Carl Worley, 72, in his car, lost his faith in the justice system last year
after he was carjacked and robbed at gunpoint by a man who had been
arrested on felony weapons charges just weeks earlier. In large
metropolitan areas that have tight budgets and high caseloads, problems
with criminal cases invariably occur, top prosecutors and police officials
contend. But they say such problems are minor compared with the number of
cases successfully handled.

"It's the nature of the beast," said Wayne County Prosecutor John O'Hair.
Yet last year, felony dismissals cost taxpayers an estimated $5 million,
court officials said. That includes costs for the courts, attorneys, police
and jail. In personal costs, the toll is even higher. The system can
frustrate. After Linda Jackson Carter's parents were assaulted recently,
friends warned them that the system was difficult and frustrating. But the
east side family felt it was their duty to see the case through to the end.

"We were warned, but we never could have prepared ourselves for how they
would treat us," said Carter, whose case is pending. "You get degraded by
cops; you have to sit and wait for hours to sign the warrant; hearings are
adjourned; trials are postponed, and everyone in the system acts arrogant
and above you because you don't understand how the system works or what
you're supposed to do. It's very, very unpleasant and aggravating," she
said.

"If I knew someone who just became a victim, I'd tell them to brace
themselves and hang on, because they're in for a long haul."

Some witnesses aren't as willing to go through that process.

In 1996, almost 60 percent of the felony dismissals were due to absent
witnesses. "The bottom line is we can't force people to come to court and
testify," said Richard Padzieski, chief of operations at the Wayne County
Prosecutors office. But witnesses don't deserve the blame for all
dismissed cases, said Cheryl Calcagno, director of the Wayne County
Victim's Services.

"Victims have a right to be angry. They often get the short end of the
justice system," she said. "It's timeconsuming, draining and very
frustrating coming down here time after time and getting no closure. I'm
sure word travels fast in neighborhoods on how unpleasant the system can be
and many victims opt to stay away. "If you mistreat them, they won't come
back. I wouldn't either."

No type of case produces more fickle witnesses and, subsequently, more
dismissals than the domestic violence case, prosecutors say. Victims often
give abusive family members second chances or fall back in love with their
assailants, which prosecutors wryly call "the second honeymoon."

Candace White of Detroit failed to appear to testify against her boyfriend
after he allegedly beat her and her son last year. Charges were dismissed
and he was freed. In August, she told police, he poured gasoline on her in
a hotel room and set her on fire.

But despite severe burns and a lengthy hospital stay, she wouldn't testify
against him. The boyfriend, charged with felony assault, walked free.
Repeated attempts to contact White were unsuccessful.

About 75 percent of domestic violence cases fall apart because victims fail
to testify, court records show. But new state laws also allow prosecutors
to issue charges against abusive spouses with or without the alleged
victims' cooperation. "Domestic violence cases are the most difficult
cases to prosecute because of the human dynamics," said Andrea Solak, chief
of special operations at the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. "Sometimes,
the assailant has the finances, threatens to have kids taken, or to beat
the tar out of her."

Some cases are so bizarre that judges have little choice but to toss them
out. One Detroit woman was both the suspect and key witness in a child
abuse case in March of 1996. Not surprisingly, she wouldn't testify, so the
judge dismissed the case. "The whole thing was ridiculous. I was in jail a
month and then they tried to make me play both parts a suspect and a
witness," said Latanya Ferrell, 25. "You can ask any stupid crackhead on
the street and he'll know you can't be both a suspect and a witness, but
the prosecutors couldn't figure that out."

One accused drug peddler ranted and raved in 36 District Court that he had
no wife to beat until officials realized that sheriff's deputies had
brought the wrong suspect from jail. The woman who reported being beaten
already upset for having to wait several hours for the preliminary
examination to begin became disgruntled and walked away. On the next day,
her husband did, too. Case dismissed.

"We see a lot of jail mixups," said Judge Lipscomb. "Defendants lie about
who they are or force other suspects to lie about who they are. They need a
better identification process over at the jail so the wrong suspect isn't
brought over." Sometimes, no suspects are brought over at all.

Evelyn Harrison, 35, of Detroit went to 36th District Court three times to
testify against her exboyfriend on charges of domestic violence stemming
from a September 1995 incident.

Each time, she was told that deputies forgot to bring him from jail, so the
preliminary examination was adjourned and rescheduled. Before the fourth
rescheduled hearing, Harrison's father died in Chicago and she was unable
to appear in court. Her exboyfriend was there that day, however, and
charges against him were dismissed. Stamped across the court record is the
reason: "Complaining Witness Failed to Appear." "I did everything I could,"
Harrison said angrily. "I went to the trouble of getting a personal
protection order against him. I went down to the courthouse every time they
told me to. I paid for parking, I lost time helping my mother. And then
they dismiss it. That's terrible. That's really shameful."

