Study urges citations in many petty crimes

SEATTLE – Treating petty, nonviolent misdemeanors as infractions rather than crimes would save millions of dollars and better protect defendants’ rights without cost to public safety, according to a nationwide study.

That is the top recommendation in “Minor Crimes, Massive Waste: The Terrible Toll of America’s Misdemeanor Courts,” a report prepared by the Defender Initiative at the Seattle University School of Law and released Tuesday by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Other principal recommendations from the 1 1/2 -year study include less pressure to plead guilty in first appearances, enforcement of ethical obligations of judges and prosecutors, ensuring counsel for all defendants facing the possibility of jail time as required by Supreme Court rulings and providing adequate resources for public defenders.

John Wesley Hall Jr., a lawyer from Little Rock, Ark., and president of the association, said he looked forward to presenting the findings to the House Judiciary Committee in a congressional hearing June 4.

“Misdemeanor court is a black hole for justice and resources,” Hall told reporters. “I don’t think there is a bigger waste of human potential and taxpayer money in the entire criminal justice system.”

He and Robert C. Boruchowitz, a law professor and chief researcher, said they had not shown the findings to any group of prosecutors but hoped the study would lead to greater awareness of the need to reduce backlogs, cut costs and eliminate injustices. Lawyers in the King County prosecutor’s office have not seen it, spokesman Dan Donohoe said.

Researchers visited misdemeanor courts in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington reported that cases per public defender ranged from 360 a year in Benton County, Wash., and 380 in Seattle, both set limits, to 2,403 in Chicago, 2,502 in Utah and 18,720 in New Orleans.

For comparison, the National Advisory Committee on Criminal Justice recommends a maximum of 400 cases per defender.

In Washington state, the number of misdemeanor cases in court would be cut 30 percent a year by eliminating criminal prosecution of third-degree driving with a suspended license, which often reflects failure to pay fines for past infractions by people of limited means, researchers found.