`Let's make a deal,' courts say.

Byline: Bill Bishop The Register-Guard

Prosecutors have a deal for about 250 petty-crime suspects whose cases are wending their way through the Lane County court system: For one day only, prosecutors will offer bargains on plea bargains.

To cope with budget cuts that will halt prosecutions of low-level crimes for four months, prosecutors will offer lenient penalties to those suspected of minor nonviolent misdemeanors in exchange for their guilty pleas. The deals will be hatched during a marathon court session Feb. 28, the day before prosecutions are scheduled to be deferred until July 1.

"Something is better than nothing," Lane County District Attorney Doug Harcleroad said. "If these (cases) sit around and plug up the system, and we can't get to them until July or later, it does not serve the interest of justice."

The county's presiding judge, the director of the public defender service and Harcleroad came up with the plan to settle cases quickly and avoid the added expense of prosecuting suspects many months from now, when defendants, witnesses and evidence may be harder to bring together.

Courts are halting work on pending low-level crimes and are not processing new charges until July 1 under a budget-cutting plan ordered by state Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Carson.

Ross Shepard, who directs the local public defender service, said the Feb. 28 plea bargain process is unprecedented in local courts.

"But the crisis we face is unprecedented, too. We are treading into unknown territory," Shepard said. "This strikes me as an appropriate response."

Lane County Circuit Judge Mary Ann Bearden, who presides over the local court, said the plan works for the state, defendants and victims who don't want to wait months to settle their cases.

"I know the DAs won't make any deals they can't live with," Bearden said. "I have confidence the defense lawyers will assure their clients' rights are protected and they get the information they need. These are unique circumstances."

Lane County court officials have summoned defendants to court on Feb. 28, where they and their lawyers will receive "bargain basement" plea offers that carry lighter penalties than prosecutors normally offer to settle such cases, Harcleroad said.

The deals will be take-it-or-leave-it and good for one day only. Those who don't take the deals will face prosecution when funds are available after July 1.

None of the cases are crimes against people.

Most involve charges of driving while suspended, thefts under $750 and criminal trespassing, Chief Deputy Lane County District Attorney Kent Mortimore said. A team of prosecutors reviewed each case to come up with a fitting plea deal, he said.

Defendants will be required to plead guilty and accept the penalty, Mortimore said. Some will be offered suspended sentences, which take effect only if the defendant violates terms of the deal.

While the budget cuts strain the criminal justice system, Harcleroad said the situation is not catastrophic.

"I don't want to understate this. I don't want to overstate this," he said.

But he admits there is no way to predict whether car break-ins, shoplifting and other petty crimes will increase when courts delay processing such charges. Currently, he said it's unclear how courts will handle low-level crimes for the remaining four months of the budget year.

"My advice to police is arrest or give citations just as you have before. There is no free pass for criminal conduct in this county," Harcleroad said.

Ann Christian, who runs the court-appointed attorney system for the state court administrator, said she is not aware of similar plans in other courts before March 1.

However, some other counties are planning massive plea bargaining sessions in July, she said.