District Attorney Leon A. Cannizzaro, Jr. Report on the State of the Criminal Justice System Address The Sun Is Rising on the Criminal Justice System

Transcription

1 EMBARGOED UNTIL Wednesday, January 26, :30 p.m. District Attorney Leon A. Cannizzaro, Jr. Report on the State of the Criminal Justice System Address The Sun Is Rising on the Criminal Justice System 2011 Mr. Mayor, Councilmembers, Sheriff Gusman, Chief Serpas, and all of the other elected and appointed leaders of this great city and state who have joined us this evening, welcome. But, more importantly, to the citizens of New Orleans you are our mothers, our fathers, our grandparents, and our children collectively you represent our past successes as well as our bright future. Tonight, I believe there is one very important question that together we must answer: What kind of city do we want to give to the next generation of New Orleanians? As we discuss the future of our criminal justice system this evening, I will call upon the collective spirit and creativity of not only the leaders of this city, but also her citizens. Only with our sheer will and determination combined with the trust as well as participation of the community will we be able to conquer the difficult task that has been laid at our feet. To our children and the generations that will follow us and to me that statement has a special meaning, as I have become a grandfather twice since I stood before you last year you represent the bright future of this city. As the leaders of New Orleans, we possess a simple yet fundamental duty to bestow upon you a government and a future better than we ourselves had. Ultimately, I come before you all tonight to discuss the successes and shortcomings of our criminal justice system to measure where we are as well as plot our course for the coming year to recognize the hard work of heroes and challenge us all, as a community, to stand together arm-in-arm and with one clear voice tell the criminal element in this city enough is enough. You will no longer find safe quarter on our streets or in our neighborhoods. 1

2 Unlike the President of the United States, who addressed us last night, I am not legally obligated to make a report to you on the state of our criminal justice system. However, I come before you this evening in recognition of the simple fact that openness and transparency is a pre-requisite of all good government. Ladies and gentlemen, together, we have known hard times, and together, we have endured a hard dark night. While our criminal justice system is not yet where we want it to be, we have made remarkable progress over the course of the past twelve months. As I look at the Mayor, the Police Chief, and the Sheriff, I can honestly say that the cooperation and collaboration between our four offices is unprecedented perhaps historic. While it is easy to focus on some piece of bad news and assume that it represents the whole, I implore you to look at the entire portfolio of our work and ask one simple question Is our criminal justice system better now than it was two years ago? As I have said many times, we did not get ourselves into this position overnight, and the way out will not be obtained as quickly either. However, I take great pleasure in reporting to you that our criminal justice system is stronger than it was two years ago and growing even stronger with each successive day. The sun is rising on our criminal justice system. And, as it is written in the book of Psalms, Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. To steal a line from Chief Serpas, which was elegant and blunt, 2011 will be a bright year for our criminal justice system. It will be even a brighter year for the citizens of New Orleans, but 2011 will be a very tough year for violent criminals and those who attempt to frustrate our efforts to bring them to justice. With regard to the New Orleans Police Department, I want to speak about its hardworking and honest officers was a hard year for the department. My Assistant District Attorneys see it almost every day in court. When picking juries, a prospective juror far too often tells them that he or she will not believe the testimony of an officer and this is frustrating. But from this darkness will come light, for in the first days of his administration, our Mayor very wisely invited the United States Justice Department to assist him in reforming our police force. I see some of our federal criminal justice partners have joined us here this evening. Your presence is always welcome and diligent work appreciated. Like the other citizens of New Orleans, my Assistant District Attorneys and I eagerly anticipate the day when you can give the department a clean bill of health. To the dedicated men and women of the New Orleans Police Department, I want to say thank you. I recognize that this is a difficult time to be a police officer, but, as public servants, the true measure of our devotion is never revealed in times of ease and comfort. Your service, your perseverance, your honesty and integrity make me and the men and women of the District Attorney s office proud to call you our partners in the fight against violent crime. As a citizen of New Orleans, I want to thank you for your service and selfless dedication. 2

