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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 21, 1976)
District Attorney Horton: Claiming his critics are badly misinformed, the D.A. boasts the highest efficiency in the U.S. Ry TDM .lAHKRON mnnotaru rati imc Hnrtr>n cauc klnrtnn nwr- marii>, Of the Emerald Incumbent District Attorney Pat Horton is defending his past term in office from attacks from State Sen. Ed Fadeley as well as his opponents in the race. He claims his critics are "badly misinformed.” He claims the lowest rate of plea bargaining in the state is in Lane County, and he says that of felony cases going to court, 87 per cent ended in victories for the DA’s office. Horton also claims that the cost of operation for the DA’s office has only increased seven per cent in the last year. Citing the “cost-bill” prog ram as an example of prog rams of the office which have the apparent budget and the actual budget for the office dif fer greatly. The cost bill prog ram charges convicted per sons for the prosecution and is payed in monthly installments. According to Horton, his op ponents are “not aware of this, and they speak before they hear the facts.” He says his is “perhaps the most efficiently run DA’s office in the country.” Regarding the issues of the campaign, Horton says that gun control "doesn’t stop crime” and pointed to the laws of New York as an example of the ineffectiveness of controls. Horton has concentrated his efforts in the area of narcotics investigation, the hard drug user and “hard core Dusher.” tation program which replaced the arrest program is a “fair, expeditious law.” He says “the police were wasting their time with marijuana convictions. He adds that “it also decreased the jail population of people who shouldn’t even be there in the first place. I don't regret for a minute that we made a commitment to the people to concentrate on hard drug cases.” Horton says the Lane In teragency Rape Team (LIRT) is a “great success” and cited the increase to 95 per cent convictions for rapists as evi dence of the effectiveness of the law and LIRT. “More women now report rapes,” says Horton. Horton savs the Drooosal for Charles Promising to raise the standard of the office, he says the D.A. has done a terrible job By TOM JACKSON Of the Emerald John Charles, city pro secutor and attorney for Springfield, is running for the Lane County DA's seat on the promise of raising the standard of the office, improving pro secution, and enforcing all the laws. Charles feels that Horton, the incumbent DA, has done an "extremely terrible job,” and that he has created a “tremendous communication gap., between the DA’s office and the police agencies. Charles also criticizes his other opponent, Betty Browne. Browne, says Charles, is a “professional politician," and he feels she is “unqualified for the job.” Charles calls the county plan for a regional corrections facility to relieve the crowded county jail “extremely imprac tical." He feels that a regional facility would result in transpor tation problems and less local control of the jails. Charles would favor another jail facility, however. He says such a facility could be built at a cost of only $15 per year per homeowner for 10 years. “We have to have a facility," says Charles, “because of the con ditions in the jail now.” He says the jail is operating at about 50 persons over capacity. Charles is opposed to the proposal to form a single met ropolitan police force. He says there would be a loss of local control and the “priorities would be reduced to the lowest jointly agreeable common de nominator.” This, claims Charles, would “reduce over all efficiency . ” He says it would lead to ‘‘watered down crime control,” and adds that “each community is unique." Charles is “very much in favor'’ of the Lane Interagency Rape Team (LIRT). He says he would prefer to have women on the rape team. He would, however, decentralize LIRT because he does not “be lieve in roving teams because they are inefficient.’’ He favors more local control for LIRT. Charles would also provide a legal advisor out of the DA’s office, and would favor a “coordinator” who would also educate the public about the services of the team. Charles also favors the proposal for a public defender’s office. He says the staff of professionals would give more justice to the defen dants and reduce the cost to the taxpayers. Browne" A'le9in9 'ncrease9 ar|d improper spending, " she also cites the D.A. for lack of leadership By TOM JACKSON Of the Emerald State Sen. Betty Browne is running for the Lane County District Attorney this year in spite of the fact that her term as state senator will not end for another two years. She said she will resign her senate post if elected to the DA’s office. Browne serves District 22, which includes all of Lane County except for the Eugene-Springfield area and part of Douglas County. Much of Browne’s campaign has been based on criticism of the incumbent DA Pat Horton. "We need a DA who will stay home and do the job. I believe my experience as an attorney,, a legal author, a deputy pro secutor, law enforcement in structor and chairman of the Oregon Senate Judiciary Committee qualify me to do the job," says Browne. Most of Browne's criticism is based on Horton’s increase in salary and office expenditures, and also includes Horton's al leged spending of state money for personal gain. Regarding the issues of the campaign, Browne says she believes the state penal sys tem has a “poor record for re habilitation." Browne says she supports the concept of a reg ional jail facility for first time offenders and non-violent of fenders. She says they are more “effective because they are more selective." Asked to comment on the feasibility of cooperation bet ween agencies for a single metropolitan police force, Browne said she feels the single force could work under the lead of the DA, and added that “there is not the leader ship there should be for the police agencies.” The Lane Interagency Rape Team (LIRT) is “not effective at the present time,” according to Browne. She feels there is not enough concern for the vic tims of rape and added that help should be available “24 hours per day.” She also be lieves that there should be more convictions for perpet rators of rape. A specialist for trying rape cases should be added to the staff of the DA, she says. Prosecutions for environ mental cases should be hand led by a specialist also, says Browne. The DA should play a more “meaningful role" in en vironmental prosecutions ac cording to Browne. Browne believes a public Pat Horton a public defender’s office meets with his approval if it is “fiscally sound” and provides the defendant with “adequate representation.” But he adds that defendants now get “a high quality of defense at a low cost to the taxpayers.” John Charles Charles says he is “law and prosecutor oriented.” He wants to “make the DA’s office a career and clean it up—make it as non-political as possible.” Betty Browne defender's office should also be established with some re servations. “I’d like to see one,” she says’ “but mixed with private appointments. Until the public defender’s of fice builds up a cadre of ex perienced defenders, judges should appoint someone they think is appropriate.”
