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¡Portiani» (öbaeruer
Focus
May 19,1999
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Mandatory Minimums Make Justice Blind
Some county prosecutors will
real consequences back to the judi
niversary for Oregon s mandatory
charge an offender with a manda
tory minimum sentence crime pri
cial system. These individuals,
mostly prosecutors and politicians
minimum sentencing laws created
marily for the purpose of exacting
by 1994’s Ballot Measure 11.
Passed by 67 percent of Oregon
a guilty plea to a lesser crime. Other
county prosecutors refuse to bar
(such as Kevin Mannix, Measure
I l ’s author), would insist that it is
voters. Measure 11 mandated mini
mum sentences for 16 crimes, and re
moved any chance for parole, time off
gain at all. Defense attorneys find
for good behavior, or any other form
Bv Michael KeUy
April 1" marked the fourth an
ecution for juveniles as young as 15
when charged with a crime which car
that carries a mandatory minimum
sentence. Supporters of Measure 11
.
i
•
Facts show
otherwise.
Statistics
oacnre 11), unti
under M
Measure
and it a If)..2
16.2 C
per
form the Departm ent of Correc
cent drop in the number of obscene
tions (DOC) show that as of March
phone calls.
That crimes other than those cov
1998, 60 percent of inmates admit
ted with mandatory minimum sen
tencing had no prior criminal his
ered by Measure 11 are decreasing
tory. The numbers reveal that of the
to the law. The reductions are part
5,442 fewer offenses reported in
suggests that the reduction is not due
are crediting the law with reduction
1996, over 3,300 of these were
of an overall decline in violent crime
being experienced across the nation.
tion on the consequences of a trial
rather than the merits of the case.
Proponents of the m andatory
in crime rates. Specifically, they say.
Measure 11 resulted in a 9.9 percent
reduction in “Crimes Against Per
crimes not covered by Measure 11.
For example, in 1996 there was a
Statistics from the National Center
for Juvenile Justice in Pittsburgh in
10.4 percent reduction in simple as
dicate that nationally, juvenile crime,
minimum sentencing law insist that
sons” committed in 1996 as com
pared to 1995.
like all crime, began to decline four
years ago, prior to the enactment of
it has brought accountability and
sault cases (as opposed to aggra
vated assaults which are covered
Measure 11 skews the attorney-cli
ent relationship by focusing atten
of early release for those sentenced
under it. It also mandated adult pros
difficult to get charged with a crime
_
ried a mandatory minimum sentence.
Since that time, the law has been ex
panded to include seven additional
crimes, including crimes not tradi
tionally considered “person crimes,
such as arson.
With limited exceptions, only re
cently en acted, a judge has no
choice but to impose the minimum
mandatory sentence called for un
der the law. Consequently, most
judges despise the law. It has taken
away the ability to tailor a sentence
to fit the circumstances of the crime
and the characteristics of the of
Illustrated by Miller
fender. Prosecutors, however, love
the law. It gives them a big chip in
the plea bargaining process and re
moves the burden to justify a par
ticular sentence.
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