynn’s appointment was politically motivated.
But after hearing that that job would fall to Bramsen, Lynn didn’t seem surprised or disappointed.
“I couldn’t make a better choice myself,” he told the Board. “It would be a privilege to work for her.”
Dudley, who has been endorsed by two Board members and might well have been able to garner the votes to be appointed district attorney, said she wouldn’t have accepted the role if it was given to her.
She said doing so would have mirrored what she believed was the dirty politics behind Lynn’s rise to acting district attorney.
“I felt when Stanley appointed Josh that it was a political appointment and I was disturbed because I thought that it was unfair to the voters of the county,” she said. “I feel that what happened today was the right thing.”
Prior to yesterday’s meeting, Dudley said she hoped the Board would name a politically neutral person as district attorney — a wish that she felt came true.
“She is just an exceptional woman and she is just fair, honest, ethical and she’ll do a terrific job,” Dudley said of Bramsen.
Bramsen couldn’t be reached by phone last night, and she was not at the meeting. Prior to becoming the chief assistant district attorney a few months ago, she was chief trial deputy in the North County office — the same position Lynn held, only in South County. According to Bramsen’s bio on the district attorney Web site, she graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a bachelor’s degree in history, and went on to earn a law degree from Pepperdine University. It says she interned at the office during her undergraduate days, and while she was in law school. She was named deputy district attorney of the year in 2001.
Once it became clear the Board would publicly discuss Stanley’s retirement, Dudley and Lynn urged their supporters to attend the meeting. And indeed, when the discussion began just after 5 p.m., the room, though not at capacity, was stacked with attorneys.
And because the Board stole the show before it could really begin, making it clear Bramsen would be the interim district attorney, many of those who submitted speaker slips declined to comment when called upon.
But several others took the opportunity to express support for their chosen candidate. And along the way, it became clear just how polarized the situation in the District Attorney’s Office has become over the last few months.
Lynn and his supporters maintain that, although the circumstances surrounding Stanley’s lack of leadership are unfortunate (she’s battled lung cancer for years and some say her health has taken a turn for the worse in the past few weeks), leadership in the office has not suffered under Lynn’s brief tutelage.
Others, however, say morale in the office has never been lower. These people, who support Dudley, say they look forward to the day when stable leadership is restored.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Hilary Dozer, a Dudley supporter who has toiled as a prosecutor longer than any of his colleagues, thanked the Board for allowing Bramsen to lead the office over the next few months. He said adequate leadership has been “sorely lacking” lately, and noted that Bramsen is a step in the right direction.
On the other side of the aisle is Senior Deputy District Attorney Brian Cota, who said after the meeting that he couldn’t disagree more with Dozer.
“I’m surprised by those comments,” he said. “I think the office has had leadership … I don’t agree with it at all.”
While considerable speculation surfaced in the past few days about what would transpire at the Board meeting, many believe the dueling campaigns of Lynn and Dudley took a large step toward incivility with the creation of the Web site, www.joycedudleymisconduct.com. The site was created by Lynn’s campaign and provides links to legal documents that highlight some of Dudley’s career low points, including a jury conviction that was overturned by a judge, and allegations that she erred by publishing a book about a rape case which some felt closely mirrored a real rape case she was trying.
While the legal documents and rulings offer, in at least one case, a harsh scolding of the prosecutor, Dudley and her supporters say the site is made up of half-truths and distorts reality.
For instance, in the case of the novel, Dudley said the California Supreme Court, which took up her case on its own volition — an almost unheard of action by the state’s highest court that is missing from Lynn’s Web site — absolved her of any wrongdoing.
Dozer, in his comments to the Board, said he’s “ashamed” by these tactics (he didn’t directly name Lynn), and said he felt it “tends to put the reputation of the office in a bad light,” adding that he felt much of the Web site’s content was “baseless and false accusations.”
After the meeting, Lynn defended the Web site’s content as pure fact, and said he hopes voters evaluate he and his opponent’s records. And he said Dudley’s record, whether she likes it or not, includes what appears on the Web site.
