Court sees no-show rate soar thanks to backlog.

Byline: Bill Bishop The Register-Guard

More than 40 percent of criminal defendants are failing to show up to face charges in the backlog of cases that built up in Lane County Circuit Court after the Legislature slashed budgets for public defense lawyers and court operations between March and July.

That's more than twice the typical no-show rate before the budget cuts for defendants summoned to court for their first appearance on charges.

But court officials said they aren't surprised by the higher no-show rate now.

Many low-income defendants had shown up for their first appearance months ago, only to be told to come back later when a public defense lawyer would be available to represent them. Now, they've forgotten or thought their cases were dismissed.

Local prosecutors also settled hundreds of cases months ago by offering bargain-basement plea deals to try to cut down on the expected backlog. Now, the 843 cases left represent the more difficult cases with some of the more uncooperative defendants.

When a defendant fails to appear, a judge issues an arrest warrant that is recorded in computer systems shared by police agencies. Defendants get arrested the next time police contact them for any reason.

Each person who fails to appear costs taxpayers about $500 on average, according to a study last year by the Lane Council of Governments.

Court Administrator David Factor noted that defendants who have missed their court dates can come to court voluntarily at 8:30 a.m. any morning to get their case back on track and avoid arrest in the future for failing to appear.

Court officials have summoned defendants in the 843 backlogged cases to attend one of 15 special arraignment sessions beginning this month and running until Sept. 17.

In the special arraignment session Thursday, 43 percent of defendants failed to appear, Lane County Circuit Judge Mary Ann Bearden said.

In a study of the first 314 cases handled in the special sessions, defendants failed to appear in 45 percent of cases; accepted plea deals and settled their cases 16 percent of the time; or pleaded not guilty and are pending trial or further plea negotiations in 20 percent of cases, according to court data.

Another 10 percent of defendants are awaiting probation violation hearings and the remainder are headed into treatment through drug court or into a deferred adjudication program for low-level first offenders, Factor said.

In the meantime, local courts have returned to operating five days each week for all kinds of cases, both civil and criminal. Courts also now have money to pay for lawyers to represent low-income defendants who can't afford to hire their own lawyers.

Although the Legislature hasn't finalized budget action, preliminary budget agreements appear to provide enough money for court operations and public defense lawyers through the next two-year budget cycle, state court officials have said.