Prosecutor Candidate James McDonnell Responds to Questions on Controversial Procedures
This is a big election, and it comes at an important time. County reform is a little over a year old, and many changes have been instituted by newly elected County Executive Ed FitzGerald and the new County Council. But the reform process that has transformed Cuyahoga County didn’t affect the Prosecutor’s Office, until this election.
On Tuesday, March 6, Cuyahoga County voters will choose between five candidates for the position of Cuyahoga County Prosecutor: Subodh Chandra, Stephanie Hall, James McDonnell, Tim McGinty and Robert Triozzi. Each week, we asked a different set of questions:
WEEK THREE:
Please use a maximum of 700 words total to answer the following three questions:
* What is your position on “open discovery?”
* What is your position on “stacking” indictments?
* What is your position on using “jailhouse snitches?”
Definitions
* Open Discovery is the prosecutor sharing all information discovered during an investigation, no matter which direction that information points in, guilt or innocence.
* Stacking Indictments is when a person gets caught with say a rock of crack in their pocket while driving and the car, the cell phone, the money in their possession all become separate cases … now four instead of one. Three will be dismissed if the person agrees to the plea bargain.
* Jailhouse Snitches: If police believe someone is guilty and have no proof, they will place a paid snitch in the cell with the suspect, with the understanding the snitch will come out the next day and say the suspect admitted the crime to them overnight. They’ll take the witness stand and tell the same story. In some cases professional snitches used to be given a “license” to commit crimes, such as selling drugs, so the police don’t have to pay them out of their funds. Also known as a “get out of jail card.”
Prosecutor Candidate McDonnell responds:
* What is your position on “open discovery?”
I am a huge proponent of open discovery. I implemented open discovery as Prosecutor in the City of North Royalton in 1999, years before the county or other municipalities did so. I’ve practiced as both a criminal defense attorney and a prosecutor, and I strongly believe that open discovery is important to give both sides of a case a fair chance. I will demand that my staff fully comply with both the letter and spirit of this policy.
* What is your position on “stacking” indictments?
Stacking indictments against a criminal defendant sounds like what it is, stacking a deck against someone. I also call that cheating. I want to prosecute legitimate cases and win them, not because winning is what matters, but because I commit to being a fair and just prosecutor. A prosecutor’s conviction rate should be high as a result of only pursuing serious cases, not because we measure success by a number of prosecutions or convictions. When a crime occurs, when an investigation is thorough, when an honest indictment and charge is brought forward, and when open discovery occurs, then we are moving in the direction of a just result.
* What is your position on using “jailhouse snitches?”
The use of jailhouse snitches to pursue a conviction is despicable. In my fourteen years as a prosecutor I have never participated in this practice, nor will I ever behave in this way. If I knew or even suspected that someone from my staff had employed a jailhouse snitch, the situation would be investigated and anyone found to have done this would be terminated immediately.
Click here to read the Prosecutor Candidates’ responses to ALL of Cool Cleveland’s questions.