Because of Oregon's budget crisis, Courts will be closed Fridays. Right now its until the end of June, but predictions are that if the budget shortfall continues, the Friday closures may go on indefinitely.

Since most Courts now have trials Tuesday through Friday, with Monday's reserved for other types of hearings, that means trial days have been effectively cut by 25%. So a one week trial can turn into two weeks.  And, since in custody trials and juvenile trials will get first priority, that means much longer waits for divorces, custody cases and personal injury cases. And some cases, such as small claims or evictions, may not even get trial dates. And of course defendants will be released as their speedy trial rights start to be violated.

Whats would be the cost of keeping the courts open? The court saved 3.1 million dollars by closing on Fridays. Since there are about 3.8 million people in Oregon, that means that keeping Friday courts would cost each Oregonian about 20 cents per month.

Let me repeat that. Twenty cents, per month, per person so that we can keep our streets safe, get child custody orders in place, and evict non paying tenants.

But instead the Legislature has decided that the better course of action would be to lose 20% of our criminal justice capacity, and 25% of our trial days, and delay justice by taking at least 25% more time for you to have your say in court. And I guarantee that insurance companies, and large corporations who hire lawyers to delay delay delay, are not concerned in the least.

I've heard Legislatures say that their compromise is shared sacrifice.  I guess that the poor, the injured fighting for compensation, Mothers seeking custody and support just have to sacrifice a little more.

All for 20 cents per month.

Indigent Defense attorneys in Oregon aren't paid well. That's an understatement of course. Compared to Deputy DA's and attorneys in private practice, indigent defense attorneys are paid about a third less, in salary alone. Thats not even including the differential in benefits. (PERS anyone?)

But boy, do the public defender attorneys in Dade County in Florida have something to complain about.

A recent article calculates the total cost of a typical DUII to be $10,000 or more. Defendants have to consider not only the legal fees, but they types of things you commonly don't think about. Insurance, bail, lost wages, towing and impound costs. Here's the complete article.

The development and introduction of of DNA evidence has not only freed many innocent people, but I think just as importantly,  has proved what criminal defense attorneys have been saying for years. Eyewitness identification testimony is not reliable, but is still the basis for many convictions, as this article in the Dallas Morning News report points out.

We won't, and shouldn't, bar eyewitness testimony because its sometimes wrong. But two things do come to mind here.

First, a limiting instruction should be standard when the prosecutor offers such testimony.

And second, capital punishment should never be imposed in cases where the prosecutor uses eyewitness identification to obtain a conviction.

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