Oakland Press Editorial – Oakland County Prosecutor needs to take lead on fighting juvenile crime

Last week (Thursday, January 14, 2010), the Oakland Press published an editorial criticizing Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper for not being tougher on juvenile offenses.   Ms. Cooper states that there has been an increase in serious juvenile crimes in the county “mainly because of gang activity in Pontiac and in the southern part of the county.”  She adds that the increased serious crimes, budget problems and staffing shortages result in other juvenile cases not getting turned around as quickly.

The article reports that the prosecutor did not follow through on an assault complaint in Waterford Township in which a female teen hockey player struck another player on December 5, 2010.  The father of the victim in the matter is apparently upset because the other player is permitted to continue participating in sports.  The school district has denied the father’s request that the school take immediate disciplinary action, suspend the player and remove her from all sports teams and athletic events.  There was no report that the victim was injured.  Yet, the Oakland Press feels the need to “question why Cooper seems to be taking such a casual approach to an apparently serious incident.”  The report then goes on to criticize the prosecutor for not communicating her actions on juvenile offenses to the public.

Am I wrong here or is this report overly harsh on the prosecutor?  First, I think it would be hard to argue that the prosecutor should give the same  priority to a simple assault as she does a more serious crimes like Armed Robbery.  A good prosecutor should direct her resources to the most serious crimes first.  Second, I am not sure how much she should communicate the rationale behind the use of her prosecutorial discretion.  There are ethical rules that  prohibit her from making public communications that would have a “substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing an adjudicative proceeding .” MRPC 3.6.   Finally, perhaps this issue was better left to the local school board, who did not find the offense serious enough to take action, to discipline the child, rather than as a juvenile delinquency matter.

You can read the Oakland Press Editorial here.