3 Last year I stood before you and told the stakeholders in this system that in 2010 we would have to do more with less. Last year, we were all well aware that reform was needed. We acknowledged that we could not continue to operate in the same manner that we had operated for decades and expect a different outcome. I am glad to report to the citizens of New Orleans that the District Attorney s office and many other stakeholders in the criminal justice system from the police department to the Sheriff s office, from the Mayor to the City Council, and even our respected opponents at the public defenders office you all have answered that call. I want to recognize our colleagues at the Public Defenders Office. We have been joined here this evening by representatives of that office - welcome. Given that in court, we are almost always on different sides of the argument, an outsider may think that we always disagree. However, on a broader level, I believe that we both want many of the same things namely a fair and efficient criminal justice system. To that end, I have been holding regular meetings with Derwyn Bunton, the Chief Public Defender. This is another example of the recognition amongst criminal justice stakeholders that this is in fact a system and that component parts of that system, including parts with divergent functions, can make the system work better when they work together. In 2010, the men and women of the District Attorney s office zealously advocated for the citizens of New Orleans and victims of crime in Criminal District Court and maintained a sharp focus on violent crime. We have continued to accept more than 85% of the cases brought to us by the New Orleans Police Department as compared to my predecessors who accepted approximately 50%. The number of convictions for felony crimes of violence has continued to steadily increase since I took office. The Metropolitan Crime Commission s Fall 2010 report on the Criminal Justice System noted and I quote, Increases in violent felony convictions confirm the increased priority placed on these offenders by police and prosecutors. However, statistics such as this are cold and often fail to tell the real story of the individual whose life was unfortunately touched by crime. In May, my office convicted Richard LeBeau of an aggravated rape that had occurred in January of Days after this very brutal crime, the victim herself was arrested for a narcotics violation. As a judge at Criminal District Court at the time, I was assigned her case. In her, I saw a woman who had the ability to turn her life around but who still needed motivation and assistance from our system. So, I sentenced her to prison because efforts at probation had failed. When she was released from prison in 2000, she began the long hard process of rebuilding her life clean and sober. Unfortunately, the District Attorney refused to prosecute her rapist. When that District Attorney left office in 2003, she went to his successor who also refused to prosecute the case. When she came to me in 2009, I did not even recognize the person standing before me. She had rebuilt her life, married, had kids, and lived outside of New Orleans. I was moved when she told me that my sentencing her to prison probably saved her life. 3

4 I am sure that it was tempting for her to simply block that event out and pretend like it never happened. However, she refused to give up, and so did I. Because of her perseverance and tenacity, we convicted this rapist, and a very dangerous individual is off the streets for the rest of his life. She is but one unnamed hero in a list that is unfortunately far too long. To those of you out there who are still too scared to come forward, call our office, we can and will help you. As I tell my ADAs on a daily basis, every case is important. We will fight for you, and I m not afraid of a tough fight. Our criminal justice system is more responsive to victims and witnesses. This District Attorney s office operates all hands on deck. Gone are the days when well-paid senior attorneys would spend their entire day behind a desk. I don t think there is a single attorney in my office who has not appeared in court to try a case in the last two years. This includes even me. A little more than a year ago, I prosecuted my first murder case since leaving the District Attorney s office in The jury found Mark Ott guilty as charged of the second-degree murder of Robin Malta. This case had a special significance to me because it was one of the first murder indictments obtained by the District Attorney s office under my administration. It was, admittedly, a tough case. The police investigation of the 2007 homicide was based exclusively on circumstantial evidence. The ADAs who handled the case before me had sought my permission to either dismiss the case or reduce the charges. I refused to allow it. If I needed further motivation to decline these requests, I received it from Monica Malta, the victim s sister, who has joined us here this evening. Monica is a true hero to this community. She was tenacious in her pursuit of her brother s murderer and that tenacity furthered our motivation. Thank you Monica for your participation and trust. If all victims of crime were as aggressive as you are, then our criminal justice system would look much different. Our ability to do more with less in 2010 was furthered by my office s implementation of several progressive reforms. In March, we began transferring non-violent misdemeanors to Municipal Court to reduce the backlog of cases at Criminal District Court. The judges of the Municipal Court were very helpful in implementing this reform and the results speak for themselves. In state court, these cases would linger on dockets for months and require several court appearances that needlessly taxed the precious resources of our criminal justice system. In Municipal Court, the overwhelming majority of these cases are disposed of in less than 30 days with a single court appearance. Make no mistake about it. We are not getting soft on crime. To the contrary, we are getting smart on crime while sharpening our focus on violent criminals who attempt to terrorize our streets. 4

