Download Public Defender`s Office • County Attorney`s

10/25/2016
Public Defender’s Office • County
Attorney’s Office • 4th Judicial District
October 26, 2016
Office of the Public Defender
Hennepin County – 4th District
Mary F. Moriarty, Chief Public Defender
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BOSTON MASSACRE
JOHN ADAMS
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1770
Adams would later describe his role as “(T)he greatest
service I ever rendered my country.” Why? In a town where
British soldiers were hated, there had been a fair trial by
jury. In a land where mobs could sway events, the world
saw that justice and liberty were valued as the legal rights
of all!”
Clarence Earl Gideon
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Gideon’s Petition
United States Supreme Court
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March 18, 1963
Gideon v. Wainwright:
The assistance of a lawyer for a defendant who could not
afford to hire his or her own lawyer was a fundamental right
under the United States Constitution
August 5, 1963
• A second trial
• The state of Florida paid for Mr. Gideon’s lawyer
• His lawyer questioned the eyewitness about
inconsistencies
• The jury found Clarence Earl Gideon not guilty after one
hour of deliberation
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MINNESOTA?
• 1967 – Judicial council formed to oversee public defense
services, which are provided through individual counties
• 1981 – Minnesota Board of Public Defense created
• 1999 – All employees hired after January 1st will be state
employees
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Hennepin County District Court
The Fourth Judicial District includes
only Hennepin County, which
includes 46 cities (population: 1.2
million). It is the state's largest trial court
with 62 judges, 15 referees, and 582
staff who process approximately 40% of
all cases filed in the state. Courtrooms
and administration offices are located
in eight (8) buildings, including five in
downtown Minneapolis and three in the
suburbs. Everyone who enters
courtrooms must pass through weapons
screening. The buildings are managed
by Hennepin County.
Racial Composition of Hennepin County
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Disposed of Cases by Race
ISSUES UNIQUE TO HENNEPIN
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Funding streams
Budgets
Unions
HR rules
Salary parity
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Hennepin County Public Defender’s
Office
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Lawyers (Juvenile & adult criminal, CHIPS & TPR)
Immigration Lawyer
Investigators
Social workers
IT
Paralegals
Secretaries
We represent low income
clients on adult and juvenile
criminal cases
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ELIGIBILITY PROCESS
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Client must request a PD & be eligible
I am appointed by the court
I assign to assistant public defenders
If they don’t like PD, they usually do not get another
Represent themselves or hire private counsel
Our obligation is to represent
our client, not what might be in
our client’s best interests.
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SO….
• If the client doesn’t want treatment, we don’t ask for it
• The client may reject what appears to a reasonable offer
• The client may demand a trial or hearing when it appears
to be an uphill battle
We Stand With You
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What Does That Mean?
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We went to law school
Independent
Empower good decision-making
Most of us view public defense as a career
We like working with our clients
Issues
• We cannot refuse cases
• Cases more complex (collateral consequences,
enhanceable)
• More clients have mental health and CD issues
• Large caseloads
• Technology
• Loss of staff (retirements, compensation issues)
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Staffing
• Our county FTEs have significantly decreased
the last three years
• State staffing levels have decreased as well
TALENTED & PASSIONATE NEW LAWYERS
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Become an intelligent
consumer of criminal
justice information
BOOKS
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The Warmth of Other Suns
Slavery by Another Name
The Short, Tragic Life of Robert Peace
Just Mercy
Freedom Summer
Between the World and Me
The New Jim Crow
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WEBSITES
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https://www.themarshallproject.org/
http://gideonspromise.org/
http://www.brennancenter.org/
http://www.innocenceproject.org/
https://www.schr.org/
DOCUMENTARIES
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ADVOCATE FOR CHANGE
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Mandatory minimums
Reinstate civil rights - voting
Police training and accountability
Alternatives to prison/jail - BHI
Collateral consequences
Question politicians
Michael Freeman, County Attorney
Hennepin County Attorney’s Office
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Hennepin County Attorney is
elected every four years
Mike Freeman County Attorney
1991-1998, 2007-present
Serve justice and public safety
• Prosecute adult felonies
and all juvenile offenses
• Help prevent crime
• Represent all
Hennepin County
departments
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Staff
• 189 Lawyers
• 34 Victims Services
staff and advocates
• 425 total employees
Criminal Divisions
• Adult Prosecution: Crimes against persons
• Gang Unit: Offenders with gang affiliation
• Juvenile Prosecution: Juvenile offenses
• Community Prosecution: Drug, property crimes
• Special Litigation: Complex crimes, appeals
• Victim/Witness: Advocates for victims
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Review Case,
Make Charging Decision
• Charge the defendant
and prosecute case
• Send the case back
for more investigation
• Decline the case
In 2015
• Reviewed 8,707 adult felony cases
– Charged 5981 or nearly 69%
• Reviewed 5,613 juvenile cases
– Charged 3610
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Sample Criminal Complaint
The complaint
establishes probable
cause and includes
• PC narrative
• crime(s) charged
• relevant statute(s)
• maximum penalty
for the crime
• the defendant
Pre-Trial Process
• First Appearance/Arraignment
– Bail, conditions of release
• Pre-Trial Conference
• Discovery
• Plea bargaining
– Defendant pleads -> sentencing
– No agreement, case set for trial
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Trial Process
• Jury selection (voir dire)
• Conviction
– 12 jurors unanimously agree prosecutor
proved case beyond reasonable doubt
• Sentence
– Judge weighs guideline sentence, impact
statements, info from probation, prosecutor
and defense attorney.
