OAKLAND COUNTY PROSECUTOR

DEMOCRAT

KAREN MCDONALD

Karen McDonald has been Oakland County Prosecutor since January of 2021. Prior to then, she was twice elected to the Oakland County Circuit Court, and spent time in both private practice and as an assistant prosecuting attorney.

Holding parents accountable

Parents are not responsible for everything their children do. The facts of the Oxford case were incredibly egregious. These parents knew their son was crying out for help and instead of getting him the medical attention he needed, they bought him a deadly weapon which he tragically used to murder four of his classmates, and harm several others. Even when the school brought troubling drawings to the parents’ attention, instead of taking him home that day or seeking treatment, they left him at school, knowing he had access to a gun. These facts are unlike any the Prosecutor’s Office has ever seen, and we hope to never see such a case again.

Conviction Integrity Unit

Aeveral convictions have already been overturned and hundreds more are either being investigated or are waiting to be reviewed. The most notable case we overturned was that of Juwan Deering, who was serving a life sentence after exculpatory evidence was withheld from him and his attorney. They were never told that a key witness in the case told investigators “that’s not him” when he was shown a picture of Deering. The jury never heard that evidence. To restore public confidence in the criminal justice system, we have to right past wrongs, and work to ensure that such misconduct doesn’t happen again.

Assistant prosecutor discretion

APA discretion is essential because no two cases and no two defendants are the same. Policies that allow no discretion are not good for public safety, for victims, or for defendants. By giving assistant prosecutors options, they can help reach a result that protects the community, decreases recidivism, and is more cost effective for taxpayers.

Changes in office of prosecutor

When I first came into office, I set out to change the culture of the Prosecutor’s Office. We established meaningful partnerships with law enforcement and community agencies to address root causes of violent crime. In our first 100 days, we formed a Conviction Integrity Unit to ensure any instances of prosecutorial misconduct did not result in putting an innocent person behind bars. In the first 100 days, we also created the county’s first ever Hate Crimes Unit with a dedicated prosecutor who reviews files for charges and acts that were instigated from a place of prejudice against someone’s ethnicity, religion, race or sexual orientation. We also transformed our drug unit into a Trafficking Unit that focuses on Human Trafficking. Finally, in the wake of the Oxford tragedy, we convened experts from across the country to form the Commission to Address Gun Violence, with the goal of identifying actionable ways every person in our community can address the root causes of gun violence and ensure that their family, schools and workplaces are safe.

Advocating for changes in law

We support changes to the law that make kids and families safer, like safe-storage and ERPOs. We regularly work with legislators to review proposed or pending legislation to make it as effective as possible.

REPUBLICAN

SCOTT FARIDA

Managing attorney at The Law Offices of Scott Lawrence. Bachelor degree in Political Science and law degree from the University o Detroit Mercy School of Law. Has also spent time as an assistant prosecuting attorney.

Holding parents accountable

Preliminarily, I have the utmost sympathy for every victim and family member of that terrible tragedy. My answer should not be taken as a defense of those convicted, only a warning about the legal approach. Karen McDonald framed the matter exceptionally broadly with a seemingly generalized duty to the entire population. There are many potential scenarios in our community that could be captured. The door is now open to a host of offenses where parents are on notice of potential harmful activity. Parents who know their minor has become intoxicated in the past, and after they steal alcohol, they drive and hit someone. A single parent who has a minor they know is in a gang and has a gun and does not take action knowing the weapon is in the home. Parents who know their minor is sexually active and give them privacy and their child sleeps with someone below the age of consent. That is not to say that good-hearted citizens should not act when they know something is wrong. Nor is that to say there should not be civil liability or other consequences. But we need to take care before making those who did not act criminals.

Conviction Integrity Unit

A CIU can be a valuable tool in ensuring justice if properly utilized. One of my strongest beliefs is that of individual rights. A society should work its hardest to ensure that people to not face consequences for crimes they did not commit. As prosecutor, I will reform the CIU to ensure that cases are handled with fairness based on objective facts. Decisions will be made by a panel of experienced, knowledgeable attorneys. The problem we face is the disastrous implementation by Karen McDonald. Rather than have decisions be made by people specializing on the types of cases, both the McDonald head of the CIU and Karen’s chief assistant stated she is the sole decision-maker. In one case, McDonald personally approved the retroactive reduction of 1st degree murder to a man convicted of killing his own nephew 12 years ago. There was so little basis that the judge refused to enter the agreement despite there being a joint motion. In fact, multiple local news outlets reported on the massive influx of campaign money, including from the murderer’s family around the consideration. At a minimum, this creates a huge appearance of impropriety and undermines faith in the justice system.

Assistant prosecutor discretion

As a former assistant prosecuting attorney, APAs can effectively learn the details of a case and make informed, reasonable decisions. However, oversight is absolutely vital, and it has been something missing under McDonald’s administration. The unfortunate reality is that, like every career, not every person ends up being good in their role. It is the duty of the elected prosecutor to ensure consistent, proper outcomes.

Karen McDonald has paradoxically loosened some restrictions, while imposing others. For instance, some of the newest attorneys to be licensed are completely empowered to reduce an operating while intoxicated charge if five criteria are met (one of which is itself open to interpretation). There is no approval from a division chief or any other control. However, bond has shifted away from the traditional statutory factors and considerations regarding public safety. Cash bond is extremely discouraged and is almost a taboo, and we have seen the tragic consequences of that decision. Numerous other policies are so extreme or wildly open to interpretation there just simply cannot be consistent decision-making with reasonable oversight.

Changes in office of prosecutor

There is an enormous amount of work to be done to implement effective, bi-partisan principles that had survived virtually every prior administration, regardless of whether a Democrat or Republican was at the helm. Karen McDonald has steeped the office in political extremism, bringing in an activist presenter who praised the efforts of Californian cities. Fundamentally I plan on shifting the focus of the office back to public safety and victim advocacy. As prosecutor, L. Brooks Patterson called himself “The Victim’s Lawyer,” and Karen’s administration has told the attorneys of the office we do not represent the victim and “That’s great at election time.” Some specific examples of my administration’s plan are: (1) put victims first, (2) repeat felons will be held accountable; (3) bond will be based on the facts of case and the statutory factors – not political extremism; (4) the worst of the worst offenses, such as murder, child killing, and sex crimes, will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law; (5) politics will be removed from policy making and a bi-partisan leadership team will ensure it does not return; and (6) we will establish true partnership with communities’ law enforcement.

Advocating for changes in law

This is a bit difficult to answer as it presupposes a prosecutor should be trying to change laws. The role of a prosecutor should be to enforce the law, not to make it. Prosecutors that take an activist approach to their role, regardless of the political persuasion, deteriorates the separation of powers and undermines public confidence in the objectivity of the office. There are numerous controversial social issues that both liberals and conservatives fight over, but to bring that fight into criminal justice – an area optimized by the image of Lady Justice, blindfolded and dedicated to fairness erodes that role. I will always respect the constitutional and legal rights of the people of our community. I will not be trying to score political points or undermine public confidence on a political crusade. The Michigan Legislature is the body vested by our constitution with lawmaking power and that is who should act. I do want to at least try and answer this question more directly, and thus would state personally I find some of the recent criminal “reform” laws troubling. For instance, probation has been largely taken out of the hands of judges. Laws should focus on victims over criminals.