Central Arkansas drug court a disaster, prosecutor tells justices

Pulaski County Prosecuting Attorney Larry Jegley on Thursday called Circuit Judge Mary McGowan's drug court a "catastrophe" and pointed to a state study he says shows an "unacceptably high re-arrest rate" for defendants she supervises.

Jegley's comments appear in a letter he sent to the Arkansas Supreme Court objecting to a plan adopted by the county's circuit judges this week that would remove future drug court cases from McGowan's court but still allow the longtime judge to handle existing drug court cases along with civil lawsuits and other matters, until she retires in late 2020.

On Tuesday, Jegley accused McGowan of bullying and abusive behavior with defendants and lawyers and of graduating too few drug offenders from her program.

In his letter to state Supreme Court justices dated Thursday, the prosecutor also said his office and the public defender's office don't have enough staff lawyers to cover two drug courts -- McGowan's current court and the new court to be overseen by Judge Patti James.

McGowan "categorically" denied that she has been "abusive to anyone."

[DOCUMENT: Read the letter]

In response to Jegley's letter, she wrote in an email Thursday that the 6th Judicial Circuit's public defender's office has said it would have "no problem with staffing" two drug courts.

The judicial circuit covers Pulaski and Perry counties.

She referred to the proposed case assignment plan, which quotes Public Defender Bill Simpson saying he approves the proposal and "with his existing staff, is able to cover the second drug court with Judge James."

McGowan also cited the proposed case management plan's section that says Judge James believes the drug court "can be more than adequately staffed."

McGowan also says the 2014 study by the Arkansas Department of Community Correction cited by Jegley included Pulaski County numbers that were affected by overcrowding in the county jail. Because she couldn't use short jail stays as punishment, recidivism rates rose, she wrote.

Drug courts in Arkansas and nationwide are designed to help addicts get treatment, graduate and see their offenses erased from their criminal record. The goal is for prosecutors, defense lawyers, judges and probation officers to work closely to help defendants get clean from drugs, according to state drug court studies. In Pulaski County, defendants must plead guilty and get the approval of the prosecuting attorney to enter the drug court program.

The Supreme Court justices, who met Thursday before their summer break, didn't release any decision on the 6th Judicial Circuit Case Management Plan, submitted by Circuit Judge Vann Smith earlier this week. The plan addresses drug court along with other court staffing issues.

The 6th Judicial Circuit is the only district in the state that doesn't have an approved case distribution plan for 2018-2019, Smith said. The state Supreme Court reviews and approves all such plans. The justices declined, without comment, to approve a plan for Pulaski and Perry counties last year.

The performance of the state's oldest drug court became a contentious issue this week when Jegley told judges and others that he has not approved any new defendants for McGowan's drug court program since March 2017.

Because of his objections, Jegley said in his letter to the Supreme Court justices, "this office will continue to exercise its discretion and refuse placement of 'new' cases in drug court in the 6th Judicial District."

"I cannot in good conscience, or as an officer of the courts, participate in what I know is a program of manifest problems," Jegley wrote.

The 2014 study Jegley cited showed that drug courts statewide showed a rearrest rate of 32.5 percent for females, 41.4 percent for males. The drug court run by McGowan showed rates of 45.5 percent for females and 60.5 percent for males. The study used data from 2009.

Records from the state's Judicial Discipline & Disability Commission show McGowan was given a letter of reprimand in 2008 for "lapses in demeanor while on the bench."

"Specifically, you were not always patient and courteous to litigants and lawyers and others with whom you deal in an official capacity" in violation of judicial canons, the commission wrote.

Jegley also has cited a February 2017 incident in which he says McGowan ejected deputy prosecutor Vicki Ewenike from her courtroom.

A Section on 06/08/2018

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