Akron Beacon Journal, 23May1999

AKRON BEACON JOURNAL

Sunday, May 23, 1999
Section: EDITORIAL
Edition: 1 STAR
Page: B2\
Memo: LETTERS TO THE EDITOR / VOICE OF THE PEOPLE

While I have read with interest your series of articles regarding the indictment process and the direct indictment program (May 16 and 17 -- "Justice for all?"), your reporter apparently did not know enough about the criminal process to understand the built-in safeguards to avoid overzealous prosecution.

The criminal process begins with an arrest or summons. That requires an appearance before the Akron Municipal Court, where bond is set.

If the accused does not have an attorney, an attorney is appointed by the municipal court.

The accused and the attorney are informed in writing the date when the case is scheduled to be heard by the Summit County grand jury.

If the circumstances of the arrest are questionable, the attorney needs only to contact the Summit County prosecutor's office and ask for the secretary, who is responsible for handling the grand jury.

A request to have the accused testify before the grand jury is generally honored.

The grand jury then gets to hear all of what took place, and the jurors are in a better position to determine whether an indictment should be issued and, if so, what charges should be made.

Where there are extenuating circumstances, the grand jury may issue a "no bill," which results in the dismissal of the charges.

Sometimes, the Akron city prosecutor's office can contact the Summit County grand jury and obtain authorization to reduce the charge from a felony to a misdemeanor, and the case can be disposed of in the municipal court.

The Summit County prosecutor's office, the attorneys and staff look to be fair in doing their jobs, and procedures are in place to resolve questionable cases.

At the same time, the direct-indictment program prevents the duplication of efforts that existed with the scheduling and holding of preliminary hearings, which generally resulted in the case being sent to the grand jury anyway.

Donald E. George

Attorney

Akron

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JAILING DEFENDANTS BY HOOK OR BY CROOK

Your articles on the so-called justice system should have been titled, "Extreme justice," or, better yet, "Creative justice" (Akron Beacon Journal, May 16-17, "Justice for all?").

Also, if the prosecutors, past and present, aren't keeping score on convictions, why are they coercing the innocent to cop a plea to a lesser charge, and, by your own account, dropping charges if the so-called criminal agrees not to sue the county?

How can the justice system or the prosecutor's office save "us" money by incarcerating "we, the people" by hook or by crook, as seems to be the case?

When wiser minds say there is no probable cause, shouldn't sanity prevail?

If only one innocent slips through the cracks and is convicted, that one is too many.

These practices have removed the blindfold of justice and replaced it with a hood.

The prosecutors have given up on the American justice system -- innocent until proved guilty -- in favor of a system of guilty unless you can afford to swing the scales in your favor.

If this is the case, God help us all.

Robert M. Dunson

Akron