PORTLAND, Ore. — Justice delayed is justice denied for both victims and those accused of crimes. That tough crisis came under fire at a community meeting last night.
90. That’s the percentage of local people entering the criminal justice system who need a public defender because they can’t afford one. Former Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt says, “We’ve seen recently underneath the State v. Roberts decision, resulting in the dismissal of hundreds of cases from our criminal system. And so, that, it really gums up our entire criminal system. It backs everything up. And, as in the title of this presentation, justice delayed is justice denied. People are not getting justice. Both the accused and victims of crime are not served when our system is broken like this.”
The state’s responsible for funding public defenders but Portland District 3 City Councilor Angelita Morillo says city policies can help stop crime before it starts. She worked with the S.N.A.P. food program before joining city council…