5 I believe very strongly in a second chance for individuals who make a mistake, but for such an opportunity to be meaningful it cannot and should not be given for free. The dramatic increase in the size of the diversion program under my administration as well as the success of that program demonstrates my devotion to redemption. However, once you harm a member of this community, all bets are off. We will pursue you, we will catch you, and we will convict you. I will do everything in my power to take violent offenders out of circulation for as long as the law will allow. In December, my office used a state racketeering statute to indict an entire street gang. This marked the first time that the statute had been utilized in Orleans parish in over a decade. The criminals should know that we are not afraid to think outside the box or to do things in a different manner. While circumstances often require it, the District Attorney s office will not limit itself to cleaning up our streets and our neighborhoods one defendant at a time. When given the opportunity I will not hesitate to pursue groups of individuals who are terrorizing our neighborhoods. The recent rash of homicides in this city should cause us all to think about the state of our criminal justice system. However, despite these setbacks, I still believe that our criminal justice system is growing stronger. How strong it gets is ultimately the community s decision. The citizens of New Orleans must decide what will happen on our streets. Will it be shooting and dope dealing? Or, will it be children jumping rope and playing a game of pick-up ball? For even the best criminal justice system is impotent without the cooperation and participation of the community. Some people, whose opinions I value, ask me to slow down my efforts to reform what was a broken system. They tell me that the changes are coming too quickly despite the fact that they support those changes. I am told that my new policies on prosecution are too aggressive when compared to previous policies. However, when the safety of the citizens of this community is at stake, I refuse to delay long overdue change to placate the procrastination of others. When I hear these requests, I think of a young Baptist minister who became the leader of the civil rights movement in this country. As Dr. King was aggressively advocating for equality, many leaders - including then President Lyndon Johnson - who proclaimed their support of the cause, asked him to slow down to allow for popular support to catch up. They were asking him to wait for tomorrow, but telling him that the time would in fact come. King responded to these requests in a speech he gave, when he said and I quote, Tomorrow is today Procrastination is still the thief of time The tide in the affairs of men does not remain at the flood it ebbs. Dr. King s words are as moving now as they were when he spoke them more than 40 years ago and just as relevant to the choices we must make. The time has come for this community to join with us and say enough is enough. We are taking back our streets. The days of retreating into our homes are over. In this community s fight against violent crime, tomorrow is today and now is OUR time. 5

6 I have extended offers to the dope slingers and the gun totters to meet with me. I am willing to work with them to show them a way out. I will meet with them any time or any place my turf or theirs. But, I ve heard no response and that saddens me. As such, all I can say to these individuals is that we will be meeting soon. The question is what will you be wearing when we meet a polo shirt or an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs. Do not squander this opportunity. If you don t believe me just ask the sex offenders. When I took office two years ago, I discovered that the sex crimes unit of the NOPD was sitting on approximately 400 unchecked leads in cold rape cases. These leads were generated by CODIS the Combined DNA Indexing System. However, I could not get the NOPD to act on these cases. In one of my very first meetings with Chief Serpas, I brought this to his attention and his action was immediate and definitive. In 2010, my administration obtained its first convictions in which the leads were generated by the CODIS database. Furthermore, we indicted Jimmy Spratt for three rapes that were all carried out in While the prior administration had repeatedly refused to indict Spratt due to the fact that he was serving time for a rape in Tennessee, I was unwilling to risk the chance that he may be released before we got our hands on him. We must give his victims closure and him the life sentence he deserves. To the violent offenders I say, we are coming, and when we catch you we will show you no mercy. While we have increased the percentage of cases that we accept for prosecution, 85% is unfortunately not good enough when it comes to violent felonies. On Friday, I delivered an edict to my screeners to work even harder. I told them to do what ever it takes to find a way to accept charges for crimes of violence. In short, no violent offender is getting a pass under my administration. As Chief Serpas and I have said, the past two weeks has taught us that a refusal may constitute a death sentence either for some future victim or, strange as it may seem, for the defendant himself. I will do everything in my power to see that this practice ends and ends now. I would like to also thank our many partners who have joined us here this evening. It is a pleasure to work with each of you. Your presence alone evidences our collective recognition as city leaders and stakeholders in the criminal justice system that we are in fact a functioning system; that our success or failure will be measured not by our individual actions in a vacuum but rather by the interaction of our various component parts. But, even more importantly, I am humbled to be surrounded by so many New Orleanians. While we work for you, you must never forget that the success or failure of this system to be quite blunt is in your hands. Now, I have made a short list of requests and proposals that will assist all of us in strengthening our criminal justice system in the coming year. 6

