OFFICERS CALL IT A HASSLE

Jacksonville Police And Prosecutors Support Gov. Jeb Bush's Proposal
To Strip Drug Defendants Of The Right To Get Sworn Statements From
Police Before Trial.

Defense Attorneys Aren't As Happy.

It's a continual hassle, police officers say, being ordered into
depositions so defense attorneys can grill them about the minutiae of
6-month-old drug busts.

The questions can be endless, police say: What color were the
defendant's eyes? What kind of shoes was he wearing? The officers are
certain the questions will come up again at trial and that defense
attorneys will try to make them answer differently than they did in
deposition.

But the defense attorneys warn that, if the proposal goes through, who
else will have their constitutional rights violated in the name of
convenience for police officers? The endless questions, they say,
assure their clients are getting fair representation.

The depositions measure is a small but probably the most
controversial, part of Bush's proposed anti-drug program, a $73
million package intended to reduce the state's estimated 1.2 million
illegal drug users by half by 2005.

But from a nationwide perspective, ending depositions for drug defendants
is not a radical idea. Florida is one of just 11states that allow
depositions in felony cases. Depositions in misdemeanor and some types of
felony cases were discontinued in Florida in recent years. Depositions are
not used in federal cases.

Bush cannot unilaterally enact the program. It would require action by the
Legislature. The governor contends the officers should be on the street,
making arrests, instead of sitting in rooms with defense attorneys.

Jacksonville police spend between 150 and 500 hours a month preparing
for, traveling to and from and being interviewed by defense attorneys
in depositions, according to police and Public Defender's Office estimates.

''It interrupts the daily operations of our office continuously,''
said Lt. John Hartley of the Sheriff's Office Organized Crime
Division, which handles drug cases. ''There are times when we'll have
to put an operation on hold because all eight officers involved have
subpoenas.''

Officers often come in on their personal time, necessitating overtime
pay, Hartley and other police said. Ultimately, he said, the practice
could add up to fewer drug offenders being convicted.

Hartley said each of his officers usually have about 15 subpoenas on
their desks. Police had no estimates of how much the depositions cost
in pay.

In August, the Public Defender's Office, which handles about 75
percent of the local drug case defenses, scheduled 177 drug
depositions, said Chief Assistant Public Defender Bill White.

But the pre-trial interviews are essential for defendants'
constitutional rights, he and other defense attorneys say.

''Depositions are an important way to test a case, and they're
especially important in drug cases,'' White said.

''Officers use snitches more in drug cases than in any other kinds of
cases,'' White said. ''You have officers using different methods for
selling drugs, buying drugs. These are the kinds of cases where we
need depositions most of all.''

In depositions, prosecutors and defense lawyers interview police and
other witnesses to get a feel for the case before it goes to trial.
Often, cases are dropped, pleaded or otherwise changed based on
depositions. The sworn testimony is usually weighed against trial
testimony; if statements change, attorneys can use that to cast doubt
on a witness' credibility at trial.

Attorneys said deposition interviews usually last 30 to 60 minutes,
depending on the complexity of the case.

Bush's drug initiatives would bring Florida's overall annual expenses
for controlling illegal drugs to about $540 million. The governor has
said he wants to prevent police officers from spending ''all their
time in depositions when they're trying to apprehend the major drug
dealers.''

Bush conceded the measure, just one paragraph tucked away deep in a
115-page drug control policy, ''will be controversial for some and
acclaimed by others.''

The deposition item is one of scores of topics in the proposal, from
treatment for addicts to law enforcement.

''We threw that issue out there to stimulate debate,'' said Andrew
Benard, chief of strategic planning in the governor's Office of Drug
Control. ''It's what the governor stands for. But it may happen, it
may not. This [policy] still needs to weigh in before all the branches
of government.''

The program is intended as a reference for Bush's stance on drugs, not
as a measure that will be voted up or down, Benard said. As the
administration tries to enact programs aimed at prevention or
treatment, the policy will be used as a guideline.

So far, since the policy was first publicized early last month, the
deposition issue has been the most controversial, said Benard, who
wrote the policy.

''Most of the stuff is so aboveboard, it would be like arguing with
mother and apple pie,'' Benard said. ''Who's going to say treatment's
bad? But it's our job to put issues on the table to be discussed.
We've had a lot of feedback from law enforcement people. They say it's
[depositions] a major hassle for them.''

When asked if defense attorneys also got a say before the policy was
published, Benard said, ''Well, yes, we've heard from the whole spectrum.''

Defense attorney Tom Fallis questions how thorough Bush was in
researching the deposition issue before including it in his drug policy.

''Seriously, I have to ask who's feeding him this and do they have any
knowledge of the criminal justice system,'' Fallis said. ''I don't
think the governor has a clue here. He's apparently listening to
whatever lobbyist, and if it sounds good, if he thinks the public will
like it, he can put whatever spin he wants on it.''

Unless the case involves wiretaps and other characteristics of large
sting operations, most drug depositions have to do with issues such as
illegal searches, illegal arrests or credibility of eyewitnesses,
Fallis said.

''More often than not, the depositions can reveal weaknesses in the
state's cases, so the weak cases can be dropped and the taxpayers can
save money,'' he said. ''I can't imagine why prosecutors, the real
ones who are interested in real justice, wouldn't support the
continuation of depositions.''

Jay Plotkin, chief assistant state attorney in Jacksonville, conceded
depositions can reveal weaknesses in the state's cases and lead to
charges being dropped.

''There could be cases where we say, 'We didn't know about that
witness,' '' Plotkin said. ''It doesn't mean the person's innocent,
but it could mean we shouldn't have filed those charges at that time.

''But we have found that police officers do spend large amounts of
time in depositions in routine drug cases,'' he said, ''and the
depositions don't seem to serve a great purpose.''

Like most police officers, Lt. Larry Thompson of the Clay County
Sheriff's Office Narcotics/Vice Section tries to tolerate
depositions.

''I'm not opposed to giving defense attorneys everything in a
deposition, but it often seems it gives them an unfair advantage,'' he
said. ''They have months to dissect our depositions so they can find
minor discrepancies and harp on those rather than find the facts of
the case.''

The interviews can jeopardize future cases by disclosing confidential
police informants, Thompson said.

''So it affects the way we do things,'' he said. ''Sometimes we have
to delay that source testifying because we have other cases going.''