The Oregon House Judiciary Committee unanimously voted 8 to 1 in favor of a "Do Pass" to the floor of State Legislature on House Bill 3025 which clarifies the specific authority of Oregon County District Attorneys on all Municipal/Justice Court Cases.
10 comments:
Of course it did. Politics are not dead in Oregon or Clatsop County. Good luck to Josh. Hopefully, he will take over all the cases in municipal courts and the cities will have extra money to spend.
Uh....it is just DUII cases in Astoria and the other FOUR Muni Courts do just fine and will continue to do so.
That's why NO-ONE else showed up to oppose the bill and 6 different people from 6 different organizations supported it
We will see. I hope that if this bill passes, all the municipal courts in the state forward all crimes to the DA for prosecution. That is what they want and that is what they should get. At least, we will see more visibly the justice or lack thereof in state courts. I bet the DAs will whine to the state that they need more money to prosecute all these new cases.
Marquis needs to deal with county issues according the law law and leave creating law to the legislature.
So, if a bill passes to solve a gross abuse on one particular kind of case almost entirely in one town then ALL the Muni Courts should rise up and flood ALL the DAs in the state with misdemeanors (that almost none of them do anyway) as a way of punishing DAs?
Blair already threatened to do that if anyone actually listened to the hearing on March 31 (available at GRP)
If that happens don't get your hopes up the system will collapse. DAs handles thousands if nots tens of thousands of misdemeanors and a couple hundred more at most won't make much of a difference.
Also remember that until the hearing in Salem the City of Astoria claimed they made a LOT of money handling DUIIs. In theory, if that revenue really exists, it would be available to the state if they took over those cases. Except now they changed their story and now they don't make money. it's just a financial wash.
Cop, gross abuses in courts should be handled in court or at the bar association, not by making the state wide legislature stop doing important things to help a DA in a rinky dink town. That Marquis does not file charges, file bar complaints or even ask his friend, whose election he campaigned for, the Attorney General for an investigation proves there is no "gross abuse" in the municipal court. It also proves that either none of the municipal court people committed a crime or bar violation or that Marquis does not have the balls to use the law and bar rules as they should be used.
Why don't you simply admit that Marquis' move here and now is simply a power play. He has ample means under the law to take actions if abuses are occuring, but they are not. He says he can take over the cases he wants under current law and got a letter from the AG saying that, but he has not. He has no other reason than a power play to take over the municipal court and his efforts are certainly not good for the non Astoria taxpayers. Why is he actually doing this? That chapter has yet to be seen.
"Rinky dink town?"
Glad you have such a high regard for Astoria. You sound like the long gone County Commissioner who questioned why Marquis would want the job here if he was as qualified as everyone said. Sad how little some people think of their community.
Let me get this straight. You want the DA to file bar complaints and lawsuits without trying to convince others to do the right thing first?
You see that as weakness?
BTW, according to the City Attorney the letter from the AG means nothing and the City leaders seem to want to spend taxpayer money on a lawsuit.
I can think of better places for the money, like a Astoria PD officer on the County Drug Team. But that is probably a bad thing in your view as well.....
Cop,
Yes, if the DA finds illegal activity or bar violations in the court he is obligated to act through the court or bar to cure them. Going to the legislature to get a law to deal with things the law or other regulations already cover wastes the legislatures time. Not doing so, but instead hiding behind the skirts of a legislator to get the power he wants is weakness.
That the city thinks the AG's opinion is wrong does nothing to affect the DA's ability to take cases under current law, if that law exists. The approriate solution is for Josh to petition to have the cases transfered and sue if they are not. The court will take it from there.
If the task force was effective, as it was when OSP ran it under the control of a multiagency board, putting more officers on would be good. However, as it is now, county and seaside taxpayers pay over $300,000 a year for about two cases a year and only the sheriff controls it. Astoria is doing drug cases all the time with patrols. The numbers show that he Astoria way is simply more effective than Bergin's grand attempts. Also, people arrested for drugs in Clatsop County get out of jail quick and almost always get a plea bargain that does not involve jail or much forfeiture of money. That is not a drug enforcement program, it is a waste of money. Someday, maybe a sheriff or DA will get his act together and create a county plan that actually catches druggies on a regular basis and gets jail sentences. That will reduce our druggie population big time, because they will go somewhere else. As much as you love the sheriff, he is just not equipped for this job. Sorry.
Judges give jail sentences, not the Sheriff.
And since you either know and are deliberately misleading people or have no clue, regular druggies" CAN'T be given more than 10 days in jail under guidelines.
Your hatred of the Sheriff and DA is showing but it is not shared by the voters.
Sorry, Charlie....
Ah come on Anon. If the Sheriff and DA were serious about drug enforcement there are several things they could do. There are two:
If the Sheriff's drug task force is actually taking off major dealers, the case will meet the US Attotney's guidelines and can be prosecuted federally. Federal convicts get significant jail time. That means Marquis would have to give up the glory of the plea bargain, but it would improve public safety. Now, if the Sheriff's drug task force is still taking off the corner dope smokers and minor pill stealers, then those are not major cases. If that is the case, we have to ask why are we spending upwards of $300,000 a year to focus on minor league druggies when the police departments do that as a matter of course.
Second, Marquis could ask state representative Boone to carry a bill that increases jail time for the kind of druggies the task force catches. That would be lots more productive to public safety than his campaign to take Astoria municipal court cases.
Finally, I don't hate Bergin or Marquis. I just think they could do better if they were encouraged by the people they are sworn to protect.
As far as the public is concerned, maybe, someday someone will run for these offices. Then we will see how popular Marquis and Bergin are. The last election they ran alone because no one wanted the job, or wanted to confront their gang. That should not be considered public support, but, instead an opportunity to change the method of selection to qualification not popularity.
DA Marquis and Sheriff Bergen are doing the best they can. They live in a place where there is lots of politics related to crime and they need to work with their popularity and the need for their jobs. Bergin and Marquis are working for state offices it advance their careers. So, lets enjoy them while we have them and look forward to some new local law enforcement people who will be able to make a difference. I am Bergen and Marquis are helping the people who elected them as well as they can. Obviously, if we want better service we should elect better people. But, what good person woudld run for election in Clatsop County. As soon as they get elected they are under recall. I say harrah to Bergen and Marquis for the work they have done.
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