7 Handguns and illegal firearms are destroying far too many lives on the streets of New Orleans. Earlier this year, I assigned a member of my staff to research how we could better use our legal tools to limit the number of guns on the streets. The result may surprise you. In state court, the possession of a concealed weapon is a misdemeanor, and the judges at Criminal District Court are reluctant to sentence a defendant to any actual jail time for violating that law. However, possession of a concealed weapon is also a violation of the municipal code. A conviction under that statute requires a 90-day mandatory minimum sentence in jail. Members of my staff and members of Mayor Landrieu s staff are working together to design and implement a policy to prosecute concealed weapons cases in Municipal Court as Municipal offenses. This is another example of government stakeholders collaborating and cooperating for the purpose of public safety. Under my administration, public safety will be the only consideration when evaluating the efficacy of reform. No longer will political turf wars dominate government policy. As leaders, we need to send a clear message to the community that we will not tolerate illegal weapons on our streets for any reason. I will go to the high schools, the community meetings, and the churches to convince people to put away their guns, but the time has come to simultaneously use every tool in our arsenal to get the illegal weapons off the streets. Let me be clear, if you are carrying an unlicensed concealed weapon on the streets of New Orleans, we will convict you and put you in jail. I thank you for your assistance in this endeavor Mr. Mayor. Mayor Landrieu and the City Council I do have one more request - I am asking that you, in 2012, double the budget of my diversion program. The Mayor and the Council worked very diligently on this year s budget, but in the coming year I need you to dig a little deeper. Since taking office, I have more than tripled the size of the diversion program, and it is functioning very successfully. However, at its current level of funding, we have reached the tipping point. With your assistance, I believe we can further increase the size of the program. The track record of the program establishes that this investment will pay for itself in the future by dramatically reducing the rate of recidivism. To the Bench of the Criminal District Court some of whom have graciously joined us here this evening I am going to ask you quite simply to work harder. My office is consistently accepting more cases than you are disposing of in court. In the coming year, I will no longer allow for plea agreements for the purpose of docket movement or management. Since I have taken office, you have steadily increased the number of jury trials at Criminal District Court. 278 jury trials were conducted in I am going to ask that we increase that number to 600 in 2011 at least 150 of which being murder trials. When you think about it, I am only asking each judge to conduct one jury trial per week. Please, let s work together to achieve this goal. 7

8 To the business community I will ask you again to continue to give children from socioeconomically depressed backgrounds a summer job. Academic research has clearly established that a child with such a job is far less likely to find him or herself on the wrong side of the criminal justice system. Additionally, I am going to ask that you work to find jobs for people who have come out of the system and are working hard to turn their life around. We have been and will continue to be aggressive in our prosecutorial policies, but you must remember that these individuals will need a place to earn an honest living if we really want to solve our crime problem. To the community as a whole, we need your help. Do not be fooled by the television dramas you watch. We cannot obtain convictions for crimes of violence without the cooperation of victims and witnesses. Simply stated, you must choose sides. You must decide if you are with the criminals or the community. As Edmund Burke, an Anglo-Irish statesman and supporter of the American Revolution once said, All that is needed for evil to prosper is for good men to do nothing. To me, that about says it all. Do not allow fear to silence you. Men and women far greater than us risked and even sacrificed their lives for causes, the outcome of which was never certain, such as the American Revolution, World War II, and the Civil Rights movement. Some of these men and women gave what can only be described as the last full measure of devotion to their country and the notion of justice. I am not asking you to make a sacrifice so great as theirs. As the heirs of their sacrifice, we cannot allow it to have been made in vain. If not for yourself, if not for your posterity, you owe your cooperation to their memories we must show them that justice ultimately prevailed. I am simply asking for your help in making our community safer. After two years, I can proudly report that not a single person who has participated in our victim/witness assistance program has been harmed as a result of their cooperation. We will stand with you. We will assist you, and we won t forget you. And, to those individuals who attempt to harm members of our community in an effort to protect criminals, let me warn you you will be shown no quarter. I will pursue you equally as hard if not harder than the criminal you are attempting to protect. And, neither my Assistant District Attorneys nor I will hesitate not even for a second to advocate giving you the harshest sentence the law will allow. I will use every tool in my arsenal to see that witness intimidation ends. Some members of our community already personify a commitment to justice. We are sitting amongst heroes this evening. Lisa Ripp was the victim of violent crime. And, she stood tall and testified. Because of her perseverance and determination, a very dangerous individual is behind bars. On behalf of the citizens of New Orleans, thank you for your assistance Lisa. But, Lisa did not quit there. She gathered community support to assist us in putting together a safe and comfortable room where young victims and witnesses to crime could be interviewed in a non-threatening environment. She called upon and obtained the assistance of former Saints cornerback Mike McKenzie and his 34 Ways Foundation. We are honored that Mike has joined 8

