WREX.com – Rockford’s News LeaderNew state's attorney's record brings mixed results

New state's attorney's record brings mixed results

By Bob Schaper

ROCKFORD (WREX) - Four months into the job, Winnebago County State's Attorney Joe Bruscato starts to establish a record. So far the results are mixed.

On one hand Bruscato has more than doubled the amount of felony jury trials, from 15 in the first three months of 2008 to 35 so far this year. On the other hand, the conviction rate is off to a worse start than years past.

Bruscato ran for state's attorney promising changes in the office and more training for his 42 assistant prosecutors. "The design of the trial team format is to predominantly keep the cases moving."

Under the new system, which is similar to Cook County's, three prosecutors are assigned to each courtroom. If one is sick or out of the office, the other two can keep the case moving. But even though the cases are moving faster now, it doesn't mean the office will win. Bruscato says, "We recognize that we need to go through a substantial training process."

Of the 35 felony cases taken to a verdict so far this year, 14 were found not guilty, 19 were guilty, and 2 ended in a hung jury and will be retried. That comes out to about 55 percent convictions versus 73 percent for the years 2004 through 2007. But Bruscato notes that it's only been three months.

Frank Martinez, a defense attorney in Rockford, says records can be deceiving. "If you had a case where you were fully expecting to get 20 years and you got 10, that's a win."

Bruscato also says he's taking a tougher stance on plea bargains. "We're more serious about the plea negotiation process. We believe the plea needs to reflect the value of the case."

Still, at least 90 percent of all cases end in plea deals, Martinez says. "Without plea agreements, instead of what do we have 20 judges in Winnebago County, we'd probably need about 500."