A6
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, FEbRuARY 1, 2019
Pretrial: Specialist uses risk assessment tools to screen defendants Law: ‘This is
a good day
Continued from Page A1
program has allowed us to months.
it and also realize that when final word on pretrial
better identify and keep in
“The quicker we resolve we have a more suitable jail release, they are often the
of overcrowding, com- custody those who pose the cases, the more successful for our needs, offenders will most reluctant to take risks,
for some
pared to defendants who are greatest risk to the com- defendants will be on pre- also have accountability if even when the odds are
screened for pretrial release, munity,” Phillips said in an trial release,” Brownhill said not willing to take the path remote.
politicians’
in an email.
often pose greater risk of email.
of least resistance,” the sher-
“Everybody hates to get
committing new crimes or
missing court dates.
“So it’s working,” Judge
Paula Brownhill, the pre-
siding judge of the Circuit
Court, said.
Risk assessment
Burdened by an over-
crowded jail, and concerned
that too many defendants
are locked up before trial,
Brownhill ordered the pre-
trial release policy in Sep-
tember 2017.
The judge had formed
a work group to come up
with ideas in response to the
county’s comparatively high
use of state prison for drug
and property crimes. The
state, in an initiative known
as justice reinvestment, pro-
vides incentives to counties
to supervise more defen-
dants locally through jail
and probation to help con-
tain more expensive prison
costs.
Under the policy, a pre-
trial release specialist uses
risk assessment tools to
screen defendants and does
interviews to determine
whether they have jobs,
housing and relationships
to tie them to the commu-
nity. The specialist makes
recommendations to the
court at arraignment about
whether defendants should
be released or held in cus-
tody while their cases are
being resolved.
When defendants are
released, an alternative
custody deputy monitors
whether they are meeting
the conditions of their free-
dom, which, depending on
risk, can include checking
in with the sheriff’s office,
drug and alcohol tests and
electronic monitoring. The
deputy also calls or texts
them about upcoming court
dates.
“The jail is a finite
resource and the pretrial
iff said in an email.
Before the policy, the
New jail
Brown, who took over
court mostly relied on a
Josh Marquis, the former from Marquis as district
defendant’s criminal history
district attorney, had strong attorney in January, said the
when evaluating risk.
“We’re taking a lot fewer philosophical disagreements county had little choice but
chances with the pretrial with the court and some at to expand pretrial release
release guys, because they the sheriff’s office over pre- given the overcrowded jail.
can verify whether the per- trial release. He liked get- He said he would revisit
son even has a place to stay, ting more information about the concept once a new jail
whether the
gets built in
person has a
Warrenton.
job,” District
Voters in
JUSTICE REINVESTMENT
Attorney Ron
N
o
vember
A pretrial release policy created in September 2017
Brown said.
approved
a
guides whether criminal defendants get out of jail while
By using a
$20 million
their cases are heard by the court. Here are the trends
combination
bond measure
after the first year:
of the risk
to convert the
Pretrial release
assessment
former North
• 555 defendants, up from 385 under the previous condi-
score,
and
Coast Youth
tional release process
information
Correctional
Forced release because of jail overcrowding
learned from
Facility into a
• 324 inmates, down from 573
interviews,
new jail. The
the court gets
jail will have
Defendants who committed new crimes while on
a more com-
148 beds, with
pretrial release
plete picture,
the potential
• 4.1 percent
which
can
to expand.
Failure to appear in court
be
import-
O v e r -
• 27 percent, down from 32 percent
crowding
ant given that
at the jail in
many defen-
Pretrial jail population
dants
are
Astoria makes
• 70 percent, unchanged
struggling
it difficult for
*Source: Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office
with
alco-
the county to
hol and drug
experiment
abuse or men-
with justice
defendants at arraignment, reinvestment. More space
tal health issues.