9 us this evening. With their assistance, we were able to cut the ribbon on Lisa s Room at the District Attorney s office last week. And, I and probably half the people at the District Attorney s office took pictures with Mike and his Super Bowl ring. Mike and Lisa, you are heroes. We thank you. The support you have provided and the example you have set empowers our criminal justice system. To the members of the District Attorney s office thank you. For the past two years, you have worked so hard, and in the coming year, I will ask you to work even harder. Don t ever think that your devotion to this noble cause goes unnoticed. Quite simply, the criminal justice system could not succeed without you. For the past two years, I have endeavored to create a new District Attorney s office. I wanted a leaner more aggressive office, and my staff has diligently answered the call. Tonight, you have had the opportunity to meet some of the newest Assistant District Attorneys in the office. As I am sure you recognized, they are young. They come from law schools as close as Tulane, Loyola, and Southern and as far as Georgetown and St. Louis University. They all have interesting stories to tell. One was the captain of the cheerleading squad for an SEC school, and another left a very successful and lucrative civil practice to join my office. Ultimately, what I clearly recognize in each member of my staff is a devotion to public safety. Ladies and gentlemen, keep up the good work. I intend to keep you busier in the coming year. I am often asked about my young ADAs Leon, why do they do this? These young men and women are tirelessly working for pennies a day in a job where they are surrounded by the toughest element in the city. I explain that this job is not about the defendants we prosecute. This job is about the victims of crime and the citizens of New Orleans. Ultimately, this job is about keeping your family and my family safe. Period. While it should be the goal of every prosecutor to put himself out of business - to prosecute and convict until the violence on our streets ceases, in reality, that day will never come. There will always be evil out there that can t be contained. However, as long as this city has forward thinking leaders who are willing to address the crime problem holistically are willing to fight the crime problem on the front end proactively, we, the members of the law enforcement community, must be willing to continue this reactionary fight against violent crime. When the education system and the family fail, we are called in to contain the consequences. The criminal justice system can never solve the crime problem alone. However, until the holistic approach can catch up, we must be willing to fight this war of Attrition. And, the community should recognize and appreciate that the gates are guarded by a very dedicated few. The sun is rising on our criminal justice system once again. Convictions for violent felonies continue to rise over what last year was considered to be record levels. New leadership in the police department is not only restoring the public s faith in that department but is also restoring the morale of the dedicated officers the truest public servants. The implementation of progressive reforms is occurring at never before seen rates. This has and will allow us to not only get tough on violent crime but also to simultaneously get smart on 9

10 all crime. It allows us to focus our very limited criminal justice resources on the most violent offenders the murderers, the rapists, and the robbers. For the first time in a very long time maybe ever our criminal justice system is beginning to operate as just that a system. Many of the stakeholders in the system including the police department, the district attorney s office, the sheriffs office as well as the City Council and the Mayor are recognizing that we are more than a collection of independently functioning parts. Our true value and strength will only be realized through continued cooperation and coordination. Furthermore, we all must realize that as a system our true strength will be measured not at our strongest but rather at our weakest point. As such, this is not a time to pat ourselves on the back or rest on our laurels. We must continue to steadfastly forge ahead. We must never forget that for Jeremy Gallmon and the 174 other victims of homicide in 2010 change did not come quickly enough. Unfortunately, we did not get ourselves into this situation over night and we will not get ourselves out of it that quickly. A tough road still lies ahead, but we should not we cannot fear the journey. With your continued faith and cooperation, we will summit this peak. Ultimately, we owe this to our children, our grandchildren, and we owe it to all of those victims for whom change did not come quickly enough. The choices we make in the coming months and years will determine the course of this city for generations to come. If we can nurture these progressive reforms; if we can continue to reject the notion that change is bad simply because it is different, then we will build a criminal justice system that is a model to other cities around this great nation. But, we cannot do this without the faith and the cooperation of the community. Without your assistance, without your willingness to stand together arm-in-arm and shout - enough is enough, the collective strength of the criminal justice system is irrelevant. Do not allow our effectiveness to be masked by anchors of complacency and fear. The sun is rising on our criminal justice system. Help us fan this flame and together we all can lay a sturdy foundation for a stronger system and the bright city we all want to bestow on our children. God bless you and god bless the city of New Orleans 10