Compton Judges Not Giving In to Reiner on Drug Sentences

An attempt by the district attorney’s office to enforce Ira Reiner’s get-tough policy against small-time drug sellers has apparently failed at the Compton Superior Court now that a second judge has refused to mete out 180-day minimum sentences.

Since August, 1986, when Reiner first set the policy of seeking uniformly stiff jail terms for drug sellers, most judges in the county have meted out 180-day sentence.

But in the Compton court district--the so-called murder capital of the county--the judge of the master calendar has been setting his own, less-stringent policy in an effort to clear the court of minor cases and move quickly on more serious murder, rape and theft cases that overwhelm the court.

Refusing to Back Down

And despite an unusual legal maneuver by the district attorney’s office to enforce Reiner’s will, a second judge is now refusing to follow the district attorney’s guidelines.

When the district attorney’s office began refusing to send these cases to Judge Arthur Jean last month, Judge Nancy Brown began taking the cases and she has been settling them in the same way--at 90 days, half the term sought by Reiner.

Jean, who was named judge of the master calendar for the Compton court last summer, began routinely settling minor drug sales cases with 90-day sentences as a means of reducing the number of trials.

Jean, a former prosecutor who is otherwise given high marks by the district attorney’s office, said many defendants facing a mandatory 180-day sentence are electing to go to trial and that is clogging the court. The judge said he agrees with Reiner in principle.

“But, as applied here in Compton, it is not a reasonable position. And the reason it is not reasonable (is that) the number of cases that we have here is overwhelming,” he said.

The Compton court, one of 10 branch courts in the county system, has jurisdiction over the south-central portion of the county, including the cities of Compton and Carson. The court, with 10 judges, receives about 200 murder cases a year and 250 to 325 new felony cases each month, in addition to the myriad drug cases.

The cases in question concern possession of cocaine, heroin or PCP with intent to sell or outright sales of these drugs. Most involve half a gram or less and transactions of less than $50, according to Brown. Cases involving greater amounts are handled differently by the prosecutors and judges, she said.

Despite the small amounts, Brown said she receives at least three to five new cases every day.

Jean began offering defendants the option of pleading guilty and taking a reduced 90-day sentence, and the court calendar was quickly cleared.

But the district attorney objected to the bargaining and instituted a policy of filing “affidavits of prejudice” against Jean in all drug sales cases.

The practice, known as “papering” in legal circles, is seldom used and rarely in such blanket form.

When Jean was “papered,” cases were then assigned by the supervising judge to Brown, who said in an interview this week that she has been settling them “the same way (Jean) would, exactly.”

Brown, appointed to the bench by Gov. George Deukmejian, said it is a “policy that has made practical sense.” Besides clearing the court for more serious cases, Brown said the policy also takes into consideration overcrowding of jails and the right of judges to use their discretion in meting out sentences.

Jean and Brown also said the district attorney was not winning many of the cases that did go to trial.

Denis Petty, director of branches and area operations for the district attorney’s office, said his office is disappointed by not surprised at Brown’s decision. He said the district attorney is “monitoring” the situation in the Compton court to see “if further action needs to be taken.” Petty would not say what possible form this could take.

Countywide, judges are handing out the 180-day sentence in about 90% of cases, according to a district attorney’s spokesman.

‘Supports Judge Jean Fully’

Judge Robert LaFont, supervising judge of the Compton court, said he “supports Judge Jean fully” and did not ask Brown how she intended to rule on the cases before giving her the assignment to take the orphaned cases.

But the papering process is “wasting a lot of time,” said Loren Mandel, head deputy public defender in the Compton office. Defense attorneys and prosecutors are forced to shuttle back and forth between Jean’s and Brown’s courts every time one of these cases comes up.

“I thought they’d stop after the election,” Mandel said.