DA'S BIGGEST HURDLE? THE BUDGET CRUNCH

Jury trials, the methamphetamine problem, drug court and budget cuts were
some of the topics District Attorney Richard Smothermon addressed while
speaking to Shawnee Lions at Thursday's noonday luncheon at the Ramada Inn.

"I'm two days away from being in office six months," Smothermon said. "I
love it. I have truly enjoyed the past six months."

With a laugh, Smothermon said voters were gracious enough to elect him, but
no one told him, "I'd be doing the job by myself."

Smothermon's biggest hurdle in office has included state budget cuts. His
budget is down by $200,000 from this time last year. Last year, the DA's
office had six full-time prosecutors. Right now, the office has Smothermon,
one full-time prosecutor and one part-time prosecutor.

Despite the tight budget, short staff and long hours, Smothermon said he is
pleased with the performance of the DA's office.

"I think we've done a tremendous job to this point," he said.

And since he took office Jan. 6, he and his staff have tried 11 jury trials
in Pottawatomie and Lincoln counties.

"We're 11-0," he said. "We haven't lost a case yet."

Smothermon told Lions about some of the fascinating trials this year. He
talked about the trial of Glen Earl Folsom, who was convicted on several
felony counts in the robbery of a Tecumseh video store and the kidnapping of
two female employees at gunpoint.

Smothermon said one of the women did something heroic when she grabbed the
gun from her captor and threw it from the vehicle.

Without that one moment of heroism, Smothermon said, "there is no doubt in
my mind that he would have raped and killed them."

Folsom was sentenced to serve 484 years in prison.

Smothermon also spoke about a Pottawatomie County rape trial that resulted
in a 406-year sentence.

"I really like Pottawatomie County juries," he said. "They do justice well."

In another case, a man charged with shooting with intent to kill was offered
a 20-year sentence before trial, but refused. At the last minute, he decided
not to take the risk after "facing the whites of the jury's eyes."

Smothermon said the man pleaded to a 25-year prison sentence.

In a recent Lincoln County rape trial, a defendant who was offered a 10-year
suspended sentence before trial was stunned when a jury sentenced him.

"The jury gave him two life sentences," Smothermon said. "He was physically
ill -- they (deputies) dragged him out of the courtroom throwing up."

A Lion member asked Smothermon if older men are more likely to be kicked off
a jury by the defense.

"Older people tend to be tougher on crime... I'm looking for responsible
citizens with a certain balance of justice," Smothermon said. "I put a lot
of women on juries -- they're sometimes tougher than men."

To further address the state budget shortfall that has affected his office,
Smothermon said he doesn't want to rely on state dollars for his office to
survive, so he's implementing programs to help in his own funding.

In the restitution and diversion program, eligible defendants who don't need
to be in the court system could be supervised by the DA's office while
paying restitution and a fee to the DA's office, he said.

"There's a two-fold benefit," he said. "It lessens the court's workload and
helps the DA's office" and gives people a "second chance to do the right
thing."

Smothermon said the District Attorney's Council, along with Gov. Brad Henry
and legislators, are looking at ways to lessen the load on Oklahoma's prison
system.

He said there have to be alternatives to help the overburdened system.

One program that helps is Pottawatomie County's Drug Court program.

If the offenders are successful at treatment and counseling, their case is
dismissed, Smothermon said. But if they fail, they go to prison.

"Our drug court is self-sufficient," he said. "Offenders pay for the
treatment. There's not a dime out of anyone's pocket except theirs."

In the same topic, Smothermon addressed his drug task force and its drug
bust seizures and forfeitures. Right now, his seizure account has about
$6,000, and $20,000 in forfeitures are pending in civil processes.

Forfeitures hurt offenders and makes drug business unprofitable for the
dealer.

"We'll go after them any way we can," Smothermon said. "That is another
source of revenue for us."

The District 23 Drug Task Force has seen "tremendous busts" in recent weeks,
including 37 grams of meth, about 171 pounds of marijuana seized on I-40
during a traffic stop, among others.

He estimated there's been about 15 methamphetamine labs shut down by his
drug agents so far this year.

"It is the predominant drug because it is so easy to cook," he said. "It is
unbelievably dangerous because of flash fires. A lab could wipe out an
entire block."

Meth lab investigations also are time consuming, Smothermon told the group.
When agents find a lab, they spend at least 10 hours with clean up and
report writing, he added.

Several questions concerning methamphetamine and labs were raised, including
precursor substances.

"It's destroying a generation," Smothermon said. "It is the most addictive
drug we have so far."