The group’s application is part of existing litigation to halt the forced layoff and involuntary transfer of well over three hundred sworn Special Agents of the Department of Justice.
The elimination and transfer of badly needed special agents results from targeted budget cuts promoted and signed into law by Gov. Brown. The group said the motivation for these cuts is unjustifiable.
The California Statewide Law Enforcement Association, which represents ASA-DOJ and special agents in collective bargaining, endorsed Meg Whitman in September 2010.
In the lawsuit, the ASA-DOJ alleges that Gov. Brown specifically slashed funding for the DOJ's Division of Law Enforcement, while increasing funding for the DOJ as a whole, as obvious political retaliation for the special agents' endorsement of Whitman in the 2010 gubernatorial race.
The lawsuit further alleges that Brown violated both the California Constitution and government code by encroaching on the statutory authority of the attorney general and eliminating special agent divisions without the express authority required to do so under the law.
Special Agents will be laid off and transferred from the Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement and the Bureau of Investigation and Intelligence. These bureaus are responsible for investigating drug cartels, street gangs, exploiters of children, homicides, major fraud, terrorism and public corruption, among others.
ln 2010 alone, the Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement seized more than $8 billion dollars of narcotics and arrested hundreds of violent gang members, while the Bureau of Investigation and Intelligence played a crucial role in locating and arresting thousands of violent suspects, including Scott Peterson and the murderers of Sandra Cantu and Chelsea King.
If the special agents are eliminated from the ranks of law enforcement, the people of California will face the brunt of the impact as criminal activity in drugs and violent crime will face significantly less deterrence and punishment from those in uniform.
lf transferred from their current positions as planned, many special agents will face a serious personal threat to their safety, the group reported.
A number of special agents work undercover in sophisticated criminal organizations and may not be able to safely remove themselves in the 30 days notice given by the department, according to ASA-DOJ.
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