“So I like it. And I like but considers justice rein- will enable the county to
the guys that are doing it — vestment another policy supervise more defendants
they’re cops,” Brown said. misfire from Salem.
locally, both by ensuring
“Accountability and truth inmates serve their full sen-
“We get way more informa-
tion than we used to get.”
in sentencing are critical val- tences and through short-
Research has shown that ues in my views as a mostly term jail time for probation
low- to medium-risk defen- retired prosecutor and cit- violations.
dants face escalating conse- izen,” Marquis said in an
But a larger jail might
quences — like losing a job email.
take the urgency away from
or an apartment — the lon-
Sheriff Tom Bergin, who pretrial release.
ger they stay in jail while has also been critical of
“I would say that could
their cases are being heard. criminal justice reform, rec- be a risk if people want to
But the risk that defendants ognizes the county is going default back to the old way
will commit new crimes in the same policy direction of doing it,” Phillips said.
or not show up for court as most of the state. Despite
Embracing risk
increases the longer they are his reservations, he trusted
Circuit Court judges
free before their cases are Phillips, his jail commander,
and Lt. Kristen Hanthorn, and the district attorney
resolved.
A new criminal docket- who leads the sheriff’s office are elected, and ultimately
ing system is expected to Parole and Probation Divi- accountable to voters, so
speed up the process. The sion, to implement pretrial they are not immune to pub-
time between arraignment release in a way that protects lic backlash when things go
wrong.
and the next court date will public safety.
“I am comfortable with
Since judges have the
shrink to weeks, instead of
burned,” Brown said. “’I
promise I’ll come back,
judge. I promise I’ll come
back.’ And you got lied to.”
While horrific crimes
committed by defendants
who were released before
trial have shaken the crimi-
nal justice reform movement
nationally, lesser crimes can
also be embarrassing.
Soon after the county’s
pretrial release policy took
effect, The Daily Astorian
highlighted the case of a
young man with a drug prob-
lem who faced an escape
charge for running away
from Warrenton police. He
was released, despite a risk
assessment score of 95 out
of 100, after he promised the
judge he would live with his
mother in Seaside and return
for court.
Instead, he was arrested
a few days later in Port-
land for heroin possession.
Records show he missed
several court appearances
in Clatsop County before
finally resolving the escape
charge with a guilty plea
in August. He has since
been convicted of felony
charges of identity theft in
Multnomah County.
Brownhill said she does
not know if the three judges
on the Circuit Court will
ever be entirely comfort-
able with pretrial release,
“but we’re moving in that
direction.”
“It’s easy for a judge to
set bail, rather than authorize
release, because then we’re
not responsible if that person
does commit a new crime or
contact the victim,” she said.
“But I’m realizing that
that’s not the standard that
we should be following.
So that’s why I say I think
we’re moving in the right
direction as far as embrac-
ing the risk. I’m not sure all
three of us are there yet. But
it’s getting easier for me.”
Continued from Page A3
we are disappointed in their
decision today, we continue to
believe that it is very important
that the decisions of the Oregon
Legislature be open and trans-
parent to the public,” Foote said
in a statement. “Our legal chal-
lenge made sure that happened.”
“We are very concerned
that the unique power of Ore-
gon’s initiative process has
been badly damaged by the
actions of the Oregon Legis-
lature and the court’s decision
today, and we are further con-
cerned that the strong sentences
overwhelmingly passed by the
voters in Ballot Measure 57 for
repeat felony property offend-
ers will continue to be reduced
by the Oregon Legislature.”
Josh Marquis, the former
Clatsop County district attor-
ney, who supported Foote’s
legal challenge, said the court
ruling “has the risk of putting
any future voter approved mea-
sure that doesn’t sit well with
the majority of the moment in
the Legislature, at risk.
“This is a good day for some
politicians and criminals, and a
bad day for victims, the citizens
of Oregon, and the rule of law.”
State House Majority Leader
Jennifer Williamson, D-Port-
land, said the decision allows
the Legislature to build on its
plan to move away from long
prison sentences and toward
rehabilitative programs.
“Today’s unanimous decision
by the Oregon Supreme Court
upholding House Bill 3078 is a
very positive step forward for
our state,” Williamson said.
“The failed policies of the
past will not hold us back from
reforming our broken criminal
justice system. Thanks to this
ruling, we can continue to make
investments in effective treat-
ment programs that make our
communities safer and ensure
that we continue to bend the
cost-curve on ballooning cor-
rections budgets.”
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