A significant percentage of Salt Lake County’s felony and class A misdemeanor cases could be resolved within a month of charges being filed, if a new Early Case Resolution program lives up to expectations.
ECR calls for prosecutors to quickly identify cases that are easy to resolve — mainly property, drug and public nuisance cases where no legal questions are at issue.
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At arraignment, prosecutors will provide defendants with a plea offer, as well as their sentencing recommendation.
Defendants who want to accept responsibility, put the case behind them and get on with their lives can take the deal and be sentenced within 30 days of being charged.
The program — funded by about $700,000 of federal stimulus money — begins Feb. 22 at Salt Lake City’s Matheson Courthouse, where two 3rd District judges will be assigned to handle the fast-tracked cases.
Presiding Judge Robert Hilder on Wednesday predicted that 30 to 50 percent of the county’s felony and class A misdemeanor cases will be funneled into the ECR program.
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill hopes the ECR program — spearheaded by his predecessor, Lohra Miller — will ease the "systemic bloat" currently plaguing the courts, where routine cases can take months and numerous hearings to resolve.
"If I can resolve these cases, it gives me resources and time for the cases we should be fighting about," Gill said Wednesday.
Gill said similar programs are working in places like Sonoma County, Calif., and Washington County, Ore.
He added that the Salt Lake City prosecutor’s office has been using a variation of ECR for the past nine months in justice court, where they have been resolving 80 to 90 percent of their cases at first appearance.
As good as the program may sound, local private defense attorneys — who were not asked for input on ECR development — have numerous concerns, including that defendants will be rushed and pressured to accept plea deals they may later regret.
"We are concerned people have a chance to see the evidence against them, an opportunity to consult an attorney and make an informed decision," said Kent Hart, executive director of the Utah Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys.
About 50 private defense lawyers gathered Wednesday for a briefing on the nuts and bolts of the program from Hilder, who said ECR should cut down on huge court calendars where attorneys can waste hours of time without ever advancing their cases.
Said veteran prosecutor Paul Parker, "It’s about giving you guys [defense attorneys] access to someone who can make decisions."
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