PLEAS OF GUILTY FREE UP COURTS

New System Eliminates Trials, Moves Case Quickly

Dellna McRay is a classic example of the kind of criminal who squanders
judicial resources.

She steals from people to support her 18-year crack cocaine habit. And
sometimes she gets caught.

McRay, who had skated criminal culpability in the past, was recently
arrested for breaking and entering a vehicle. She wanted a cell phone inside
a Jeep Wrangler and reached in to get it.

Still, every minute McRay spends in court is a minute that Wayne County
Circuit Court judges believe they could be dealing with violent offenders.

But a new program is enabling judges and prosecutors to speed up the
process, by bypassing preliminary examinations and trials. Under the plan,
defendants such as McRay plead guilty to their offenses and are sentenced --
usually within two weeks of their arrest. Of the 5,199 pre-exam cases last
year, 42 percent of the defendants were being held in jail awaiting a
preliminary exam.

"It's good for the victims of the crime because their matters get resolved
more quickly," said Judge William Leo Cahalan. "It's good for the
defendants, particularly those who are incarcerated, because they are not
sitting in the Wayne County Jail waiting for their day in court."

The pre-exam program was started in January 2002. Now that court officials
reviewed last year's statistics, they say the program has been tremendously
effective in disposing of the backlog of cases in two of Michigan's busiest
courthouses -- 36th District and Wayne County Circuit.

There have been long-standing concerns about the backlog of cases, which
sometimes forces jail officials to release some inmates early. Last April,
the Wayne County criminal court division was reorganized to address some of
the concerns after Maura Corrigan, chief justice of the Michigan Supreme
Court, urged judges to more quickly dispense with cases.

"I think there is no question this program is a very important component in
our success of reducing jail overcrowding and assisting our division in
being able to meet the Supreme Court standards," said Wayne County Circuit
Co-Chief Judge Timothy Kenny.

On a recent Thursday, dozens of defendants participated in a pre-exam
hearing in a second-floor courtroom in the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice in
Detroit. Here's how it works: Wayne County prosecutors identify what they
call "low-end" defendants, those who don't customarily commit violent
crimes. Most of the cases involve drugs -- possession, possession with
intent to deliver, larceny of an automobile or other petty theft charges
indicative of substance addiction. The cases are mostly low-level felonies.

The defendant appears in court; the charges are read along with a brief
description of the crime. The defendant is questioned by a judge, who asks
if the crime was committed, if they understand they are giving up their
rights to a preliminary exam and trial and if they committed the crime. The
defendant then pleads guilty and is scheduled for sentencing.

Many of the defendants are sentenced to probation or assigned to work force.
In addition, the defendant is ordered to attend a drug rehabilitation
program, if such treatment is warranted.

Under the traditional system it can take as long as 3 to 6 months from
arrest for a case to go to trial.

Jim Neuhard, director of the state appellate defender's office, applauds the
theory of case management, but said the concept of doing anything because of
docket congestion, cost and convenience can be detrimental to the defendant.

"It's all the ingredients for a disaster," Neuhard said. "You've got
hand-grenade justice, and for poor people, it may be as good as it gets.

"I don't question that for the enormous percent of people, the deal would be
a good deal, I just don't know for who," he said. "It's a judgment call of
what's in the best interest of the defendant and society."

In 1998, McRay, 34, broke into a car on Detroit's west side and stole a cell
phone. She remained on the lam for years, until she was recently picked up
on the outstanding arrest warrant while on her way to a gas station to buy
cigarettes.

She could have faced five years in prison for breaking and entering.
Instead, she faces a maximum of half that time because she pleaded guilty to
the charge. More than likely she'll be sentenced to probation, but she'll
also be forced to live in a drug rehabilitation house.

During McRay's pre-exam hearing, Judge Cahalan asked how long she had been
on drugs. She admitted to using crack off and on -- usually on -- for about
18 years. Cahalan said he would not release her from jail before sentencing
because he wanted her to use the time to begin ridding herself of the drug
cravings.

Neuhard warns that such pleas, especially felonies pleas, could have
consequences for people who want to go to college, get a loan or a job.
"Those opportunities are gone," he said.

During the pre-exam hearing, some defendants decide they would rather
proceed with a preliminary exam and trial. In one case, Detroit resident
Maurice Lofton, who was charged with receiving stolen property, made an
abrupt about-face when he heard the description of the crime he allegedly
committed.

Lofton, 21, said he was not in possession of a stolen 2003 Dodge Stratus
police say they found him sitting in on Jan. 28 on Fenkell and Whitcomb.
Cahalan gave Lofton time to talk to his attorney, Richard Korn, after
explaining that the prosecutor's offer of six months' probation with no
confinement would be taken off the table should he elect to have a
preliminary exam and trial.

Still, Lofton wouldn't go for the deal. "I've explained that this is an
excellent offer and if he is guilty, he should accept it," Korn said. "But
he says he is not guilty so we have to proceed to an exam."

His preliminary exam was scheduled for Friday.