FOR POLK COUNTY PROSECUTOR'S TEAM, A DIFFERENT BRAND OF JUSTICE

In Polk County, Prosecutor John Porter practices a different breed of justice.

"We take cattle rustling pretty serious," Porter said. "In Jackson
County (Kansas City), I bet they've not had a cattle-rustling case in
100 years."

That's Polk County. It's rural, with a strong agricultural community.
They attend rodeos. They don't tolerate drugs and alcohol. They're
conservative.

And, unlike many other Ozarks prosecutors, Porter isn't quick to cut
a deal or prioritize a "minor" case into oblivion because of a knee-
weakening daily workload.

Porter is a full-time prosecutor with three assistants - two
full-time and one part-time. While busy, his office is better off
than those in many counties. The four attorneys balanced 151 circuit
felony filings, 873 misdemeanors and 3,395 traffic filings from July
1999 to June 2000.

"The way things are right now, my commissioners know me and trust me
and know that money I'm asking for is truly necessary," Porter said.

He's used to hearing disbelief when he wants to send people to jail
who are convicted on misdemeanor possession of marijuana charges.

"Greene County defense attorneys are always saying, 'That's only one
small joint; why are you filing that charge?'" Porter says. "When I
read the statute, it says it's still illegal. Those are the kind of
differences in how we treat cases."

Every prosecutor is going to have a different standard, Porter says.
Some treat DWIs differently. Some treat property crimes differently.
Porter has found that a good percentage of property crimes are
considered successfully prosecuted if restitution, not jail time, is
recovered.

"I see people we prosecuted on the streets that have cleaned up and
are working full-time jobs and have kicked their habit," he says. "To
me, that's a successful prosecution. Maybe the guy didn't go to
prison for 20 years, but being a productive member of society -
that's what we're about to a certain extent."