This lengthy, must-read series is titled, "Measuring Justice," is written by Cindy Culp. Part 1 is titled, "Data offer clues on McLennan County district attorney's performance." It appeared in the Sunday edition
The McLennan County District Attorney’s Office does not pursue half of all felony cases recommended by law enforcement officials, with prosecutors dropping most of those cases before formal charges are filed.
At first glance, that statistic might appear to bolster the complaints of some local police, who frequently grouse in private about the prosecutors’ handling of cases. The perception that McLennan County District Attorney John Segrest and his staff dismiss too many cases is one reason the Sheriff’s Law Enforcement Association of McLennan County has decided not to support Segrest in next year’s election. The group, along with the Waco Police Association, has endorsed local defense attorney Abel Reyna, who is a candidate for the post.
But criminal justice experts say a 50 percent nonprosecute rate could be a sign of an exceedingly well-run office just as easily as it could be a cause for concern. What is truly troubling is that in most jurisdictions, voters don’t have the information they need to judge that, even at election time, they said.
“Prosecutors are way off the charts in terms of public officials who exert substantial discretion in ways we don’t know about or understand,” said Marc Miller, a law professor at the University of Arizona and co-author of a study about why prosecutors decline cases. “. . . The election of a prosecutor is potentially the greatest moment for us to focus on a discussion of what we expect our prosecutors to do. But the dialogue we carry on about prosecutors is trivial.”
The percentage of cases Segrest’s office accepts from area police departments and the sheriff’s office has never before been quantified. To get that number, the Tribune-Herald examined raw data from Segrest’s office from a three-year period that ended in 2008.
The Tribune-Herald also requested data from six other Texas counties of similar size for comparison purposes. Two counties produced extensive information, and a third provided limited data. The other three counties did not provide figures needed to make reliable comparisons with local numbers.
Overall, the data show that the percentage of cases pursued by McLennan County prosecutors is within average range.
Local prosecutors either refused or dismissed 50.3 percent of felony charges during 2006-08. For misdemeanor cases, there was a 39.7 dismissal/refusal rate, and for all cases combined, it was 43 percent.
By comparison, during the same three years:
* Prosecutors in Jefferson County, home to Beaumont and Port Arthur, refused or dismissed 45.7 percent of felonies, 40.4 percent of misdemeanors and 42.2 percent of all cases combined.
* Prosecutors in Wichita County, where Wichita Falls is the county seat, refused or dismissed 46.3 percent of cases with felonies and misdemeanors combined. Data were not available broken down by felony versus misdemeanor.
Nationwide, a handful of studies on particular jurisdictions have shown that nonfederal prosecutors discard roughly 25 percent to 50 percent of cases without filing formal charges. The total number of cases not pursued in those jurisdictions would be even higher once dismissals were added in.
Part 2 is, "Voters often underinformed in DA contests." It appeared in the Monday edition.
Marc Miller likes to joke that district attorneys lose elections only slightly less often than leaders did in the old Soviet Union.
The quip isn’t too far from the truth, though, the University of Arizona law professor said. A recent study of chief prosecutor elections across the nation found that when incumbents run, they win 95 percent of the time.
The primary reason for that success is that incumbent prosecutors aren’t even challenged in 85 percent of elections. In jurisdiction after jurisdiction, prosecutors are allowed to coast into another term without having to explain how their offices have performed, Miller said.
McLennan County District Attorney John Segrest has held his post longer than any other district attorney in local history. The last time he was challenged on the ballot was more than a decade ago. But that will change next year, when Segrest will face an opponent in the November general election.
Still, the odds are not in favor of voters getting the information they need to determine whether Segrest or a challenger is better for the job, said Ron Wright, a Wake Forest University law professor who wrote the election study and has partnered with Miller on research projects. Even when prosecutor elections are contested, the campaigns tend to focus on trivial matters, he said.
“What they often talk about is single cases,” Wright said. “They talk about their lawyering skills and background. What you are far less likely to see is a discussion about the overall output of their office, their priorities.”
That is worrisome, Wright and Miller said, because chief prosecutors occupy one of the most powerful positions in the criminal justice system. The discretion they have to prosecute cases or reject them gives them more control over the fate of those accused of a crime than a judge or jury.
Elections offer one of the only checks on that power, Miller and Wright said. They noted that when prosecutors have an opponent, they win only 69 percent of the time.
The upcoming election will be Segrest’s sixth time to run for the office. But some observers say it will be the only time he has faced a real opponent since his initial campaign.
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