FLORIDA DRUG PLAN TO RESTRICT DEPOSITIONS

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.''