Looking ahead to this next legislative session, criminal justice reform has been on my mind.
I’ve spent much of my career in the criminal law arena in one way or another. As a policy analyst I studied all of our laws and policy underpinnings regarding statutes of limitations.
Then I was a prosecutor, then a defense attorney.
Working in the criminal justice system you see mental health crises abound.
That impacts everything.
You see prosecutors across the state behave disproportionately in their offers and recommendations. You see legal deserts where few to no public defenders exist.
A state hospital waiting period spans months for competency evaluations. Recidivism, or an individual’s propensity to reoffend is on the rise.
Drug use is pervasive. Fentanyl is readily accessible and its dangers are extreme. Methamphetamine, cocaine and others are also are prevalent.
Mental health suffers among our youth, and the problems from that are significant.
Despite some recent criticism of Wyoming’s judicial branch, I must tell you of some inspirational moments.
Serving for a time as the defense attorney for drug court, I can tell you firsthand of the success of these programs, the wonderful individuals who serve on them, and the many people they help. Of course, not everyone is successful because addiction is complicated.
But many were, and that changed the course of their lives forever.
We cannot simply rely on law enforcement to clean up the mess. We must put thoughtful policies into place and fund them to adopt a restorative justice model that funds solutions instead of a never-ending institutional corrections complex where we pretend to throw away the key – not recognizing that these offenders will eventually rejoin society.
Now is not the time to cut the local prosecutor’s office or emergency personnel. Counties should be careful to craft local budgets. They should downsize themselves instead.
Habitual offender sentencing, the death penalty, and facilities should all be studied.
Some have criticized the legislature recently for tackling so many issues that people have less time to debate each proposed policy.
The fact is that a lot of actions are unfolding quickly. Public comment opportunities and meetings are still happening, as are town halls.
Participants in our government can be as active as they like.
Recently also the management audit committee looked into the lackadaisical efforts of the department of audit in monitoring the audits of local governments.
The books were a mess. They revealed misappropriation due to negligence.
While the Freedom Caucus received some criticism, it should go without saying that the critics are insiders who are in some way benefitting from the mess of a structure that is our current system.
So yes, Freedom Caucus-rostered and Freedom Caucus-aligned lawmakers issued subpoenas for records and testimony regarding some entities’ failure to follow the law.
Meanwhile, we are entering a budget session, working through a variety of energy-related issues, defending personal freedoms and rooting out corruption. The time spent working bills must be done so efficiently and with great purpose. The role of a representative republic is to have the people’s voice broadcast through their duly elected officials.
If you’ve ever sat through a legislative meeting, you know that entails hours of (usually establishment-not-citizen) testimony, opinions and requests.
The real debate will flare when we approach the nuclear waste issue that has many public and private interests piqued, and has sparked public citizens’ outcry.
With other issues like education funding and choice, elections and social issues lurking in the background, detractors can just pipe down if they expect the workload to decrease or the speed to lessen.
There is too much to be done and too many people counting on results.
Cowboy State Daily columnist Cassie Craven is a University of Wyoming College of Law graduate who practices law in Wyoming. She can be reached at: longhornwritingllc@gmail.com
