PAUL GALLEGOS HAS ISSUES. THE PRIVATE ATTORNEY and candidate for district attorney has the medical marijuana issue, the meth issue and the issue of too many small-time cases filling up the courts. He's using those issues and $15,000 of his own money to mount an energetic campaign, promising an end to the legal follies of current District Attorney Terry Farmer.
"I don't even think those are issues," responded Farmer, who has held his position for nearly 20 years. His overarching theme is that these aren't really issues at all; they're just ways of getting at a deeper question: "Whether or not I've done the job I've been hired to do."
According to Farmer's way of thinking, he's has done the job well. He has the support of his staff and supervises the prosecution of more than 1,000 felonies and 5,000 misdemeanors every year. He said he has handled thorny issues like medical marijuana and timber protesters as well as anyone could.
So what are these issues? Top on Gallegos' list is the proliferation of "garbage cases," small-time crimes and overcharged cases that he said are clogging up the court system.
Garbage cases, said Gallegos, come in two forms: Cases that would lose if actually brought to trial and cases that are overcharged for the crimes committed. The idea behind filing both kinds of garbage, he said, is to get the defendant to plead guilty, netting a conviction without having to go into court.
"Probably 95 percent of the cases that are filed plead guilty. In fact, there are a lot of cases that are filed on the assumption they will plead guilty, because of the time and expense involved in defending them. But these cases shouldn't even be filed in the first place, because if they were challenged, they would lose," Gallegos said. Better yet: If they weren't filed at all, it would save the county time and money.
"The easy answer to that is Mr. Gallegos is uninformed," Farmer said. The district attorney said all decisions are based on what crime was committed -- nothing else. There is no expectation at the outset that a plea will be reached, he said.
Another area Gallegos is hitting is medical marijuana. His line is that Farmer has set unfairly low limits on how much pot a person can have and that police need to stop barging into people's homes to rip up their medicinal plants.
Here's where confusion sets in. Farmer concedes that his limit --plants or two pounds dried pot -- is arbitrary. But Farmer's office is not responsible for the enforcement activities of sheriff's deputies. In fact, Sheriff Dennis Lewis has publicly stated he won't abide by any specific limits, preferring to let his deputies decide how much pot is too much. Those deputies have destroyed gardens that would have been in line with the prosecution policy. The result has been cases Farmer has declined to prosecute.
Gallegos replied he was sure that getting the sheriff on board was just a matter of saying marijuana isn't high priority.
What is high priority to Gallegos? Violent crime and hard drugs, especially methamphetamines. All that time and energy, he said, is being wasted on garbage and should be directed toward meth.
"I can tell you this much, not enough is being done," he said.
But that's about as specific as it gets. Ask him what he plans to do, and he replies, "Establish clear-cut, obtainable goals." Like what sort of goals? "The clear-cut goal is we have to step on this." What does stepping on it mean? "Stepping on it means getting rid of it." How are you going to get rid of it? "I do not have a specific solution, but I can tell you it is something we need to solve."
Farmer responded that while meth is a problem his office takes seriously, the next step in the community's response would probably have to be in the form of enhanced treatment options. "Just trying to deny people access to drugs has been a failure. We really need to emphasize treatment."
So much for the issues; now for the mudslinging. Both Farmer and Gallegos have accused each other of trying to manipulate the issue of Farmer's health. Farmer has multiple sclerosis and uses crutches or a scooter to get around. Gallegos has publicly said he doesn't want to make an issue of Farmer's health; Farmer insists that Gallegos is in fact trying to insinuate he can't do the job for health reasons.
It all started when the Times-Standard printed the following sentence in a Dec. 13 story about Gallegos: "Farmer, who was first elected to the office in 1982, is now confined to a wheelchair by a medical condition and rarely tries cases in person."
Enraged, Farmer called the late Times-Standard reporter, David Anderson. Farmer said he believes Gallegos wanted Anderson to raise the issue of physical ability. Gallegos denies it.
"You don't even need arms or legs to do this job at all," Gallegos said. "You need a brain, a mouth and the commitment to use them. This is just another one of these friggin' whisper campaigns."
PROFILES
Candidates for District Attorney
PAUL GALLEGOS
.
BASICS: 39, a private attorney.
EXPERIENCE: Private practice in Eureka since 1992.
THE ISSUES: Proposition 215. Favors a more "progressive" attitude toward those who claim the right to medical marijuana. Would raise the limit on amount allowed with doctor's recommendation from 10 plants to 25, and believes the district attorney can get the sheriff to fall in line with that policy. "Garbage" cases: Claims too many small-time cases are filling up the court system and draining resources. If taken to trial, the cases would fail, but they never make it there because they cost too much to defend. "They shouldn't be filed because if they were challenged they would lose." Methamphetamines: "Not enough was being done," but he is short on particulars of how he would do more. Says that the district attorney needs to concentrate on taking meth cases to trial, but admitted this may already be happening. DA in the courtroom: Feels it is important for a district attorney to try cases instead of just administering the office. "I firmly believe we have a right to expect someone getting paid $108,000 a year to make the same sacrifices jurors make" their time.
ENDORSEMENTS: Eureka Mayor Nancy Flemming; businessman Rob Arkley and Eureka Councilmember Cherie Arkley; Arcata Councilman Bob Ornelas; Carlos and Marilyn Benneman; Dr. D.K. Stokes.
*MONEY Raised: $20,090, $15,000 of his own
Spent: $10,224
Remaining: $9,776
*As of Jan. 19
TERRY FARMER
.
BASICS: 57, incumbent district attorney
EXPERIENCE: Private practice until he was elected in 1982.
THE ISSUES: Proposition 215: Worked with other county officials to issue patient ID cards and formulated a prosecution policy that allows patients two pounds or 10 plants. "I fully support the philosophy behind Proposition 215," but some want to abuse it. "Garbage" cases: Farmer says attorneys in his office are instructed to judge each case on its merits and act accordingly, "to charge to the results you expect," not to overcharge just to achieve a guilty plea."People should be found guilty of what they did." Methamphetamines: "We devote full resources to it. We take it very seriously." Taking resources away from marijuana enforcement and devoting them to meth is a pipe dream, because the county gets grant monies for pot that can't be transferred. The fight against meth must be community-based, with law enforcement "just one part." DA in the courtroom: Farmer said he tried one case last year, but admitted it is rare. "When you are in trial, that is all you should be doing.You don't have the time to do anything else" like run the department.
ENDORSEMENTS: California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, the Humboldt Deputy Sheriff's Organization, Humboldt Women for Shelter Executive Director Rebecca Floyd, all the investigators and attorneys in his office and Dennis Hanson, Fortuna School superintendent and chair of the Humboldt County Drug and Alcohol Advisory Board.
*MONEY: Raised: $8,285, $2,000 of his own
Spent: $4,099
Remaining: $4,186
No comments:
Post a Comment