Communication problems between Wayne County Jail and other jails and
prisons continue to plague cases. Felony drug charges against Yvone Mantyk
were dismissed in March because the Wayne County Jail officials lost his
paperwork and his whereabouts. On Nov. 5, jail officials lost paperwork on
firstdegree murder suspect Craig Todd, who was in federal prison on
unrelated charges, and couldn't locate him for his preliminary hearing in
Detroit.

"We should not have to spend our day calling U.S. marshals to find out
where this guy is and how we can get him down here," said Wayne County
Assistant Prosecutor Kevin Simoski, who was forced to adjourn the case
twice until jail officials found the missing paperwork. "Every time we
adjourn it, it upsets witnesses who come down to court to testify. Next
time, they may decide not to come."

Top jail officials admit that they have had trouble accessing information
and the location of the 2,700 inmates, but said the problems will be
alleviated by a new $900,000 computer system now being installed.

"We are just coming up to the 20th century in computer capability," said
Nancy Mouradian, chief of staff at the Wayne County Sheriff's Department.
"I am not trying to make excuses, but lack of technology played a part in
many of the deficiencies in inmate information."

During the past decade, Chester Sargent beat the rap five times without
even trying. Sargent, who could not be reached for comment, had two
gangrape charges, two felony drug charges and one felony weapons charge
dismissed.

Some suspects, like Sargent, skip through the court system repeatedly
without so much as a blemish on their record. The News found 132 people in
the Wayne County system with five or more felony dismissals on their
records.

The woman who was allegedly gangraped by Sargent and another man didn't
show up for court in the summer of 1987, so charges were dismissed. Two
weeks later, Sargent and a group of men were charged with gangraping two
other women on Belle Isle. Those alleged victims were noshows as well.

Sargent's good luck with absent civilian witnesses expanded into the police
department. In 1995, he walked again after the two Detroit narcotics
officers who arrested him on charges of heroin possession didn't go to
court. Those charges were reissued, but Sargent walked again when the same
two officers didn't show the second time. Last year, a 9th (Gratiot)
Precinct officer failed to appear in court after arresting Sargent for
allegedly carrying a loaded Glock pistol. Sargent walked again.

James Mitchell was just as lucky. Five times in the past eight years,
felony charges against him were dismissed. In July, he was arrested on
charges he broke both arms of his exgirlfriend, Jocelyn Bryant. That case
was dismissed when Bryant, who could not be reached for comment, didn't
appear in court. One year earlier, felony drug charges were dismissed
against him when Detroit narcotics officers failed to appear in court.

"That's outrageous. This is the United States of America, not some
thirdworld republic," said Bob Moffitt of the Heritage Foundation, a
Washington, D.C.based advocacy group that reviews criminal statistics.
"Victims of crimes want to see justice. They want to see convictions. It
doesn't create a general trust in the system when the cases are bungled."

Officials warn that repeated dismissals cause criminals to become even
bolder because they think that they defeated the system.

"Even if they're acquitted during a trial, you've held their feet close to
the fire and so they're going to think twice the next time they feel like
committing a crime," Lipscomb said. "But if the case is dismissed, they
walk out thinking, 'Yeah, I'm the big man. I can do what I want.'"

National experts cautioned that if Detroit's high dismissal rate is not
reduced, the lack of trust in the system will only lead to complete
lawlessness and, in some neighborhoods, vigilante justice.

"If the public doesn't trust the police and court system, they'll start
taking the law into their own hands," Moffitt said.

Carl Worley already has. The 72yearold Detroit man grew increasingly
tired of seeing criminals in his east side neighborhood arrested one week
and back out on the streets the next. Last year, he lost all faith in the
justice system after he was carjacked and robbed at gunpoint by a man who
had been arrested on felony weapons charges just weeks earlier.

"The justice system here ain't worth a damn. They finally get these punks
arrested and locked up, then they let them go free for no reason in the
world. I'm carrying my own justice with me now," said Worley, pointing to a
nickelplated .32caliber handgun. "Anyone messes with me now, they'll be
dealing with my justice system.

Records indicate Evelyn Harrison's plight with 36th District Court, where
she arrived three times to testify against her exboyfriend on domestic
violence charges. Each time, sheriff's deputies forgot to bring him over
from the jail and the case was adjourned to a later date. Her father's
death prevented her from attending the fourth rescheduled hearing, but her
boyfriend was there and had his case dismissed. The reason: "CWFTA,"
Complaining Witness Failed To Appear.

Copyright (c) 1997, The Detroit News