tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post7279719052073152354..comments2024-03-25T20:06:39.794-05:00Comments on Grits for Breakfast: Prosecutors' performance hard to measure: Excellent reporting out of Waco shows gaps in DA dataGritsforbreakfasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-41301120325021921522009-12-17T16:07:57.862-06:002009-12-17T16:07:57.862-06:00Hey Grits, recently while on the topic of plea bar...Hey Grits, recently while on the topic of plea bargaining, a former "career prosecutor" [his words] from Harris County commented on a post at Simple Justice re: "Plea Bargaining 201". He'd shared that he had witnessed three types of cases go to trial during the early 80’s,90's & early 00s. The very solid, very strong & very close.<br /><br />He then claims that the remaining 95% of cases that were too weak to take to trial were "plead out". His personal experience could single-handedly explain one of the reasons why we’ve been enjoying overcrowding for decades at taxpayers expense. What a joke and it is on us. Unless another ADA from the same county and era sees it different? <br /><br />No matter how one looks at it, by his measurement we see that the police obviously have arrest quotas that result in "round-ups" and by the ADAs refusal to simply release, they have clogged up the system. Meanwhile the 95% are constantly being placed on probation or they are in the county jail waiting to go to state jail or prison and no one knows how many are truly Not Guilty. (Not – in no way; to no degree). <br /><br />We thank you for bringing us this very useful post.The Teamhttp://www.projectnotguilty.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-34346495868251994872009-12-16T17:11:39.357-06:002009-12-16T17:11:39.357-06:00Whatever the problem is, Reyna ain't the one t...Whatever the problem is, Reyna ain't the one to fix it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-22232340023819371112009-12-16T16:18:30.682-06:002009-12-16T16:18:30.682-06:00As a prosecutor in a small office, I'm always ...As a prosecutor in a small office, I'm always looking for ways to judge my performance. This is one that I hadn't particularly considered (I've mostly been looking at our clearance rate and time-to-clearance), but will now be added to my year end review process.<br /><br />Any other metrics that those in this community would like to see their local DA/CA generate? In a perfect world, what would you want to know?Brodyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06366657826222811137noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-30487174440749308522009-12-16T14:13:03.310-06:002009-12-16T14:13:03.310-06:00It's just one data point, and the article IMO ...It's just one data point, and the article IMO did a good job of coaxing out the nuance you describe. Certainly, though, if you're not going to wind up prosecuting half the cases, it's better to get rid of them early in the process before the county incurs incarceration costs, indigent atty fees, etc..<br /><br />I'd encourage you to read both pieces if you haven't. She did a better job than me of splitting some of those hairs and evaluating what metrics are and aren't useful.Gritsforbreakfasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-15101003473247951752009-12-16T14:06:55.600-06:002009-12-16T14:06:55.600-06:00What a terrible way to evaluate prosecutors. One ...What a terrible way to evaluate prosecutors. One criminal episode with one defendant may generate multiple charges. If the prosecutor accepts some charges, and refuses others, then how can you say that's a good performance measure (which happens frequently).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com