Oliver to seek re- election as prosecuting attorney
Steve Oliver, 18th Judicial District East prosecuting attorney since 2001, recently announced he will seek re- election to another term.
“I am running for sure,” he said, “contrary to what some people seem to think. I love this job and I want to do it for another four years. I’m not just saying I’m going to run and then put someone else in there.”
Oliver noted there have been some concerns about his health after he became ill in 2007, but after getting over the hurdle of initially being misdiagnosed and being given the wrong medication, he said his condition, neuromyelitis optica, has leveled out and he hasn’t had a relapse of any kind since the summer of 2007.
“It’s kind of like cancer. If you can get past the first five years you’re doing real good. There’s no cure. I’m always going to have it, but the damage is done. I’m not getting any worse. I lost the ability to walk, but thank God I can still stand up.”
Oliver faced competition when he first ran for office 14 years ago, but has run unopposed ever since. “You never know, though. That is one thing you never take for granted. I’m realistic and no matter how good a job you think you’ve done there’s always going to be someone angry at the result.”
Oliver said the prosecutor’s office is responsible for a case load approaching 40,000 per year in Garland County District Court and more than 700 in the circuit courts. The prosecuting attorney’s office employs six full- time attorneys and one parttime attorney. The part- time prosecutor is assigned exclusively to juvenile court and to orders of protection.
He noted that there were 123 cases on the dockets of the two circuit courts this week alone, and even factoring in that a few defendants had more than one case, it still adds up to an average of 100 people a week.
While some complain about the number of cases handled through plea bargains, he said, “It’s a volume business. When you’re talking about 100 defendants, it’s not realistically possible to have a jury trial on everybody.”
He noted that circuit court Judges John Homer Wright and Marcia Hearnsberger are essentially part- time criminal judges because they both also handle a large caseload of civil cases and other legal matters.
He said he and his staff have to decide which cases to take to trial based on whether they are a habitual offender, the nature of the crime, or whether it’s a sexual offense or a violent crime.
“I’m very proud of the team we’ve built and the results we’ve had bringing criminals to justice as part of the law enforcement and judicial system in Garland County,” Oliver said.
“Unfortunately, many things have increased during the time I’ve served in this office — white collar crime, child abuse, sexual as well as violent crimes, and threats to witnesses. New communications technology and the minimum and maximum sentencing mandates have made practically all of our cases much more complicated.”
He said he understands the frustration of crime victims with the system and doesn’t disagree with their complaints.
“If I was a victim or the family member of a victim, I would feel the same way.”
He said one good thing that has come out of his 13 years in office is the way they deal with families and “being able to explain to them how the system works and how we sometimes can’t admit certain things in court.”
A new and more dangerous problem has also arisen, he said, stating that in cases involving violent crime, the defense has successfully influenced lower sentencing by “blaming the victim” and law enforcement for minimal errors and second guessing decisions made with 20- 20 hindsight.
“They say they didn’t do this test or that test which may not even be relevant,” he said. “The most unfair thing is the family has to sit there and listen to all these horrible things about their family member that they’ve lost.”
He said the jury often doesn’t hear about the defendant’s prior convictions or problems but information about the victim gets in. “I understand it though. That’s the way it should be.”
Oliver said he started his career as a deputy prosecutor in Pulaski County in the early 1980s, working for five years in North Little Rock Municipal Court and later working as division chief in two courts.
“I was handling a couple of jury trials a month and lots of bench trials. It was good experience for me.”
Oliver had moved to Hot Springs in 1978 and was commuting to Little Rock, but grew tired of it and soon went to work as a deputy prosecutor under then- Garland County Prosecuting Attorney Carl Crow. He later worked as a part- time public defender and in private practice with Bachelor, Newell and Oliver in Hot Springs.
His work on the opposite side of the fence helps him in his role as prosecutor, he said, noting, “Everybody deserves a competent defense. Being a public defender was a difficult job, but it makes the system work.”
He said the biggest lesson he took away from his years working the defense side is “you can’t make things personal. You have to look at the evidence and make a decision as to if there is enough legal facts to convict an individual.
“You can’t let it get personal or political. That makes a bad prosecutor.”
Oliver said some of the new problems they face is juror apathy, noting “we will call up panels of jurors and we’re lucky if half of them show up,” and the Internet and potential jurors doing their own research on cases.
He said he tries to be more pro- active, “doing things in the community,” but often encounters apathy there, noting they would hold seminars and programs and “five people would show up.”
He noted the success of their drug court and DWI court programs and that he feels more needs to be done in that area.
“I can put people in jail all day long for drugs but until we have a system that offers them counseling and some way to get away from the drug culture, it doesn’t work. You have to have some kind of intervention.”
He said he is a big believer in “faith- based type intervention” which offers them an alternative and “someone to forgive them for what they’ve done.”
He said, “I’m not cynical. I really believe they get saved in jail. But then they get out and go right back to their former lifestyle unless we do something.”
Oliver has a B. S. in psychology and a M. A. in clinical psychology from the University of Illinois, and a juris doctorate from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Law. Before beginning his legal career, Oliver was a licensed psychological examiner and professional counselor.
Prior to his election, Oliver was a training officer at the Police Training Institute in Urbana, Ill.; a psychological examiner with Community Counseling Services; and president of Rape Crisis Inc.
In addition to his duties as prosecuting attorney, Oliver is project director for the 18th Judicial District East Drug Task Force, which coordinates the drug- related investigators of the Garland County Sheriff’s Department, the Hot Springs Police Department, and Arkansas State Police in this region. He was appointed by Govs. Mike Huckabee and Mike Beebe to the Sex Offender Assessment Committee and the Governor’s Commission on Child Abuse, Rape and Domestic Violence.
“The job of prosecuting attorney in today’s society should not be a stepping stone to some other elected office. I believe that the specific expertise and experience required to manage this part of our law enforcement process is gained over time. I believe that our success rate and the system’s we’ve put in place work to insure that the most dangerous criminals in Garland County are prosecuted and jailed,” Oliver said.
“I’m proud to stand on my record and ask the voters for another term in office,” he said.
Also, as a result of jail overcrowding, the Legislature has relaxed eligibility requirements for non- violent crime. In Garland County, the new jail will help this problem immediately, he said.