TRINITY -- Candidates for sheriff and district attorney squared off last week during a special forum held at Trinity High School.

Organized by Julia McMichael of Trinity and moderated by Don Keith of Trinity, the three contenders for Trinity County sheriff and the two candidates in the 258th District Attorney’s race each answered a series of questions.

All five are on the March 4 Democratic Party Primary Election ballot. Early voting in the election got underway on Tuesday, Feb. 19.

The winners in the March 4 primary will advance to the November general election. Because there are no Republican Party candidates for either position, the Democratic nominees are expected to be unopposed.

Taking part in the primary race for sheriff include incumbent Sheriff Steven Jones, Pct. 2 Constable Richard “Ricky” Hortman and retired Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission supervisor Brent Lee.

Jones has served as sheriff since April 2007 when he was appointed by the commissioners court following the resignation of former Sheriff Jimmy Smith.

In the DA’s race, incumbent District Attorney Joe Ned Dean is being challenged by Janet Reynolds Cassels. Dean, a retired district judge, is completing his first four-year term as the county’s felony prosecutor.

Following are summaries of the candidates’ answers to the questions posed during the Feb. 12 forum. The questions and candidate responses are listed in the same order that was presented during the event.

Sheriff’s Candidates
Sheriff’s Question #1: If elected, what would be your top three priorities?
LEE: His first priority is to have more deputies working the night shift.
“I want to put deputies in strategic locations in county so they can answer calls a lot faster,” he said.
Lee said he would like as many as four working the night shift so he could have at least one deputy on each end of the county and a supervisor located in the middle.
The candidate said he also would work to improve relations with all area law enforcement agencies and would work with communities and subdivisions throughout the county on crime prevention programs such as the Neighborhood Watch.
JONES: His top priority is to prepare successful criminal cases with enough evidence and information for the district and county attorney to obtain convictions.
“I want to give them a better chance to prosecute these cases so we don’t have to have plea bargains,” he said.
Jones said he also wants to continue to work on improving the image of the sheriff’s department with other law enforcement agencies as well as with the public. He noted one way to improve the public image would be to insure that deputies are patrolling and visible.
The sheriff added another goal would be to obtain an automated reporting system for the department. Such a system could link the sheriff’s department with the district and county attorney offices as well as with the justice of the peace courts and city police departments.
“With this system, we could put information directly into the computer and the DA or county attorney would be able to access it instantly,” he noted.

HORTMAN: His number one priority as sheriff would be to attack the sale of illegal drugs in the county.
“We do have a drug problem and it needs to be addressed,” he said, adding that while it would be impossible to eliminate, action could be taken to significantly slow it down.
Hortman added that as sheriff, he would work to keep the public, and in particular, the victims of crime informed on the progress of criminal investigations.
“If you are the victim of a burglary, a deputy comes out and takes a report and that might be all you ever hear about it,” he said.
Also on his list of priorities would be the improved image of the department. To do this he would increase patrols in area subdivisions and encourage the deputies to stop and get to know the people in those communities.
Sheriff’s Question #2: What should be the role of the sheriff’s department in crime prevention (both to prevent first offenses and recidivism)?
LEE: By getting a better handle on the county’s drug problem, the candidate feels the number of thefts and burglaries would be greatly reduced.
He added that working with programs like Neighborhood Watch and educational programs in schools also would help prevent crime.
JONES: Increasing the patrols in subdivisions and neighborhoods would “show the criminal element that we do have officers working in those communities.”
The sheriff said the officers need to be familiar with the people who are serving probation or who are on parole so that they can keep prosecutors and probation officers informed when ever one of these people gets involved in other criminal activity.

He added that families -- particularly parents and grandparents -- need to get more involved with young people to steer them away from bad behavior.

HORTMAN: One way to prevent crime is to provide better education to the public with programs such as Neighborhood Watch.
The candidate agreed that deputies must keep probation officers informed regarding any contact they may have with a person on probation or parole.
“A good working relationship is a key to all of it,” he said.

Sheriff’s Question #3: Would videotaping arrests/questioning provide more reliable evidence? If so, how could this be funded?

LEE: Videotaping would be “a plus in anyone’s book” because it would allow prosecutors and juries an opportunity to see exactly what happened.
As for funding, Lee said there are grant funds available to fund the program and that local funds might be available through the Trinity County Commissioners Court.

