During a recent interim study conducted by the Judiciary Committee of the Oklahoma House of Representatives regarding Oklahoma’s criminal justice system, legislators asked the former Chairman of the District Attorneys Council (DAC), District Attorney Greg Mashburn (R-Norman), about the fee system DA’s have increasingly relied upon to fund their offices. When asked if DA’s would prefer 100% funding directly from the legislature and give up fines, fees, and civil asset forfeitures, Mashburn responded, “absolutely.”
DA Mashburn went on to note that part of the role of a district attorney under the current system is to generate revenue. DA Mashburn relayed an anecdote about the distraction of repeatedly having to call his bogus check division during breaks in a major murder trial in order to check in on whether they were making budget that month. Speaking specifically of the newly minted prosecution fee, DA Mashburn said the pursuit of such fees creates uncomfortable situations that create an appearance of impropriety. He again restated his preference that DA’s receive 100% of their funding from the legislature so that DA’s can do their jobs and not worry about raising money.
In response, the ACLU of Oklahoma issues the following statement:
The following is attributable to Ryan Kiesel, Executive Director of the ACLU of Oklahoma: “We applaud DA Greg Mashburn’s call for funding from the legislature instead of relying on fees to pay the bills. The legislature’s lack of funding for DA’s has transformed our state’s district attorneys offices into collection agencies. It has created an incentive for over-prosecution of non-violent crimes and subsequent prosecutions for failure to pay fines. This broken system only feeds our state’s already bloated prison population and diverts prosecutors’ attention away from the jobs we elect them to do. We agree with DA Mashburn; let DA’s prosecute the accused without worrying whether they will be able to pay the electric bill at the end of the month. We call on the District Attorneys to use their strong influence at the state capitol to make this change happen in the 2014 legislative session.”
The following is attributable to Brady Henderson, Legal Director of the ACLU of Oklahoma: “For three decades, dwindling legislative funding has compelled Oklahoma’s prosecutors to seek revenue at the expense of justice. Some DA’s may receive less than 50% of their budget from the state, forcing them to focus more on money than making our communities safer. When profit margins drive prosecution, nobody wins: This failed funding model has given us overcrowded prisons, increased racial profiling, and broken communities, especially among minorities and those in poverty. It also encourages abuses of civil liberties while saddling district attorneys with numerous conflicts of interest. It even led to one DA hiring private contractors to stop law-abiding citizens on the highway and seize their cash in exchange for a cut of the spoils. We applaud DA Mashburn's call to fix this broken system and make our communities safer by letting DAs focus on the most dangerous criminals instead of the most lucrative.”
Audio of the study is available at (note that the above referenced comments begin at the 50 minute and 46 second mark on the audio): http://okhouse.gov/Documents/InterimStudies/2013/Audio%2013-069%2010-8-2013.mp3