Retiring - The Spectrum Magazine - Redwood City's Monthly ...

“I kind of have mixed feelings, because I have
thoroughly loved my job,” said Fox when asked
about his thoughts on his upcoming retirement.
“This is now my 28th year as district attorney and
it’s just been a wonderful experience. I have had
an opportunity to do a lot of interesting things.
I have also been active in our state association,
active in the National District Attorneys
Association, and have had the opportunity to go
back to Congress and testify before committees,
such as on the loan relief for prosecutors and
defenders. I have testified for Sen. Feinstein
in support of a gang bill, and I have testified
in regards to funding for the National District
Attorneys Association.”
As district attorney, Fox has made a substantial
impact, particularly as the dominant driving force
in preserving a low crime rate. To guarantee the
well-being of the public, he works closely with
local law enforcement agencies to combat crime
and hold accountable all those who violate the law
or disrupt due process in any way.
“San Mateo County is a very safe place.
However, it would be presumptuous of me to take
any credit for it. It is a combination of several
factors,” said Fox. “Back in 1983 when I first
came in, we were averaging around 40 homicide
cases a year. And, unfortunately, in 1992 East
Palo Alto had 42 homicides just within their city
limits. So we had a lot of very violent crimes.
But that was back in those days, and that doesn’t
occur any more. Last year we may have had 15
total for the county. So I think it is safer. But, as
I said, I am not going to be so presumptuous and
say I accomplished that, because I didn’t. It is a
combination of very cooperative efforts between
law enforcement and our office.”
Fox added, “I remember being asked this one
time by someone who was on the San Mateo
County Board of Supervisors. In fact, it was Tom
Huening, who is now the [county] controller,
saying, ‘Jim, the crime rate is going down. Are
you going to take credit for this?’ And I said,
‘Absolutely not, because crime is reciprocal and I
fully anticipate that at some point the crime rate
will go back up. If I take credit for it now, you will
expect me to take the blame then, and I am not
going to do that!’”
Yet something that Fox might take credit for is
his passion for the law and his compassion toward
rehabilitating defendants. He has a rock-solid
reputation for his prosecutorial discretion and
for his intuition and integrity when prosecuting
criminal cases. “There has been no better district
attorney in the United States, in my opinion,
than Jim Fox,” said Wagstaffe. “He is one of the
greatest, most insightful people that I have ever
met, and especially when it comes to his judgment
and integrity on his cases. Every decision he
makes, it’s because it is right to make. He is never
influenced by anything other than what is the right
thing to do in a case. It doesn’t matter if you are
a prince or a pauper, every decision he makes is
going to be a fair one with no political influence.”
Likewise, some of Fox’s most memorable
career highlights as district attorney have been
in highly visible proceedings, such as the George
Franklin “recovery memory” homicide case,
which received national media attention in 1990.
Franklin was placed under arrest in 1989 for
the unsolved 1969 rape and murder of Susan
Nason, his daughter Ellen’s 8-year-old friend. Fox
obtained a guilty conviction in November 1990,
but in 1995, Franklin’s habeas corpus petition was
granted from the federal district court and the
guilty verdict was reversed. Because of several
circumstances, including new developments
and setbacks from some of the witnesses in the
first trial, Fox was not able to retry the case and
Franklin became a free man.
“San Mateo County is a very
safe place. However, it would
be presumptuous of me to
take any credit for it. It is a
combination of several factors.”
“The ‘repressed memory’ case obviously got a
lot of publicity, but we’ve also had a lot of other
cases that got media attention as well. There was
a lot of media coverage on the Eddie DeBartolo
case, where he was accused of assault,” explained
Fox. “But at this point, I have not been in court
for years. I only tell half-jokingly to people that
the real reason I am no longer in the courtroom
is that I take criminal prosecution much too
seriously than to do it myself. I have deputies who
know what they are doing, and they are in court
every day. And now my role as an administrator is
to set policy, and one area in which I make every
decision is with the homicide cases. Decisions like
what is going to happen with these cases, what
offers are we going to make and certainly whether
or not it is a capital case where we would seek
the death penalty. I am actively involved in those
decisions every day.”
Although Fox is gradually transitioning into
his retirement, he still puts in 11-hour work days
seven days a week, interacting with police chiefs,
management and co-workers in the District
Attorney’s Office, and finds time to remain
connected to key district attorney associations. “I
have been very active in the California District
Attorneys Association and have been active in
the legislative committee almost 20 years now,”
said Fox. “I am still active in the National District
Attorneys Association. In fact, I have regular
conference calls involving strategic planning
for that organization. Also, I am a member of
the Judicial Council’s Criminal Law Advisory
Committee since 1994. So I don’t find myself
getting bored.”
A lifelong resident of San Mateo County, Fox
first got involved in public service when he was
21 years old, working for the San Mateo County
Probation Department. Upon graduating from
law school at the University of San Francisco in
1970, he assumed the position of deputy district
attorney in San Mateo County. Fox spent the next
four years in this position before making his way
into private practice; however, he concurrently
worked in public service as Half Moon Bay’s
city attorney from 1974 to 1983. In 1983, Fox
was elected San Mateo County’s second district
attorney since 1953, replacing his predecessor of
29 years, Keith Sorenson.
History is about to repeat itself with the shifting
of power as Fox’s lengthy run as the county’s
district attorney draws to a close and Wagstaffe
gets ready to take the reins. “He has served as
my chief deputy district attorney for the last 18
years, and there is nobody more qualified than
Steve,” said Fox. “I think he is going to continue
the tradition that was started in this county by
Judge Dematteis and then Keith Sorenson, my
immediate predecessor, in 1953. San Mateo
County is unique because of the stability we have
had. The advice that I give to Steve Wagstaffe
is to stay out of politics. Do the job, which is to
prosecute based upon the evidence of the law, and
I have no question that he is going to do it!”
Fox has good reason to have absolute
confidence in his protégé because Wagstaffe has
indeed learned from the finest. “I know they are
going to be enormous shoes for me to fill in order
to measure up to what Jim has done, but I watched
Jim do it when he took over for Keith Sorenson
when he was the district attorney in this county.
Keith was the district attorney from 1953 to
1983, so when Jim stepped in, he had enormous
shoes to fill then. I really watched how he did it,
and that is how I am going to do it. I’m excited,”
said Wagstaffe. “I have worked for Jim Fox his
entire career as district attorney, and every day
it has been a wonderful experience. He is both
my friend and mentor, and I can’t begin to tell
you how much I am going to miss him. And I am
going to miss him being here because whenever I
have a difficult problem, Jim always has the answer.”
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