Read Daily Astorian Article "Astoria To Look Into DUII Changes!!!
GRP: Here is the text of the letter, hand delivered to District Attorney, Josh Marquis and KAST-AM Personality Tom Freel last Thursday night, to my understanding and signed as well by all members of The Astoria City Council and today I read there will be a "Special Meeting" by that same panel to approve this same letter four or five days later and after it has become more than public? Is something seriously amiss here? I would like to see another letter explaining the legality of this action. Is our city government beginning to backslide at this 200th year anniversary?Are we back to City Manager Benoit, at the urging of "The Mayor" to keep rewriting findings of fact till he gets the fact he needs to satisfy the particular agenda as has been alluded to in the past?
What specifically has CofA done to impact the admininstration and records keeping of the court to truly make it a Court of Record as Mayor Van Dusen implies and new Commissioner Mellin, who was so adament in her campaign position on Municipal Court's DUII's needing to be sent to Circuit Court and now seems to have abandoned that position?
Update - 02/08/2011 - Read Daily Astorian Report On Oregon Rep., Debbie Boone's Legislation Regarding Municipal Court DUII Jurisdiction And Prosecution Authority Change Into The Hands Of County District Attorneys.
Register Guard Editorial:Messing With The Public Meetings Law Gets Real Messy For A Couple Of Commissioners
January 27, 2011
To the Citizens of Astoria:
The Astoria City Council has decided to continue to handle DUII cases from the City of Astoria in the Astoria Municipal Court. We would like to explain this decision to the citizens of Astoria and correct recent inaccurate public statements.
Astoria Municipal Court was created over 50 years ago pursuant to Oregon statutes. Several attorneys have served as part-time Astoria Municipal Court Judge over the years. They include Jerry McCallister, Judge Phillip Nelson, Judge Paula Brownhill, and Justice of the Peace Neal Lemery. Kris Kaino currently fills the position. He is an Astoria attorney in good standing with the Oregon State Bar. Local attorney Mary Ann Murk prosecutes the DUII cases in Municipal Court. She is a skilled attorney in good standing with the Bar.
In March of 2010, District Attorney Josh Marquis contacted the City Council and said he had a proposal that would save the City of Astoria thousands of dollars. He said the City only had to transfer prosecution of Astoria’s misdemeanor DUII cases to Clatsop County Circuit Court. The City Council took this offer seriously and asked City Manager Paul Benoit to investigate the District Attorney’s claim. Mr. Benoit reported back to the City Council that this move would not save money; it would actually cost the City revenue and additional overtime to the Astoria Police Department. The Council made no changes to Municipal Court and we notified Mr. Marquis of our decision.
In August of 2010, Mr. Marquis again asked the City Council to transfer all misdemeanor DUII cases to Circuit Court. His reason this time was different. He said that there were many cases that were mishandled and justice would be better served in Circuit Court. Again we took his statements seriously. We asked him to prepare a report of the mishandled cases. He agreed to do so and in August of 2010 he submitted a report that listed 14 cases. On October 4, 2010, the City Council held a public meeting to discuss the cases. Mr. Marquis appeared in person and presented his report.
The report, which Mr. Marquis said took over 100 hours to prepare, listed 14 cases over the last eight years. Mr. Marquis acknowledged that many of the cases were handled properly. As he went through the report, we discovered that it contained many significant errors. One case that Mr. Marquis said was mishandled in Astoria Municipal Court was actually a case where the defendant was arrested in Seaside. That case was handled in Circuit Court. Also in the report, he described one defendant with two DUII cases and asserted that both cases were dismissed improperly. We learned from Judge Kaino that the defendant was never charged with DUII; this defendant had one theft charge that was handled properly.
The Astoria City Council and City staff have spent a great deal of time investigating Mr. Marquis’s allegations. We acknowledge, after discounting the incorrect information in the report, that two misdemeanor DUII cases in the last eight years were not handled appropriately. The City Council has implemented changes that will help prevent such problems in the future. We implemented a new computer system that provides for electronic citations to be sent directly by the officer to the Municipal Court, and a record-keeping system that makes it easy to find and track files. We record all DUII hearings and trials so anyone may hear what happens in court. We have an aggressive prosecutor who pursues fair and lawful resolutions of these cases.
We gave Mr. Marquis our full attention. We admit that his concerns have been one of the reasons for the recent changes in Municipal Court; however, he failed to demonstrate a good reason to transfer Astoria DUII cases to Circuit Court. He has threatened to sue the City and have a judge decide whether he can take these cases, even though it would cost the City substantial attorney fees and lost revenues. We are comfortable that our decision is in the best interest of the citizens of our City. We are committed to an annual review of Astoria Municipal Court. Please contact any one of us if you have questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
THE CITY OF ASTORIA
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Willis L. Van Dusen
Mayor
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Arline LaMear Ward 1 Councilor
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Peter Roscoe Ward 2 Councilor
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Karen Mellin Ward 3 Councilor
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Russ Warr Ward 4 Councilor
