Defendants in at least 930 Anchorage misdemeanor cases have walked free for this reason since May 1, the Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica found. These include people accused of crimes ranging from violating a restraining order to driving drunk with children in the backseat.
A grand total of three defendants have gone to trial since
May, according to the city.
The cascade of failed prosecutions is especially disturbing
in a state with the nation’s highest rate of women killed by men. More than 250 of
the cases dismissed since May included charges of domestic violence assault,
such as men allegedly punching, kicking or threatening to kill their wives or
girlfriends. They include charges dropped against a state official accused of
elbowing his then-girlfriend in the nose.
Two factors are at work in the mass dismissals. First,
Alaska’s overloaded court system has limped along for years by allowing extensive trial
delays, defying a state requirement for speedy trials. Second, the Anchorage
prosecutor’s office, as in many American cities and states, is struggling to hold onto lawyers.
When a judge this year tried to clear out a backlog of
Anchorage misdemeanors by having them brought forward as a group to regularly
check which ones were ready for trial, defense attorneys pounced. They began
demanding speedy-trial rights for their clients. The city couldn’t keep up.
Cases started dying.
City officials say they’re aware of the problem. They have
raised prosecutor pay and are hiring attorneys to take more cases to trial, in
hopes the prosecutor’s office will be “fully back in action” in three to four
months, according to Municipal Attorney Eva Gardner.
Mayor Suzanne LaFrance, who took office July 1, said her
transition team knew the lack of prosecutors was a problem, but she was
surprised by the number of dropped cases.
“Right now, the prosecutors are frustrated, the police are
frustrated. The public is frustrated. Victims are frustrated,” she said in an
interview. “We see that. I see that, and this is something that we are working
to fix.”
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