“Of course,” he said when asked if he still felt the Web site was an appropriate way to point out Dudley’s record. “It’s a matter of public record. Ethics in my office must flow from the top down.”
He added later, “I’m running on my record, she’s running on her’s and that’s what the voters should be concerned about.”
Senior Deputy District Attorney Ron Zonen, who is backing Dudley, called her “skilled beyond measure,” and “ethical to the extreme.”
“I know no one who can or will to a better job,” he said.
But no one’s comments seemed to hang on the air quite like Dozer’s: “Once the voters speak, the District Attorney’s Office will once again have a leader with a strong moral compass and I will celebrate her victory.”
Comment on this article
With Supporters Like Those... : 2/3/2010
Ron Zonen and Hillary Dozer speak in support of Dudley. That is rich. Zonen, who committed a misdemenor in the Hollywood case by giving his file including rap sheets to a hollywood producer, and who ultimately was kicked off the case for it, and Dozer who had a murder case overturned because of new evidence that someone else committed the murder, evidence he knew of but failed to discolose to the defense. Having those two defend someone's ethical record seems not the best idea.
Does anyone know how many of these ethical violations the rest of the office has? That is something that should be asked.
sv
Not SV : 2/3/2010
The previous post is not from me. Somebody else used my initials.
SV
will the real sv : 2/3/2010
Oh really? You're the only one with the initials SV? Or was it because the other post wasn't filled with Joyce dribble?
vs
oh please guys.... : 2/3/2010
....here we go again. can we open up a website just devoted to snipes between the dirty workers for both camps?
where's that third candidate?
Presumptuous arrogance : 2/3/2010
Just wanted all citizens to know that yesterday Josh Lynn ordered that all computerized documents be relabeled as Josh Lynn- Acting District Attorney. The I.T. Department had to spend much time changing the header on these documents yesterday and was still working on it late in the day. If a particular document was needed but had not been changed, employees were instructed to "cut and paste" his name and presumed title onto the document. Now that the Board of Supervisors has not selected him for the position, all documents must be changed again. Why would Josh Lynn be so presumptuous and wasteful of the time and effort of the I.T. Department? What arrogance!
D.A. insider
DA Insider (traitor) : 2/3/2010
maybe it was just because yesterday he was the Acting DA and the letterhead should reflect that, not someone who retired. You people are petty....can't think of anything meaningful?
vs
A question : 2/3/2010
If Dudleys behavior was so bad that it required a website what does it say about his leadership that she is allowed to continue on. If he was acting DA what actions did he take to correct her behavior? If he did nothing as the acting DA one can only draw two conclusions
A) he was derelict in his leadership of the office for allowing someone who was unethical, and had frequent instances of misconduct or
B) his allegations were all just a smear campaign.
So is Josh guilty of dirty campaigning or someone who lacks the leadership qualities to run the office?
Wanting Answers
oh come on : 2/3/2010
Lynn is a slimeball, no doubt about it.
BS
Petty? : 2/3/2010
If this is true about Josh Lynn having the IT deparment change all documents yesterday this is NOT petty. How long has he been "acting DA"? Several weeks? Why would he wait until the day that the Board is supposed to decide his fate to order the IT dept to alter all headers on the pdf. files? Do you realize how long and consuming that is? Now it all has to be changed back or redone to reflect the new "Acting D.A." Bramsen. What an absolute waste of tax payer money and resources and the effort of the IT dept. Why not just wait one more day to see if, in fact, he is going to be "acting D.A."? I would like separate confirmation from someone else that this is true. If so, I would like an explanation as to why he didn't have the foresight to realize that his title was not 100% his.
