WAXMAN: PROSECUTORS SHORTCHANGED REPORT SAYS U.S. ATTORNEY IN L.A. AREA UNDERFUNDED, UNDERSTAFFED.

Byline: LISA FRIEDMAN Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Attorney's offices in Los Angeles and other major cities are critically understaffed, crippling prosecutors' ability to handle heavy caseloads, a report released Monday found.

The report by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Los Angeles, said nearly 25 percent of the assistant attorney positions in the Los Angeles office remain unfilled because of hiring freezes and budget shortfalls. Meanwhile, basic supplies like binder clips are not replenished, and paper clips are in such short supply in some cities that attorneys must fill out written requests.

``The consequences appear to be severe,'' Waxman, the leading Democrat on the House Government Reform Committee, and Rep. John Conyers, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, wrote to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

``One basic question is, where has the money gone?''

Waxman and Conyers noted that funding from Congress to the Justice Department has increased 15 percent over the past five years, adding that ``the disparity in increased funding for U.S. attorneys overall and drastic shortages in staff and supplies in individual offices raise questions about Justice Department management.''

Throughout the country, the report said, chronic understaffing has forced offices to reach plea bargains more frequently, and forego some prosecutions altogether. In San Diego, Waxman claimed, a U.S. attorney informed his investigators that the agency has been unable to prosecute all of its illegal-immigrant smuggling cases.

In addition to the 40 unfilled positions in Los Angeles, the District of Columbia has 40 unfilled assistant attorney positions and Chicago has 25 to 35. Offices in Philadelphia and Virginia have begun charging indigent defendants for legal material that they are constitutionally required to provide because they cannot afford paper supplies.

``The picture that emerges is unsettling,'' Waxman wrote. ``U.S. attorneys have the crucial responsibility of prosecuting federal crimes and pursuing civil enforcement actions. Yet it appears their ability to meet this responsibility has been severely undermined.''

Kathleen Blomquist, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney General's Office in Washington, D.C., issued a statement blaming Congress for the understaffing problems.

She noted that every year since 2004, Congress has approved less than President George W. Bush requested to fund the agency. Most recently, in 2006, Congress rescinded $20.5 million and did not fund a separate $8 million for pay increases.

``As this trend has developed, we have urged Congress to support the president's request to fully fund the U.S. attorney's offices so that we can return additional prosecutors to the courtroom,'' Blomquist said.

She did not address allegations that the staffing problems have hurt law enforcement efforts across the country.

Dennis Boyd, executive director of the National Association of Assistant U.S. Attorneys, said there are 382 unfilled U.S. attorney jobs nationwide -- slightly less than 7 percent of all the authorized positions. But understaffing problems are particularly acute in larger offices like Los Angeles where turnover is more frequent.

``In places like Los Angeles, assistant U.S. attorneys stay a little while to get some experience, and then they go on to higher-paying jobs,'' leaving offices with little institutional knowledge, he said.

Boyd said his office has not received specific complaints that law-enforcement efforts have been diminished, but he did not dispute Waxman's findings. However, he said he doubted attorneys would put such complaints on the record.

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