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R O G R A M Beginnings The Court Monitors Program was established in 1997 as part of the ongoing campaign of the Santa Fe Rape Crisis & Trauma Treatment Center and the League of Women Voters of Santa Fe County to see justice served in cases of sexual violence. Initially, eight League members, under the leadership coordinator from the Rape Crisis Center, volunteered to attend, observe and gather data on every case of felony sexual assault charges in Rio Arriba, Los Alamos, and Santa Fe Counties. Over the past four years, Court Monitors, carrying distinctive red clipboards, have attended over 111 cases of sexual assault in both juvenile and criminal court. Our team of court observers has grown to 19 and has included men as well as women. Since 1997, Court Monitors have become a consistent presence in the First Judicial District courtrooms, appearing at arraignments, plea hearings, trials, and sentencings. We enthusiastically share with the community our initial findings and comments based upon this court experience. Why Monitor the Courts? Without public awareness, inconsistencies and problems in the courts are easily ignored. This can promote a silent permissivness around the crimes of sexual violence. By being a presence in the courtroom, the Court Monitors Program hopes to hold the justice system accountable for how it processes these crimes. We monitor the courts in order to:
For more information regarding the Court Monitors Program or to become a volunteer, call Maria Jose Rodriquez Cadiz, Coordinator, at (505) 988-1951 ext. 28. O V E R V I E W In the past two years, 131 females and 9 males went to the St. Vincent Hospital and SFRCC's Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner/Sexual Assault Recovery Team (SANE/SART) unit. All reported being sexually assaulted. Of these victims, 51% we under 18 years of age. Only 16% of these victim's alleged assailants were indicted in District I Court in 1998 and 1999. These numbers add local specifics to the national statistics. Most rapes go unreported; of those that are reported, fewer than 20% of the cases go to court. The public, therefore, has little knowledge of the magnitude of the sexual assault problem. We know that without the reporting of a rape and the subsequent prosecution of the alleged assailant, perpetrators who victimize the women, children, and men of our community remain free on our streets and in our homes, without punishment or treatment. A total of 88 new sex offense cases were opened and monitored by the Court Monitors in 1998 and 1999. This is an average of 3.6 cases per month. In criminal court in 1999 there was a decrease from 1998 of 35% in new cases opened and in juvenile court there was an increase of 73% in the juvenile cases opened in 1999. At year-end 1999, 28 cases in both crminal and juvenile courts were still in process. In addition, there were 8 open cases with outstanding warrants, meaning the defendants are in flight and have not shown up for the scheduled hearings. C R I M I N A L C O U R T Jury Trials Twenty criminal cases were closed in 1999. Thirty percent of the cases were brought to trial, an increase of 21% over 1998. In half of the trials the jury brought back a verdict of not guilty on all counts. Another case is scheduled to be re-tried after the jury found the defendant not guilty on one count and a hung jury on the two remaining counts. In two cases the defendants were found guilty on all counts, one of whom was sentenced to life because it included a murder in the first-degree charge. The other defendant was sentenced to 15 years (with a suspension of 13 years 11 months). Nature of Charges Of the original charges filed in the indictments 21% were for 1st degree Criminal Sexual Penetration, 36% were for 2nd and 3rd degree Criminal Sexual Penetration, and 43% were for 3rd and 4th degree Criminal Sexual Contact. Plea Bargaining Of the remaining 14 closed cases, 43% were resolved by plea agreements where the original charges were lowered. Two of these plea agreements dropped the sexual felony charges in favor of lower charges of a non-sexual nature, such as Contributing to the Deliquency of a Minor or False Imprisonment, which are 4th degree felony charges. In 29% of the cases the defendant plead No Contest or used an Alford Plea. Victim Age Eighty percent of the victims in the adjudicated guilty cases were children under the age of 18, one-third of these children were under the age of 13. The remaining 20% were adult women. Defendant Age Sixty percent of the defendants in the adjudicated guilty cases were between the ages of 18 and 30. The remaining 40% were between 31 and 40 years old. Sentencing Discounting the four acquittals, the potential sentencing for all sex-crime-related charges was 339 years, plus one life term. After plea-bargainings and trials, the potential sentencing for the 16 cases was reduced to 145.5 years, plus one life term. The actual sentences imposed totaled 114.5 years, plus one life term. Out of these sentences the defendants were given 71.5 years incarceration, plus one life term, with the balance in probation time. Given that one defendant was incarcerated for 40 years and to others for a combined 15 years- that means that 13 defendants were sentenced to an average of 1.3 years incarceration. Closed Cases Seventeen Juvenile cases were closed in 1999, and increase of 89% over 1998. There were 4 cases dismissed and no trials in juvenile court during 1999. Nature of Charge Of the original charges filed in the petitions 50% were 1st or 2nd degree Criminal Sexual Penetration and 50% were 3rd degree Criminal Sexual Contact. Plea Bargaining Fifty-nine percent of the cases were resolved by plea agreements where the original charges were lowered. Four of these plea agreements dropped the sexual felony charges in favor of lower charges of a non-sexual nature, such as Battery or Kidnapping. In 46% of the cases the defendant pled No Contest. Victim Age Sixty-nine percent of the victims in the adjudicated guilty cases were children under the age of 13; the remaining 31% were between 13 and 17 years of age. Defendant Age Thirty-eight percent of the defendants in the adjudicated guilty cases were 16 and 17 years old. The remaining 62% were 12, 13, and 14 years old. Sentencings None of the respondents were incarcerated. 54% received 2 years of probation, with the remaining 46% receiving a 1-year probation or a Consent Decree of 6 months plus 6 months. All of the respondents were evaluated for sex offender issues and 62% were sentenced to the Santa Fe Rape Crisis & Trauma Treatment Center PARE (Preventing Abuse Re-enactment) sexual offender treatment program or private therapy as a condition of probation. A C C O M P L I S H M E N T S Going to Court Since 1997, Court Monitors have attended 72 cases involving sexual offenses in Juvenile Court Recruiting and Training Volunteers
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