Tax payer
"acting D.A." since Oct : 2/3/2010
actually, he has been acting DA since October. If this scenario is true, I would also like to know why he waited until yesterday to do this. Yesterday was the day the Board of Supervisors was to vote on Stanley's replacement. Why didn't he do this back in october but instead wait until the day he could be ousted? I hope someone has the guts to call the d.a. office and ask directly if this was in fact ordered and now has to be completely re-done.
on the sidelines
Happy : 2/3/2010
I could not be happier that the Board had the foresight and wisdom to remove Josh Lynn, not appoint Dudley and instead install a third person. Congratulations on what I think is the correct decision. I wish Ms. Bramsen courage, wisdom and a thick skin. Good luck to you, Ms Bramsen, in your interim position.
I too would like to know more about Josh Lynn's reported changing of all pdf documents to his name as acting D.A. What a waste if true, but not surprising.
SV
Silly High Season : 2/3/2010
With all these distorted attempts at facts, smears on his critics, and selective analyses of re-imagined history, Josh Lynn seems to be taking political campaigning advice from the retired Travis Armstrong.
Cabalista
: 2/3/2010
The changing of the header on files yesterday at the office is in fact correct. Josh Lynn had his name and title (which he no longer has) added to all files on the system. I guess he thought he would be appointed by the board
The festering toxins released by stacked lawyers.... : 2/3/2010
Oh Boycott Boy I bet you could cut the smugness in the court with a knife. Want to know what my moral compass says... The @#*&% voters are screwed! Top down ethics...what a concept!
Boycott Boy
Dear DA Insider: : 2/3/2010
Yes the headers were changed yesterday but Josh Lynn was not involved in the decision to modify them, so get your facts straight before you state them as "The Word". Additionally hours were not spent modifying, so taxpayers can relax. Insiders need to spend their energy on doing their jobs insteading of blogging incorrect information that just reflects poorly on the entire office! C'mon guys, remember the Mission, I'm sure that's what the taxpayers want.
A Start : 2/3/2010
This is a good compromise to the problem of giving one candidate an incumbency advantage. In fact it may encourage others who are better qualified than either of the two presently announced ones the encouragement to enter the race before filing deadline. The present choice is to hold your nose and vote for Lynn, the lesser of the evils. Dudley is just not legally competent nor intellectually suited to run such an office and her manipulative conduct (and misconduct) over the years should be enough of itself to keep voters from her.
RHS
Dudley : 2/3/2010
To Taxpayer: Umm, changing computerized documents (secretarial work) costs more than appeals courts having to read and make decisions about D.A. Dudley's misconduct? See the forest for the trees.
misconduct
That's wrong : 2/3/2010
I think that was a pretty under-handed move by the County Supervisors, Joshua Lynn was suitable and therefore he will have my vote! Just another example of them wasting taxpayers money and time addressing something that didn't need to be.
micro-management sucks
Lynns Posters : 2/3/2010
cant seem to answer the question by wanting answers why is that?
are deceptive themselves
Spin it however you like, but the fact remains : 2/4/2010
I applaud the move by the Board of Supervisors in choosing Bramsen, who has no declared intent in running for the office of DA.
Before this decision, Mr. Lynn was pushing hard to remain in the top chair. He even ordered all letterhead, signs & business cards to show his name as DA.
But immediately after this decision, he spoke approvingly of the Supervisors decision.
He was effectively demoted by the Board of Supervisors.
Spin it any way you like.
Freshpavement
Why were the headers changed at all? : 2/4/2010
Why were the headers on all the files changed at all one day before the vote? The person who criticized the "DA insider" for telling the people what actually happened is an idiot. Why was this done? If not ordered by Josh Lynn, then which brilliant, overpaid, government worker was involved with this outstanding idea to change the headers on the day Josh lynn was going to lose his position? A position that was given to him based on politics. Maybe we should promote that genius to D.A. If Josh Lynn was not involved in the decision, then his ignorance is further evidence of either lack of administrative control of the office, ignorance of what is actually happening or just plain presumption. You tell us. Where does the buck stop?
Mike J
Who's in charge? : 2/4/2010
If Josh Lynn didn't didn't order his name to be on the header who did? And if Josh lynn was acting d.a. why didn't he stop the wasteful job? Isn't he supposed to be the top administrator? Do all documents now have to be changed again to the new d.a. name a day later?
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