Ursula Jones Dickson, Alameda County Superior Court judge and former deputy district attorney in Alameda County, addresses the Alameda County Board of Supervisors at the Alameda County Administration Building on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. Jones Dickson was supposed to be sworn in as district attorney on Tuesday, but her start date was pushed back because of her prior commitments as a judge. (David M. Barreda/KQED)
The start date for Alameda County’s next district attorney, Ursula Jones Dickson, was pushed back two weeks because of her prior commitments as a Superior Court judge, according to organizers of the recall campaign that left the office vacant.
Jones Dickson, who previously served as an Alameda County deputy district attorney for more than a decade, was scheduled to be sworn in Tuesday but needed more time to reassign ongoing court cases to another judge. She was appointed last week by the Board of Supervisors, three months after the recall of progressive prosecutor Pamela Price.
After the delay, her swearing-in ceremony is now scheduled for Feb. 18, according to the Board of Supervisors.
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Jones Dickson will take the lead of an office that faces many challenges in the wake of Price’s recall. Supporters of the recall campaign applauded her appointment and said her extensive prosecutorial experience in Alameda County leaves them optimistic that she will be able to fix issues they say her predecessor left behind — namely, rising crime rates and a need to restructure the DA’s office to be more efficient and accountable to victims.
Brenda Grisham, a principal officer of Save Alameda For Everyone, or SAFE, which led the recall campaign, said she has no concerns over the slight delay in getting Jones Dickson into office. Organizers trust her to do a good job once she does enter office, and Jones Dickson already knows what the community needs, she said.
Brenda Grisham, a leader of the campaign to recall Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price, speaks during a kickoff rally outside the René C. Davidson Courthouse in Oakland on June 8, 2024. Price was recalled in November. (Gina Castro/KQED)
“She’s the new DA, and her path forward is going to be her path forward,” Grisham said, adding that SAFE is shifting its focus toward public safety rather than the district attorney’s office.
SAFE was Jones Dickson’s biggest supporter during her candidacy for the opening. Their recommendation to county supervisors, who were tasked with selecting the next district attorney, was also signed by the county’s police officer associations.
Chris Moore, who worked with recall organizers to decide which district attorney candidates they would recommend, said Jones Dickson was chosen because of her ability to balance public safety concerns with reformative justice efforts.
Several groups in support of criminal justice reforms, including the Care First, Jails Last coalition, have expressed concern that a new district attorney would reverse the progressive reforms they achieved under Price. During the supervisors’ meeting on Jan. 21, many community members came forward, urging them to select a district attorney who would support holistic and non-punitive responses to crime.
Jones Dickson said during her final speech to the supervisors last week that although she is not opposed to finding alternatives to incarceration that support offenders who are suffering from mental illness or substance addiction, her primary concern is supporting victims and their families.
Upon taking office, Jones Dickson’s first step will be to make sure that the office has what it needs to do its job of prosecuting and charging cases, Moore said.
“Jones Dickson is working to rebuild the team already,” said Moore, who also helped lead the recall campaign against Price. “She understands the urgency.”
“It’s really just understanding who’s in what position right now,” Moore continued. “She’s coming up with a plan to reorganize the office so that the people with the most experience can help the people with less experience train to properly charge cases.”
The district attorney’s office is facing a major backlog of cases, said Jason Quinn, president of the Alameda County Prosecutors’ Association. Prosecutors are five years behind, and Jones Dickson will need to bring the office up to speed, Quinn said. He said Jones Dickson will need to retain prosecutors and prepare them for the preliminary prosecutions they’ll need to do in the future.
“Judge Dickson has a lot of work to do, and we’re looking forward to helping her,” Quinn told KQED.
She will serve as district attorney until the next general election in 2026 and has plans to run then as well.
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