Posted on Mon, Jan. 22, 2007

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More prosecutors wanted

Lawmakers not yet sold on additional funds so police officers don’t have to prosecute cases

By RICK BRUNDRETT

rbrundrett@thestate.com

A proposal to add more prosecutors to handle DUI cases in the state’s magistrate courts is long overdue, supporters say, though key lawmakers haven’t committed to funding the $3.2 million program.

The plan by the S.C. Solicitors Association would give each of the state’s 16 judicial circuits $200,000 to hire an average of three prosecutors who would be dedicated to DUI cases primarily in magistrate courts, where most of those cases are heard.

South Carolina is believed to be the only state that allows police officers to act as prosecutors in the lower courts, solicitors and defense lawyers interviewed by The State said. Officers typically act as prosecutors in DUI cases in magistrate courts.“When you get right down to it, you have to have a fair fight,” said 15th Circuit Solicitor Greg Hembree of Conway, president of the solicitors association. “(Defense attorneys) kind of take advantage of police officers who are untrained in these legal matters.”

From fiscal years 2003 through 2005, there were more than 40,000 DUI cases in magistrate courts statewide, state court administration records show. It is not known how many of those cases were prosecuted by police officers.

Hembree said last week that having prosecutors in magistrate courts — which already is being done in some larger counties such as Horry — would improve conviction rates. Prosecutors generally would be better equipped to handle trials and also complicated pre-trial motions, he said.

The proposed $3.2 million to pay for the program would be added to the fiscal 2007-08 budget for the S.C. Commission on Prosecution Coordination, which provides state funding to solicitors. It was presented last week to the House Ways and Means law enforcement subcommittee.

William Bilton, the commission’s executive director, said the subcommittee wants more information before taking a vote. He said he expected a vote in about three weeks.

Ways and Means chairman Dan Cooper, R-Anderson, said solicitors need to be more clear about what the money will be used for, noting the commission’s written budget request doesn’t specifically say it will be used to hire more prosecutors.

“We tend to be somewhat suspicious when they toss out a number and are not specific what they’re going to do with that,” he said.

Senate Finance Committee chairman Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence, said he supports the solicitors’ goals, noting lawmakers need to “do everything we can to get drunk drivers off the highways.”

But he added he would be “very cautious about starting recurring programs,” saying it could cause problems in lean budget years.

In his annual address last week to the General Assembly, Gov. Mark Sanford called for tougher DUI laws. Spokesman Joel Sawyer said although the governor “would be open” to the solicitors’ proposal, “we believe a more effective proposal would be to create a simpler and more enforceable statute.”

Seventh Circuit Solicitor Trey Gowdy of Spartanburg, who came up with the solicitors’ proposal, said more prosecutors will be needed to handle an expected increased caseload with the addition of state highway troopers.

“If the governor is asking for a hundred new troopers, somebody is going to have to prosecute those cases,” he said.

Laura Hudson, spokeswoman for the S.C. Victim Assistance Network and the state chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said the solicitors’ plan would be a “good hand-in-hand thing” with proposed reforms in DUI laws.

State Attorney General Henry McMaster said he supports the solicitors’ proposal “100 percent,” pointing out it was modeled after a $2.2 million request he successfully pushed last year to add prosecutors dedicated primarily to domestic violence cases in magistrate courts. Both proposals include requirements that statistical reports on the programs be provided to the Legislature.

A 2002 analysis of the state’s DUI laws and procedures by an outside group of experts found that non-lawyer police officers often find themselves up against experienced defense lawyers and non-lawyer judges. Details of the report, which had not been released to the general public, were revealed in an investigation by The State newspaper published Oct. 29.

“Many officers are not comfortable with this system,” according to the report, which was done under the direction of the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.

Longtime DUI defense attorney Ronnie Cole of Anderson said he supports the solicitors’ proposal, though he added: “If it’s a training field for new solicitors, it’s not going to work.”

“DUI is the most complicated case you will ever see in magistrate or city court,” he said.

Reach Brundrett at (803) 771-8484.