Mayor Francis G. Slay, whose office now runs the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, and Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce, whose office prosecutes most crimes in the city, have both been clear about one change that they say would help the city fight violent crime. They say the circuit court in the city needs to open a gun docket that deals exclusively with gun cases.
The judges of the 22d Judicial Circuit of Missouri declined to do that last year.
“The judges felt that a more equitable and efficient way to dispose of gun possession cases was to make some adjustments in how they move uncomplicated cases to trial,” said Thom Gross, public information officer for the 22d Judicial Circuit.
“They felt that setting up a separate gun court or docket would actually slow these cases – or compete for precious resources from the court, prosecutors and defense attorneys.”
Instead, the judges devised and adopted, as of January 1, a new trial assignment system for cases of many illegal gun possessions that, they claim, has shortened disposition time and reduced backlogs.
In the first three months of this year, the court reports, it has moved 245 gun possession cases to trial divisions, 180 of which have been disposed – 143 through guilty pleas, 11 through trial verdicts, and 26 because prosecutors dismissed them. Of the remaining 65 pending cases, approximately half are scheduled for guilty pleas in coming weeks, the court reported.
Under the new system, the criminal assignment division, under Circuit Judge Bryan L. Hettenbach, develops a weekly docket, assigning simple gun possession cases to one of the court’s criminal trial divisions at the first setting date following the formal filing of charges.
Previously, the assignment division treated these cases as other felonies, automatically granting a continuance at the first setting, which postpones the trial date for six weeks. After that delay, the assignment division commonly granted continuances at the request of prosecutors or defense attorneys.
The new procedure applies to all cases charging felons in possession of firearms or unlawful use of a weapon by carrying a concealed weapon or by exhibiting or flourishing a firearm.
Gun cases including simple drug possession charges are included. Excluded are gun cases accompanied by any other charge involving a specific victim. These go through the normal felony docketing process.
The time of disposition of these cases – from formal charge to conclusion through guilty plea, trial verdict, or dismissal by prosecutors – dropped under the new system, the court reported. Cases of felons in possession were 27.2 percent shorter in duration, while case times for unlawful use of a weapon declined 14 percent.
“Under this system, we have reduced the gun possession caseload to a very manageable level, ensuring that our circuit court will swiftly handle all gun possession cases brought by the police and circuit attorney,” Judge Hettenbach said.
Mayor Slay, who now administers the city police through the Department of Public safety, said how swiftly these cases are being heard and decided “answers only part of the question.”
Through a spokesperson, Slay said “the public” also would like to know: “Have the courts have been able to make well informed judgments on who should be released and who should be held pretrial? What’s the track record of defendants who are granted probation? How many have stayed out of trouble? How many have been implicated in new crimes?”
Slay’s spokesperson said the most important unanswered question is: “what are we learning from these cases that will help the courts improve the quality of justice and keep our neighborhoods safe?”
Shirley Rogers, chief trial assistant for the Circuit Attorney’s Office, said she remains “disappointed” that the courts did not pass and implement the gun docket proposal presented by Judge John Garvey.
“That proposal had some important components that could help us measure the outcomes of our efforts,” Rogers said.
“While we are pleased that we are moving cases through the system quickly, we believe that it is important to analyze these cases further to measure the effectiveness of the court’s approach.”
She said the circuit attorney’s office is in the process of doing its own evaluation of the first three months of data from the revised trial assignment system.
