Pa. jurists' focus: Fixing city courts

State Supreme Court Justice Seamus P. McCaffery has begun meeting with top Philadelphia judges, court administrators, and the district attorney to implement an ambitious reform agenda for the city's troubled criminal justice system.

McCaffery, acting at the behest of Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille, said the Supreme Court would require more accountability from the city courts, including new and detailed analysis of conviction rates, and an explanation of why so many cases collapse.

"I want reform," said McCaffery, a former Philadelphia judge. "The court needs it, and the citizens deserve it."

The high court's intervention comes in response to an Inquirer series that found the city courts in crisis - with low conviction rates, widespread witness fear, a massive fugitive problem, and a bail system in disarray.

McCaffery said each of those failings would be a focus of the reform effort.

"I want it all addressed," he said. "I want a full proposal for change."

In an interview, McCaffery laid out the broad framework of a reform plan and sketched out a series of specific initiatives. He said he would direct the courts to:

Hire a consulting firm to dig deeply into why the Philadelphia courts have the nation's lowest felony conviction rate. The Inquirer's data analysis showed that nearly two-thirds of all defendants charged with violent crimes in Philadelphia escaped conviction on all charges.

Analyze the system's Municipal Court to find out why so many cases fail at that initial level. Of cases that end without a conviction, 82 percent fall apart in Municipal Court, The Inquirer's analysis found.

Reexamine the court's dysfunctional bail system. As the newspaper reported, one out of three Philadelphia defendants skips at least one court hearing. With 47,000 defendants on the lam, the city has one of the nation's highest fugitive rates.

Bolster efforts to prevent and punish the widespread intimidation of victims and witnesses. McCaffery said one possible approach would be to create a witness-intimidation strike force, complete with a designated judge and assigned detectives, perhaps funded with federal money.

Not all changes would cost money, the justice said.

For example, he said, the high court would insist that Municipal Court judges streamline preliminary hearings and allow more hearsay testimony. That, he said, would spare victims and witnesses from having to appear in court so often.

At preliminary hearings, judges decide whether there is enough evidence for cases to move to trial in Common Pleas Court.

When defendants skip hearings, McCaffery said, judges should proceed in their absence, as state law allows.

"We want to bring the Philadelphia Municipal Court preliminary hearings in line with the rest of the commonwealth," he said. "Philadelphia has, over the years, just slid away from what a preliminary hearing should have been into an almost trial-like environment."

In another simple but potentially far-reaching change, McCaffery said, he will instruct Municipal Court judges to ask defense lawyers first whether they are ready to proceed as hearings begin.

Current protocol calls for the question to be put to prosecutors first. Prosecutors contend that under this approach, some defense attorneys "game" the system through deliberate delays.

If the prosecution says it is ready to go and has its victims and witnesses there to testify, the defense says it is not ready and asks for a postponement. Conversely, if the prosecution is not ready, the defense lawyers say they are.

Tactically, that can help defendants because, under court rules, prosecutors get only three tries to stage a preliminary hearing. After that, judges typically dismiss charges. There is no similar limit on defense delays.

In interviews with The Inquirer, top prosecutors have said they have long asked for Municipal Court judges to make this change but could get little traction.

McCaffery has a different view. "When judges call the [case] list, from now on they will be saying, 'Defense, are you ready?' " he said.

McCaffery said he wanted change to come quickly. He said the consulting firm could come up with a public "road map," with deadlines. "I want a timeline - phase one, phase two, phase three," he said.

Seth Williams, who took over as district attorney this month, said he welcomed the Supreme Court's role. He said McCaffery, a former administrative judge of Municipal Court and longtime critic of its high dismissal rate, was perfectly suited for the task.

Williams endorsed the proposal to simplify preliminary hearings.

"This is about government doing what has to be done," he said. "The court system is broken, and the government has to fix it."

In his own office, Williams has already made changes. He has revamped the charging unit, putting experienced prosecutors in place to decide what charges are appropriate for each defendant. Critics have faulted the District Attorney's Office for pursuing too many unwinnable cases, wasting resources, and clogging up the system.

Just as McCaffery said better data analysis would be a priority for the courts, Williams has pledged to make statistical analysis a central element of the management approach in his office. He created a performance and policy division to analyze case outcomes.

The meeting McCaffery convened Jan. 14 with key figures in the Philadelphia criminal justice system was the first step in a process he said could transform city courts.

"This is one of those watershed moments," McCaffery said. "When things like this come about, large bureaucracies have to step up and make the necessary changes."

Along with McCaffery and Williams, the meeting included Marsha H. Neifield, president judge of Municipal Court; Sheila Woods-Skipper, supervising judge of the criminal division of Common Pleas Court; court administrator David C. Lawrence; and top court deputies Kathleen M. Rapone and Joseph Lanzalotti.

Neifield declined to comment on the meeting, saying it was too early to know where the effort would lead. Of McCaffery, she said, "It's hard to argue with what he had to say."

Lawrence, too, declined to comment, saying he would defer to McCaffery.

Lynn Marks, executive director of Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, said the Supreme Court's intercession in the Philadelphia court system was a positive and necessary step.

"There needs to be a systemic evaluation of the entire criminal justice system," said Marks, whose group advocates merit selection, rather than election, of judges.

Notably absent from the initial meeting were representatives of the city's criminal defense bar. McCaffery said defense lawyers and others key players would be invited to future sessions.

Michael J. Engle, president of the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said his group welcomed that invitation and was ready to provide input.

"I think only good can come from a process where people sit down and say, 'We have a system that needs improvement. What can be done?' "