Professor Carissa Hessick and Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery debate criminal sentences, Feb. 14, 2011, Arizona State University
Last week, I attended a debate on criminal sentencing reform, hosted by the ASU Law School. I already posted one photo from the event.
The April issue of Arizona Attorney Magazine will contain a roundup of the debate. If you’re curious, here is the lede:
Those seeking a preview of future Arizona-centric battles over criminal sentencing reform gained some insight at a February 14 event. At the ASU Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, a debate—of sorts—was waged between law professor Carissa Hessick and Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery.
The two advocates—Hessick resisted calling them “adversaries,” at least during the debate’s first half—came to the topic following an ample and growing history of sentencing reform struggles, both national and local.
As one state after another finds itself pinching even the slimmest of pennies, the cost of long prison incarceration has come under fire.
What was most struck me at the event—and likely struck many people who packed the classroom that day—was the veto power held by one person over the topic. Or, rather, by one position.
Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery, Feb. 14, 2011, at ASU
As Professor Carissa Hessick herself said, County Attorney Bill Montgomery, an ASU Law graduate, is now one of the most powerful attorneys in the state. And there he was, in a debate on proposals to alter our sentencing structure in ways that may save the state millions of dollars, and, according to some, be more effective than our current regime.
Of course, intelligent minds may differ on matters of policy. But some minds are more crucial to a debate than others.
Even in a state where there are lead prosecutors in every county, the Maricopa County Attorney is the lion at the party. His office handles far more criminal matters than does any other county. Therefore, the beliefs held by that elected official are always at the center of any dialogue about criminal law in Arizona.
Given that, I know many were curious about the approach and the tone he would take at the debate, a debate he had proposed. Out of the gate, he found no value to the report that came out of the law school’s Public Policy Incubator Program. In fact, he gave short shrift to any lessons offered up by other jurisdictions, saying that Arizona’s border-state status makes it difficult to compare and apply other states’ methods.
That may be an entirely defensible position. But it means that the coming year or so in the sentencing dialogue will be a hard slog, rather than a collaborative effort.
But why should any topic in Arizona be otherwise?
More photos from the event are on the Arizona Attorney Magazine Facebook page.
February 23, 2011 at 11:07 am
Dear Tim,
Thanks for coming to the debate. My main point then, and now, is that the so-called reforms being offered are either already in place (diversion, mental health courts, plea bargaining) or suffer from a fatal flaw: the mistaken belief that Arizona’s prisons are full of non-violent first time offenders (allegedly many who are incarcerated due to “simple” drug possession) who should be on the street. The reality is that our prisons are overwhelmingly populated (94.2%)by violent and/or repeat offenders. Seeking to save a few bucks by releasing or not incarcerating these criminals will only result in shifting costs to communities and future victims who will be the targets of these criminals. I do look forward to a continuing dialog, though, and welcome ideas for improving rehabilitative programs for those incarcerated for the first time and for offender re-entry programs.