JONES: Videotaping can be a double-edged sword but the sheriff said he favors it because it would show “the truth of what ever did or did not happen.”
The sheriff agreed that grant funds probably could be found to fund the program. He added that before any sheriff could get this type of funding from the Trinity County Commissioners Court, they should first be able to demonstrate their ability to control their regular budget.

HORTMAN: Videotaping would be a benefit and would improve chances of obtaining a conviction.
Hortman noted that officers already are audio taping the questioning of suspects and “in this digital age” it shouldn’t be too much harder to videotape.
He noted most computers sold today can store video and burn compact disks containing those images.

As for funding, Hortman noted that the county commissioners a “prudent people” and if the sheriff could justify a need for the equipment, they probably would try to find a way to fund it.

Sheriff’s Question #4: What can be done to improve communication between local law enforcement (all branches) and the District Attorney’s office to facilitate more successful prosecutions?
LEE: Direct communication with the DA and working closely with the DA’s investigator would be a primary way to facilitate successful prosecutions.
Consistent and timely crime reports filed with the DA also would be required.
“Communication is the key,” he said.

JONES: One way to facilitate successful prosecutions would be the automated report system referred to earlier.
The sheriff said the system would give both the DA in felony cases and the county attorney in misdemeanor cases instance access to deputy reports.
Jones noted that at present, the sheriff’s department has good communication with both the Trinity and Groveton police departments.

HORTMAN: Better, more detailed officer’s reports that are reviewed by a supervisor before they are given to prosecutors would help with successful prosecutions.
“Front line deputies do a good job, but their reports need to be looked over by someone with a little more experience to make sure they are done properly and are presentable,” he said.
Hortman said reports that contain problems tend to get picked apart by defense attorneys and create major problems for prosecutors.

Sheriff’s Question #5: What is the reasoning behind putting the names of people arrested (not convicted) in the newspaper? Has this been shown to be a deterrent?
LEE: While not “100 percent” sure that listing the name of a suspect is a deterrent, he indicated that the state’s Open Records Act allows it.
He added that for many people, having their name in the newspaper is a deterrent.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Under the Texas Open Records Act, law enforcement officials may not withhold the name of a person arrested for a crime. In some instances, indictments filed against a suspect by a grand jury may be sealed from public disclosure until the suspect named in the indictment is in custody.)

JONES: Having the names of those arrested is a source of embarrassment for those named, but that is not the reason for doing it.
The sheriff said that by publicly identifying suspects in this manner helps put the community on notice that they have been accused of theft, dealing drugs or some other type of offense.

HORTMAN: Putting the names of suspects in the newspaper probably is not a deterrent to crime.
Hortman said many criminals do the same thing over and over again and being identified in the newspaper has never deterred them from their criminal activity.

DA Candidates
DA’s Question #1: If elected, what would be your top three priorities?
CASSELS: Justice would be her top priority.

“If you can’t rely on your criminal justice system to provide justice in your community, they you’re not going to have it,” she said.
She noted this goes “hand-in-hand” with make those who commit crimes are held accountable for their actions.
“You have to take their motives and intentions into account, but you need accountability,” she said.
Cassels said a criminal prosecutor also must be fair and “treat everyone the same.”
“If you treat everyone fairly, then people will know what’s going to happen in certain situations,” she said.
“And when people know they are going to be consequences for their conduct, they many think twice before engaging in that conduct,” Cassels said.
“Fairness is important and I mean fairness for both black and white; fairness for both men and women; and fairness for people from different economic backgrounds.”
Cassels added that another priority would be to improve the cooperation between the DA and law enforcement agencies.
“You have maximum efficiency and maximum benefit when everyone is working together,” she added.

DEAN: Seeing that justice is done also would be his top priority followed closely by insuring that each suspect and victim is treated fairly.
“I think everyone who knows me know that I’ve been fair,” he said, adding that has been his goal during his 26 years as a district judge and his almost four years as a prosecutor.
“I will continue my open door policy,” he added. “I think every elected official needs to remember they work for the people. If you have a problem, you’re welcome to come in and talk to me about it.

“My office is now a Professional Prosecutor’s Office so I don’t have a private (law) practice, but I’ll be glad to listen to any citizen who comes in,” Dean said.
The DA added that he also would like to develop better cooperation with the sheriff’s department and police.

DA’s Question #2: How can you assure voters that you’ll prosecute the “privileged” people and those with friends in positions of influence as you would prosecute “ordinary” people? (Question borrowed from a recent forum for Travis County DA).