Adult Prosecution
• Keith Haynes 1996 rape, DNA cold
case.
• Maureen Onyelobi, David Johnson
convicted in murder conspiracy in drug
dealing operation.
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Innovations: Using
Technology in Trials
Gang Unit
• Ten people charged with bribing and
intimidating witnesses to recant their
testimony against 1-9 Dipset gang
members convicted of murder.
• Shooting feuds between gangs result in
convictions of James Davis outside
Target Field and Kibbie Walker near
HCMC
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Community Prosecution:
Record 30-year
sentence for meth ring
kingpin
New nuisance property
intake process
• 3-4 times as many
referrals
• Streamlined response
process
Special Litigation: Complex Crimes
• Colin, Andrea
Chisholm welfare
fraud
• 50 people convicted
of mortgage fraud
– $125 million in
fraudulent loans
• Vulnerable adults
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Victim/Witness:
Helping Crime Victims
Victim advocates help victims understand
their rights and available programs.
Domestic abuse victims can visit our
Domestic Abuse Service Center to access
legal assistance and social services.
Civil Divisions
• Civil: represents all county departments,
including Sheriff, HCMC, etc. Target Station.
• Child Support: ensures children have financial,
medical, emotional support
• Child Protection: keeps children safe
– 9-yr.-old stowaway to Vegas; Adrian Peterson’s son
– includes be@school truancy prevention program
• Adult Services: handles mental health cases
and civil commitments
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School Attendance
98% of youth who
commit a felony were
truant first.
works with schools in
Hennepin County and parents of children
who frequently skip school.
Passing needed legislation
Every year we work with legislators to pass
laws to protect public safety. Past and current
examples:
• Added 3 domestic violence felonies to crimes that
prohibit the felon from ever owning a gun.
• Expungement bill that balances public safety with
removing a crime from a person’s record
• Voter restoration
• Drug thresholds
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Break
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Hennepin County District Court
Fourth Judicial District
of Minnesota
Hon. Ivy S. Bernhardson
Chief Judge
To provide justice through a system that
assures equal access for the fair and timely
resolution of cases and controversies
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1 of 3 separate and co-equal
branches of government
Enshrined in Minnesota Constitution
in 1857 (Articles III and VI)
Not a state agency
Three levels
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District / Trial Courts – 289 judges
(10 judicial districts)
Court of Appeals - 19 judges
Supreme Court - 7 justices
(Final appeals / Arbiter of MN Constitution)
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By act of the Legislative Assembly of the
Territory of Minnesota (other district courts
and Supreme Court also established)
1 year after Hennepin County established
3 years before Minnesota Constitution
adopted
5 years before Minnesota statehood
Divisions
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Civil
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Criminal and Traffic
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Family
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Juvenile
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Probate / Mental Health (civil commitment)
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62 judges (Number set by legislature)
15 (13 FTE) referees
(Lower-level, specialized judicial officers)
564 FTE staff
Also, non-employees (Conciliation Court
referees, retired judges, interpreters and
others)
5 Downtown Hennepin County facilities
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Government Center
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Family Justice Center
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Juvenile Justice Center
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Public Safety Facility
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Minneapolis City Hall
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3 Suburban Hennepin County regional centers
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Brookdale in Brooklyn Center
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Ridgedale in Minnetonka
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Southdale in Edina
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By far, busiest of state’s 10 judicial districts
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22% of Minnesotans live in Hennepin County
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In 2015, handled 38.2% (493,321) of
state’s trial court case filings
More than twice as many filings as that
handled by next-busiest district
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“Representative government and trial by
jury are the heart and lungs of liberty.”
(John Adams,1774)
"I consider trial by jury as the only anchor
ever yet imagined by man, by which a
government can be held to the principles of
its constitution.” (Thomas Jefferson, 1789)
At HCDC in 2015…
o 918 jury trials requested
(784 criminal , 134 civil)
o 27, 438 citizens summoned
o Persons of color comprised 17.8% of
persons serving as jurors
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Most criminal defendants suffer from
one or more of these:
 Drug or alcohol addiction or abuse
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Mental illness
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Physical disability
Many litigants are self-represented
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At least one party is without an attorney in
most family and minor civil cases at HCDC
Slows trials and reduces court efficiency
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Non-English speaking litigants in 2015:
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37% (9,417) of state court interpreter requests
handled by HCDC
Interpreter requests for more than 100
languages provided annually
Slow trials and reduce court efficiency as they
do not understand the legal system
An increasingly electronic court: Court
records
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E-filing, e-charging, e-citations
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Converting archives to images
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All-electronic court files
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View all imaged public documents at any MN
courthouse
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Assisting self-represented litigants
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Court self-help service centers (SHC) at
Government Center and Family Justice
Center assist those without an attorney
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38,662 visitors to both SHCs in 2015
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Helps to reduce courtroom delays
Problem-solving courts
Model
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High-risk, high-need population
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Protects public safety and due process
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Non-adversarial prosecutor / defense
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Intensive judicial / probationary supervision
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Graduated incentives and sanctions
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Problem-solving courts
Types
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Criminal Mental Health Court
(PRISM Center for probation / treatment)
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Drug Court
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DWI Court
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Veterans Court
HCDC’s funding in FY 2015
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$62.3 million from Minnesota Legislature
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$0.7 million temporary federal grants
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Judicial Branch is <2% of entire State
government budget
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Impartial state for litigation
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“Minnesota ranks 4th among all fifty states
in the fairness of its litigation
environment.” (behind Delaware, Nebraska
and Wyoming)
(2012 survey commissioned by
U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform)
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Tour
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