Salt Lake Telegram | 1931-06-10 | Page 4 | The Easiest Way

THE EASIEST WAY IN iii N THE thesis of a graduate of the I sity of Utah this year is found the followIng following following follow follow- i ing very significant paragraph Many accused persons are apparently allowed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor rather than go to trial on a felony charge There is undoubtedly a fundamental weakness weakness weakness weak weak- ness in a system of or administering criminal justice which allows a public prosecutor to bargain with a defendant Behind this plain conclusion is a record which points eloquently to one of the very vital flaws in our ur administration of justice The latest Wickersham report which ascribes the breakdown of the Ia law w in large part to faulty prosecution covers on broad canvas the same picture which the university student student student stu stu- dent paints of conditions in Salt Lake county If it had been left to the criminal element to devise a structure of prosecution that would give it every possible advantage it could not have created a more beneficial setup for criminals than that which exists today The point touched In the thesis reflects an incomplete investigation to begin with following apprehension Between the arrest on a felony charge and the prosecution there is altogether too much leakage The compromise with criminals comes as asa asa asa a direct result of insufficient evidence improper im improper im- im proper preparation of cases Inefficient prosecution prosecution prosecution prose prose- cution fixing by influential friends or paid emissaries of the defendant and any number of other causes which stand between arrest and punishment None of these obstacles Is too great to overcome The remarkable part of the whole situation is that those who have the power to eliminate them never do anything about abou It