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COVID-19 Updates: Get the latest public information related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) at ReadySLO.org.

Due to COVID-19 the District Attorney’s Office lobby is closed until further notice.  However, staff is still working so you can call 805-781-5800 if you need assistance.  If you are experiencing an emergency call 9-1-1.  For public health information go to ReadySLO.org.

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Dan Dow

Dan Dow

District Attorney

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Update on County Offices and Facilities

As of 7/8/2020:

At this point in time, most County offices are open for business; but a few are providing limited public services or services by appointment only. In addition, many public counters are open, and the remaining public counters will open by the end of the month.

Seven branches of the County of San Luis Obispo Public Libraries are now open for Grab & Go Services. Hours of operation will be 10am-5pm Tuesday-Saturday at the Atascadero, Cambria, Morro Bay, Los Osos, San Luis Obispo, Arroyo Grande, and Nipomo branches, with a one-hour window for vulnerable populations from 9am-10am. All branches will be following State and County COVID-19 guidelines to protect your health and safety. 

To help mitigate the spread of COVID-19, we continue to ask that you complete transactions over the phone and online whenever possible. If these approaches will not work for specific problems you are encountering, please call the department providing the service and make an appointment before coming to County facilities. This will help alleviate your frustration. Please note that anyone who arrives at County facilities exhibiting clear signs of illness may be asked to leave the premises. We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding at this time.

The County is following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines as it reopens its offices. For more information, look at our Reopening Toolkit.

For more information on the COVID-19 pandemic, and the County’s response, visit ReadySLO.org.

Due to COVID-19 the District Attorney’s Office lobby is closed until further notice.  However, staff is still working so you can call 805-781-5800 for assistance.  If you are experiencing an emergency call 9-1-1.  For public health information go to ReadySLO.org.

"Our Mission is to bring justice and safety to our community by aggressively and fairly prosecuting crime and protecting the rights of crime victims."

  

 

"WHAT DOES THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY DO?"

Watch this video to learn about the many facets of how we approach our duty to protect our community:

Video: "What Does the D.A. Do?"

 

THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE

 

District Attorney Dan Dow is the elected public prosecutor for the County of San Luis Obispo.  As the public prosecutor, the District Attorney shall attend the courts, and within his or her discretion shall initiate and conduct on behalf of the people all prosecutions for public offenses. (Cal. Gov. C. 26500).  District Attorney Dow leads the office staff of 100 employees which makes the District Attorney's Office the largest law firm in San Luis Obispo County. The office is located in the County Courthouse Annex Building at 1035 Palm Street in the city of San Luis Obispo.

The District Attorney has the mandated responsibility, under Government Code Section 26500 et seq, to investigate, evaluate and prosecute criminal violations committed within the county, to provide legal assistance to criminal investigations conducted by law enforcement agencies operating within the county, and to advise the Grand Jury.

Our office receives information in the form of police reports from local law enforcement agencies after an investigation has concluded that a California criminal law has been violated. The police reports are logged in to our case management system and assigned to various Deputy District Attorneys within the office for review and for consideration of filing criminal charges. In some cases, when deemed appropriate, the matter is also assigned to a District Attorney Investigator for additional investigation.  In some cases, our office returns the investigation to the referring agency with a request that they conduct further investigation to answer additional questions and to resubmit the case to the District Attorney's Office once completed. 

Daily operations are supervised by the Assistant District Attorney, two Chief Deputy District Attorneys, the Chief of the Bureau of Investigations, and the Director of Victim/Witness Assistance. A staff of 30 Deputy District Attorneys prosecutes felony, misdemeanor, juvenile and certain limited civil cases. All criminal cases are prosecuted in the main courthouse of the Superior Court located at 1050 Monterey Street in San Luis Obispo. The District Attorney's Office is not involved in Traffic Court.

The assigned Deputy District Attorney is responsible to manage all aspects of the case beginning with the initial appearance of the defendant through the final sentencing of the defendant. Our office has two attorneys assigned to handle the civil commitment of "Mentally Disordered Offenders" who are patients at Atascadero State Hospital regardless of where their crime was committed amongst the 58 counties in the State of California. Our office is also responsible for civil commitment proceedings regarding Sexually Violent Predators who committed their offenses within San Luis Obispo County.