A Brief Recap of Mike Anderson on Reasonable Doubt

As requested by a commenter on my last post, here is a brief recap of District Attorney-Elect Mike Anderson's appearance on last night's Reasonable Doubt.  I'm going from memory here, so I may miss a few things.  I'm hoping we will have the actual episode put online by my assistant, Franklin, by the end of the weekend.

1.  When asked how he wanted to be referred to at the Office, he was emphatic that he wanted to be called "Mike," noting that he was no longer a judge and didn't think he should be addressed as so.

2.  He plans on announcing his leadership team today (December 14th) in a press conference at the CJC at 10:30am.

3.  He is very excited that Judge Belinda Hill agreed to be 1st Assistant.  She was the choice he continuously had in mind the entire time he was running for Office and he said there was "no Plan B."  His enthusiasm about Judge Hill was very obvious (and well deserved).

4.  Assistant District Attorneys under the new Administration will not be required to attend his swearing-in ceremony on January 1st.  He said he would be glad for all of those who could come, but recognizes that you are all "adults" who may have your own family plans.  Just remember to get sworn in before resuming any duties in the new year.

5.  DIVERT is definitely going away, although all people currently on DIVERT will have that agreement honored.

6.  He will be open to the idea of legal versions of Pre-Trial Diversion on DWI cases in the future and he anticipates a strong possibility that Deferred Adjudication will be added to DWI cases in the next legislative session.

7.  The prosecutors in the court will make the initial determination over what cases are appropriate for Pre-Trial Diversion, and then a committee will review that.

8.  The filing of trace cases will resume but he will be open to all manners of appropriate punishment dispositions.  He considers probation with treatment to be the best solution to low level drug cases and believes that not filing those cases deprives people of the opportunity to get help.

9.  Barring a change in the law, he will not be filing crack pipe residue cases as Class C cases.

10.  The rumors that he is unsupportive of some of the specialty courts (Drug Court, Mental Health Court, Veterans Court, etc.) is "hogwash" and he reiterated that he is a tremendous fan of those courts.  He also noted that having served in those courts has only strengthened his belief in the power of what rehabilitation can achieve.

11.  He absolutely advocates using asset forfeiture money to help fund these programs.

12.  The asset forfeiture fund has dwindled under the Lykos Administration and continues to do so.  At the start of her administration, there was over $22 million.  Now, there is right around $8 million.

13.  The Pre-Commit program and the Hiring Committee will be reinstated for all new applicants.

14.  He wants to utilize more technology starting with the sharing of offense reports with defense counsel.  He thinks offense reports should be easily accessible online to the defense.

15.  He wants to strongly support a return to the collegiality between prosecutors and defense attorneys and hopes to establish an annual softball game with prosecutors and the defense bar.

That's just a brief recap, but if I think of more, I'll let you know.  I'm looking forward to hearing who the leadership team is today.