New Sutter County District Attorney Working To Restore Faith In Office After Sex, Financial Scandals

YUBA CITY (CBS13) — From sex scandals to financial concerns, the Sutter County District Attorney's Office has been plagued with problems in recent years.

CBS13 sat down with the new district attorney who is taking over that has a lot of work to do.

Amanda Hopper is the first female district attorney in the county. She has a lot on her plate when it comes to restoring the public's faith in the office.

She's well aware of the problems the office has faced and their impact.

"It's a reality that people don't have faith in our office, and I think it's my responsibility and our entire office's responsibility to earn back that faith," she said.

The office has been rocked with questions and controversy over the past years, most notable when former district attorney Carl Adams became a suspect in the arson of his mistress's home.

Adams was never charged with a crime, but he resigned right after and left an ethical scar behind.

"Yes, there's a problem, and it's a problem that endures, it persists," Hopper said.

But it goes on. There are also concerns a member of the district attorney's office may have mishandled the case of a Sutter County Sheriff's deputy arrested for domestic violence.

"If that case were to come through this office today, it would be sent to the Attorney General's office," she said.

That means conflicts of interest will be identified and sent from the office.

There are also financial questions as the Sutter County Board of Supervisors is asking a grand jury to look into the office's finances after it was discovered federal grant money had been misspent.

"We are going to be doing an office-wide audit, we're looking into making sure that there are not only no future problems, but that we fix anything that is already existing," Hopper said.

The Yuba City High School graduate and now head prosecutor says it will come down to transparency.

"It's something we have to earn by our behavior, by our case management, by our ethics and by our competency as well," she said.

Hopper says she realizes the changes won't all come immediately and take some time. Still, she plans to hit the ground running.

Hopper says the plans on strengthening the prosecutions of gang and agricultural crimes which have spiked recently.