Stanislaus County District Attorney Birgit Fladager announced on Sept. 14 that she will not seek a fifth term as District Attorney in the 2022 election and plans to retire in January 2023.
“It has been the honor of a lifetime to work with the men and women in the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement and community partners,” said District Attorney Birgit Fladager. “It has been a pleasure to serve as your District Attorney for over 15 years. I am proud of everything we have accomplished thus far and I know the office is well situated for the future. After 31 years as a prosecutor, it is time for me to retire and allow others to continue the tradition of serving justice, protecting victims and keeping our community safe.”
Fladager has been the District Attorney for 15 years and will reach 16 when she retires. She has been a prosecutor for 31 years.
“We have accomplished quite a lot in the last 16 years and faced many challenging obstacles,” Fladager said. “Our many accomplishments include: creation of the Stanislaus Family Justice Center to better serve victims in our community; establishment of the Fire Investigation Unit to ensure professional arson investigations; use of technology to make the office more efficient, capable, productive and safe from cyber-attacks; and, of course, hiring the most dedicated and competent prosecution team anywhere.
“The obstacles included: a multi-year major economic recession that led to a 25% reduction in staffing; massive and ongoing changes to the criminal justice system which many of us fear are going too far and too fast without allowing a meaningful assessment of their effectiveness and consequences. Finally, there is the COVID pandemic which created unexpected challenges--and opportunities--for the criminal justice system. While we face major backlogs as a result of court closures and limitations on the number of cases that can be heard,there has been some positive impact. Our justice partners became even more efficient in using technology to submit cases and discovery to us and the courts began to allow electronic filing and permitted some court appearances to be done virtually. These changes increased efficiency and should help offset the delays that we are continuing to see in contested court matters.”
Fladager said she will work to make sure of a smooth transition for her successor and will be working closely toward resolving the appeals that have arisen in the Laci Peterson murder and the conviction of her husband Scott Peterson.