Hiring of 5 prosecutors nets more plea bargains

The working group will meet public defenders representatives next month.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The immediate effect of hiring five additional assistant prosecutors for Mahoning County Common Pleas Court appears to be an increase in plea-bargain agreements among defendants awaiting trial, county officials say.
Judge Maureen A. Sweeney of the Mahoning County Common Pleas Court is co-chairman, along with County Commissioner John McNally IV, of the criminal justice working group. It was organized to make the county jail constitutionally sound.
U.S. District Judge David D. Dowd Jr. appointed Toledo attorney Vincent M. Nathan as a special master overseeing the jail after inmates won a class-action lawsuit in March. Judge Dowd ruled that the overcrowded and understaffed jail violated inmates' constitutional rights.
Judge Sweeney said the increase in plea-bargain agreements is consistent with Judge Dowd's assessment that the best incentive for a defendant to agree to a plea-bargain agreement is for a judge to say four words: "Call your first witness."
Judge Sweeney said if the county's efforts fail to make the jail constitutionally sound, Judge Dowd can order a panel of three federal judges to oversee the jail operations.
Potential savings
Prosecutor Paul Gains agreed with Judge Dowd's assessment that a looming trial will motivate a defendant to consider a plea. He said although it's still too early to fairly assess the impact of the new prosecutors, his staff has calculated that if having an additional prosecutor ready to go to trial in each court can resolve an additional 60 cases per year, the cost savings would be $1.4 million a year.
That is the amount the county would save by not having those 60 inmates in jail awaiting trial, he said.
The cost of the new prosecutors is $168,000 through the end of the year, he said.
Gains said between Oct. 14 and Nov. 9, seven defendants agreed to plea-bargain agreements either before the start of their trial or the day the trial was to begin.
"They see that the trials are going to go forward," he said. "There's no more continuances or motions for a new attorney, none of those tactics defendants often use to delay their court dates."
The new prosecutors need more criminal trial experience before they can try high felony cases, Gains explained. Criminal lawyers start with misdemeanor cases and work their way up through the various felony counts.
Figures so far
The prosecutors were all on board by Sept. 26, and as of Tuesday's report, 18 long-term inmates had their cases disposed of and have been removed from the county jail. Gains said a long-term inmate is one who has been in the county jail for one year or more.
Judge Maureen A. Cronin of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court said the additional prosecutors have helped move criminal cases through her court. Civil cases, however, are still backlogged.
Gains said although the focus of the criminal justice working group is moving criminal defendants through the courts to reduce the jail population, as prosecutors gain experience, more civil cases can be addressed as well.
"With one prosecutor there was an 'A' case and a 'B' case, and the 'A' case went forward and the 'B' case was continued," Gains explained. "As prosecutors gain experience, both the 'A' and 'B' cases will go forward. Then there will be room on the schedule for a 'C' case, and maybe that 'C' case can be a civil trial."
Public defenders
Another facet of the criminal justice working group is a subcommittee studying the feasibility of the county's staffing a public defender's office.
According to Tuesday's report of the criminal justice working group, the subcommittee is to report to the full criminal justice working group Tuesday, and representatives of the Ohio Public Defender's Office are to meet with the criminal justice working group early in December.
Judge John M. Durkin represents the Mahoning County Bar Association on the criminal justice working group. He said the bar association maintains a list of its attorneys who are qualified to serve as defense lawyers.
The five common pleas judges preside over grand jury sessions and arraignments on a rotating schedule, and that judge is responsible for appointing defense attorneys to defendants declared indigent, he said.
He said the county has considered a public defender's office in the past, and this time, as then, cost is a major consideration. Judge Durkin said plans did not go forward several years ago because a public defender's office was found to be too costly.
tullis@vindy.com