DEAN: “That’s pretty easy. Just look at what I’ve done. It wasn’t popular to indict three sheriff’s deputies but I did,” he noted.
He noted that a community generally gets the type of law enforcement that it wants so it is important for law enforcement, district judges, prosecutors and the public to work together to obtain the best possible justice system.

CASSELS: Consistency in prosecutions is a key to assuring the public that everyone is being treated equally.
She noted that if a DA starts making exceptions for one group, others will expect the same benefit and things can quickly escalate. Cassels indicated that the best way to avoid problems is to “do what is right and fair” in every case.
“You must look at what a person actually did and what their intentions and motivations were and then move forward from there,” she said.

DA’s Question #3: What is your position on education/ rehabilitation vs. incarcera­tion for first time offenders? For instance, there are currently no drug/alcohol programs in the county. If you feel such programs would be useful, what needs to be done to fund them?

CASSELS: “It is common for a first time offense to get probation, but it depends on what that person actually did.”
She noted that she prosecuted one capital murder case in Angelina County. The defendant was a woman and it was her first offense, but in that situation, probation was not appropriate.
“You have to evaluate on a case by case basis whether or not probation is warranted,” she added.
Regarding treatment programs, Cassels noted that Trinity County is a poor county and probably could not afford to conduct programs on its own. She noted that neighboring counties does offer drug/alcohol programs that can be utilized by local residents.

DEAN: Agreeing that first time offenders almost always receive probation, the district attorney noted that even when someone violates their probation, they rarely are sent to prison the first time.
He noted that the state does not have room to house all of those convicted much less all of those who violate their probation the first time.
On the issue of treatment, Dean agreed that out-of-county drug and alcohol programs are available.
“Angelina County has a very successful program,” he said, and added that grants might be available to help create a local program.

DA’s Question #4: What should be the role of the District Attorney’s office in crime prevention (both to prevent first offenses and recidivism)?

DEAN: “The DA certainly should be fair and firm, he should treat everyone equally and he should try to fulfill his oath to seek justice and that’s what I feel I have done.”

Regarding the issue of convicts returning to repeat their crimes, Dean noted that Texas does not have the same prison system that it had 20 years ago when they were required to work long hours.
In the area of prevention, he said prosecutors need to work with elementary and junior high kids in programs such as the DARE drug education effort.
CASSELS: “The DA’s office is really set up to address crime down the pipe. That doesn’t mean I’m suggesting the DA can’t participate in crime prevention.”
While the duty of the DA is to prosecute crime after it has happened, she said the DA can take part in law enforcement programs and educational efforts.
“One of the best things a DA can do to prevent crime is to utilize the office as a deterrent. If people don’t think there will be consequences, they don’t think much about engaging in criminal activity.
“If they know they will be held accountable, they will think twice,” she said.
She noted that when people see someone who has been repeatedly charged with crimes still on the street, it “sends the wrong message.”
“That’s the kind of thing I think is happening right now in our community,” she added.

DA’s Question #5: What needs to be done to better monitor people on probation/out on bail to ensure fewer violations?
CASSELS: Noting that local probation officers are overworked, she said the best thing the DA could do is to work to see that people who shouldn’t be on probation aren’t placed on probation.
She noted that probation is a “second chance” but there are some people who will not accept that chance and will continue to cause problems.“It’s not our job to make sure they don’t violate, its our job to help them not violate,” she said.

DEAN: What is need is more probation officers, more home visits (by probation officers) and more education.
“However, that’s probably not going to be possible,” Dean said. “The system is overloaded and the county is overloaded (financially).”
One way to encourage those placed on probation to succeed is not to set the bar too high.
“We don’t need to have some young person who has never seen $1,000 in his life have to pay a $2,000 fine,” he noted.

DA’s Question #6: Are there/should there be standardized guidelines for bail/sentencing in order to ensure equity?
DEAN: State judges do have guidelines where bail is concerned and while they don’t have to follow them, most do.
Dean, a former judge, noted that each crime and each defendant is different which makes it very hard to establish standard guidelines for sentencing.

CASSELS: “Like everything else in life, guidelines in sentencing have an up side and a down side and there is no way to apply guidelines to every situation where it will be fair.”
She noted that guidelines are needed if the public cannot trust judges to be fair.
“There will always be a situation that guidelines just don’t cover and a person exercising good judgment can make the sentence fit,” she said.