​NEWS RELEASE

FROM: 
Dolores Carr, District Attorney   CONTACT PERSON: 
Dolores Carr, District Attorney
(408) 299-3099   For release on January 9, 2007     CARR SWORN in as DISTRICT ATTORNEY in HISTORIC CEREMONY, RESUMES HER SEARCH for a NEW CHIEF ASSISTANT ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Murphy Withdraws Name after Discovery of Obscure Law
San Jose, CA—January 9, 2007.  Former Superior Court Judge Dolores Carr was sworn in on Monday as Santa Clara County’s new District Attorney, the first woman in history to hold the county’s top prosecutor job. Judge Robert Ahern administered the oath of office to Carr in the Board of Supervisors chambers in a low-key private ceremony.   Carr said that she embraces the challenge of running an efficient, ethical office with personnel she considers to have “the highest level of talent in the state.”   The new District Attorney also said that former prosecutor and current Superior Court Judge Kevin Murphy, her choice for Chief Assistant, has withdrawn his name from consideration for the position.   “After news of his appointment was announced last Thursday, we discovered an old and little-known provision of the California Constitution (Article VI, Section 17) that appears to prohibit a judge from accepting public employment during the period of his or her judicial term,” said Carr. “The  provision seems to apply even if that judge resigns from the bench before accepting the position.”   Murphy had planned to resign from the Superior Court on Friday, January 12th and assume his new duties in the DA’s Office on Monday, January 15th. His current elected six-year term of office has two more years to run.   Carr said there was an opinion relative to Section 17 issued by the Attorney General in 1983 that can be interpreted as applying to Murphy’s appointment.   “The Attorney General’s opinion is advisory only, and there are no cases directly on point. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to resolve this issue,” said Carr. “Judge Murphy has elected to place the interests of this Office above his own, and has withdrawn his application for the Chief Assistant position.”   In a statement delivered to Carr withdrawing his application, Murphy said, “Because I do not want to create an issue for you in your new administration, and because I believe that the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office deserves only the best, without controversy, I decline to accept your kind offer,” Murphy wrote.   “My intention is to fill the Chief Assistant position with a qualified individual from outside the DA’s Office,” said Carr. “I regret that I cannot do so before assuming office. However, I have confidence that Marc Buller will continue to provide steady leadership in the interim.”   ###