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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (April 22, 2016)
Street Roots • April 22-28, 2016 widespread racial disparities, with blacks being six times as likely to end up in jail as whites. Now commonly referted to as the RED Report (Racial and Ethnic Disparities Report), it analyzed the outcome of different racial groups at every decision point in the county’s criminal justice system, from initial police interaction to post-conviction probation, finding inequities throughout. On March 4, City Club of Portland held a forum to address the findings of the RED Report at downtown’s Sentinel hotel. “When I read the report,” Underhill said to the room full of City Club members, “it’s accurate to say that as the district attorney in Multnomah County, I have touch points in essentially every decision point. It’s also more accurate to say my office is more primarily responsible on some of those points. One of those points is sentencing.” Underhill continued by saying that while he recognizes his office does not add to disparities in some decision points examined, “I also need to remind myself that we do not make it better, we do not reduce that disparity that initially comes to us.” Singh said Underhill’s talking points that day underplay his role in the criminal justice system. “The district attorney should be aggressively leading the charge to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in our criminal justice system. He is in the position and has the power to be a transformative figure on racial and criminal justice issues. Remarkably, though, it appears that he is shifting and pivoting away from the problem and not directly confronting the issue.” News What Underhill was referring to at the said. City Club forum was a section of the report According to Lisa Graybill, a legal director that showed his prosecutors don’t move at Southern Poverty Law Center, plea forward in prosecuting defendants of any bargaining can be efficient, “but can also be particular race or ethnicity substantially a real tool to encourage prosecutors to over more than another. charge so that they can get a plea to the This means the cases are already charge that they actually wanted to bring.” disproportionately stacked against people of She said over-charging also gives color before his prosecutors file charges, prosecutors more leverage over a defendant locking in those to plead guilty to crimes disparities. that are more serious The RED Report than crimes they would "Oregon is the only state determined blacks, have likely been in the union that relies Hispanics and Native convicted of should they on grand jury to indict all Americans are more have gone to trial. likely to be sentenced to felonies and still does not “It’s a system that’s prison than whites. vulnerable to abuse,” record the grand jury»" With more than 90 said Graybill, “My job is GAIL MEYER percent of criminal work on issues related OREGON CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS ASSOCIATION cases ending in plea to criminal justice “agreements nationwide, reform and mass sentencing decisions incarceration. One of have largely shifted away from judges and the biggest pieces, that is the hardest to get into the hands of prosecutors. at, with litigation or policy change, is Oregon Supreme Court Justice Richard prosecutorial misconduct and the abuse of Baldwin said mandatory minimum sentences discretion.” and other laws passed by voters and Oregon Singh agrees. “Currently, the system we legislature have “cut into the discretion of have makes it very difficult and rare for judges with respect to sentencing.” prosecutors to be held accountable,” he He said many judges make themselves said. available to be a neutral facilitator during This is especially true when it comes to the plea bargaining phase, but whether or Oregon’s secretive and unrecorded grand not a judge is involved in the process, most jury indictment process. of the time they simply enforce whatever During the past two legislative sessions - plea agreement is reached, although they do and intermittently since 1981 - Oregon District Attorneys Association has blocked have authority to deny it. bills that would make grand jury indictments “Typically there’s a strong interest in more transparent by recording the encouraging settlement and so trial judges proceedings. generally will follow the agreement the Gail Meyer, legislative representative for parties have agreed to on their own,” he LAUGHINGPLANET.COM Page 5 Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, said by repeatedly blocking these bills, prosecutors made it so “Oregon is the only state in the union that relies on grand jury to indict all felonies and still does not record the grand jury.” There are two ways an Oregon prosecutor can bring felony charges against a defendant: They can file a complaint that’s heard before a judge who weighs the evidence and the cases made by both the prosecutor and defense attorney before deciding whether or not to move forward with an indictment. This is a process that’s rarely used, said Meyer. The other way to bring charges is through grand jury indictment, and it’s easy to see why this method is so popular with Oregon prosecutors. In a grand jury indictment, the prosecutor presents his or her case to a grand jury made up of seven randomly selected citizens, and asks the citizens to indict the accused party. There is no judge or defense attorney present. The prosecutor decides which witnesses to call, what questions to ask and what evidence to present The grand jury can also ask questions before making its decision. Because these indictments are not recorded, aside from the hand-written and often illegible and conflicting notes of jurors, the defense is not privy to the circumstances under which their client was indicted and there is no judicial oversight “No one really oversees it” said retired See PROSECUTOR, page 11
