Cleanup time
Change in court procedure needed to cut case dismissals and stem ABQ’s crime wave
“It’s like showing up to a baseball game and they say you were supposed to wear blue shoes and you wore white shoes, so the game is forfeited. It’s not connected to the core question: Is this person guilty or not guilty.” District Attorney Raúl Torrez “I don’t think we have the luxury of getting into technical debates about this. We’ve got some bad hombres out there.” Rob Perry, CAO, City of Albuquerque
Torrez and Perry are urging changes in court procedures that cover criminal prosecutions in Bernalillo County — procedures Torrez believes are behind skyrocketing crime rates because they have led to the dismissal of thousands of cases, putting criminals on the street to murder, rob and pillage.
Is he overstating the problem?
Hardly.
Since what is known as the Case Management Order was put into effect here by the State Supreme Court in 2014, our crime rates have soared. Torrez says murder is up 103 percent while auto theft is up 117 percent — with the Metro area leading the nation. We are awash in armed robberies and organized shoplifting rings. Carjackings are common.
The CMO was implemented with the goal of eliminating an unacceptable backlog of criminal trials by speeding up the process, with the companion goal of cutting the population at the Metropolitan Detention Center. Both are worthy goals, but if this were medicine instead of law, one could argue the cure for a bad cold has left the patient in critical condition. An empty jail and pretty docket aren’t much consolation if the bad guys are roaming the streets.
The order implemented many hard deadlines that have resulted in cases being dismissed outright by judges and others voluntarily by the DA in an attempt to preserve the possibility of a future prosecution.
Torrez and Perry on Thursday both urged the Bernalillo County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council to recommend changes to the state Supreme Court that would level the playing field for prosecutors and police — with the intent of protecting the public they serve.
The Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce echoed that support in a letter to the council, which was referenced in the meeting and said, in part, “Albuquerque is a special place with many strengths, but it must also be a safe place for businesses and families if we are to compete for jobs.”
Torrez, who has been a welcome change in the top prosecutor’s office, summarized his objections in a pull-no-punches report that says the rule’s application has been “arbitrary, unpredictable, and unjust, all at the expense of the State and Public.”
He says cases are routinely dismissed for technical violations that do not affect the rights of the defendant, for scheduling problems — some created by the court, and even for defendant transport issues outside the control of his office.
Torrez points to cases where he says judges dismissed cases for not meeting deadlines for hearings — when it was the court that set the schedule. In some cases, he says it was District Court that failed to transport defendants from the jail, then dismissed the cases because the defendant wasn’t there.
Other defendants have been turned loose over technical discovery violations in which the state hadn’t provided all the required evidence on time — and wasn’t given a chance to fix the problem.
OK. Rules are rules. But that’s not much comfort if one of those defendants stole your car, kicked in your door or held your teenage kid at gunpoint during an armed robbery of a fast-food establishment. And more cops won’t solve this. They will simply arrest more people to go into a system that all too often turns them back out on the street with no real determination of guilt or innocence.
Criminal defense lawyers are outraged over the Torrez report and complain about his use of the term “gaming” the system. Perhaps not a diplomatic word choice. Besides, it’s their job to work every angle, and there is ample evidence they are doing just that.
The council took no action on Thursday. Chief Judge Nan Nash said the court will drill down into the many cases cited by Torrez and presumably respond before next month’s meeting.
And while we wait, there will be hundreds more stolen vehicles, armed robberies, burglaries and so on.
As Perry put it, “Almost every night there’s a tragedy in this city, and it has absolutely eaten away at the quality of life, the economic vitality and what it means to live for the future in Albuquerque.”
It’s time for a change.