DA's race one of county's hottest

DA's race one of county's hottest

Oct. 17, 2000

By Matt Gleckman
Journal Staff Writer

Green seeks retention

Despite facing some criticisms over the last four years, Democratic incumbent Mike Green says that he has achieved a number of goals since being elected as district attorney.

Green began his law career in Montezuma County in 1985 when he joined Dyer and Dilts. He worked with the law firm of Fossum and Hatter and as a Dolores municipal judge before being elected to the district attorney’s position.

"I had more than 10 years in the court system before being elected as DA. That included work with criminal defendants, municipal law, felonies, misdemeanors, drug cases, thefts, assaults," said Green.

Green said a statement by his challenger, Joe Olt, that he will learn everything he needs to know about criminal law in 10 weeks is a bold statement.

"It is dangerous to make promises without being in the system," he said. "Being DA is not just about going to court —you have to be an administrator and you are running a business with a $300,000-plus budget."

Green said when he decided to run for the DA’s position in 1996 he planned to keep the job for eight years. Four years later it is a goal that he still wants to attain.

"We have started some good programs — programs that are starting to make a difference. I would like to keep those programs and our progress going," Green said on Friday.

As an example, Green said that when he took over as DA the office was handling 130 felonies. Over the last year the office handled more than 300 felonies, he said. "We have had to be pretty innovative in order to keep the numbers (of cases processed) up," Green said.

Specifically, Green mentioned a DUI program in which offenders receive a deferred sentence until they have completed their alcohol education. "If the offender completes the alcohol-education program their case is dismissed. If they fail then they get a conviction," Green said.

The court doesn’t have the resources to prosecute every case and if it tried to prosecute them all then several cases would be lost to speedy-trial laws, he said. "We must have some sort of mechanism to get the results we want in more than one way," Green said.

Green said as a result of the new programs the court is beginning to see fewer numbers of repeat offenders.

Green added that the district attorney’s office is working with the courts to develop juvenile and adult drug courts.

"The drug problem leads to other criminal activities such as check frauds, burglaries, etc.," Green said, adding that he will also continue to work on cutting down incidences of domestic violence and the physical and sexual abuse of children.

Green has been the subject of a number of accusations, including poor judgment and being part of a "good ol’ boy" network.

"There is always criticism. It is easy to remain outside of the system and look in without knowing what is really going on," Green said Friday in response to comments made about his performance. "I don’t know that there is much I would have changed," he said.

Green said that statement holds true for the John Coleman case in which he was accused of filing a kidnapping charge in "bad faith."

The accusation was made during Coleman’s preliminary hearing in July by Coleman’s attorney, Kyle Ipson. Ipson told the court that Green had charged Coleman with kidnapping despite the fact that Colorado law says that a parent cannot kidnap his or her own child.

"I did not file that charge in bad faith," Green said. "If you are a lawyer then you have to get into a position where you are able to make an appeal. I disagree with that law. I think that the circumstances were different and attitudes have changed since the law was written," he said.

Other public accusations against Green have included his involvement in a "good ol’ boy network."

However, Green said, "I don’t think the good ol’ boy network exists the way people wish it did. I think everybody makes every attempt to be fair —it is something that has always impressed me."

Time to say 'enough.' Olt charges

Local lawyer and district-attorney hopeful Joe Olt says that, if elected, he will hold offenders responsible for their actions — something he doesn’t believe incumbent DA Mike Green is doing well.

Despite having minimal criminal-law experience, the Republican challenger says that he will learn all he needs to know about criminal prosecuting before taking his oath of office.

"I will know the criminal law and be ready to take cases in 10 weeks," he said.

After graduating in the top one-fourth of his class from Southwest University in Los Angeles with a law degree, Olt went on to teach in Shiprock, N.M., before taking and passing the bar exam on the first shot. The start of his law career was shortly delayed, however, when he admittedly "blew the ethics exam" the first time by two points.

He is presently the owner of a private practice specializing mostly in civil law, but Olt noted that he has 55 years of life experience to bring to the position if elected.

"When I started my practice I did some criminal law but I didn’t like the dark side of defending criminals," he said. "However, I have no problem prosecuting criminals and I love to be in court."

Asked why he is running for the DA’s position, Olt said it was about time that someone stood up and said "enough."

"For the last four years I have watched the DA’s office give away cases," Olt said. "People are not being held accountable for their actions —there are people with multiple offenses out walking the streets."

Olt said that if elected he will crack down on drug crimes, domestic violence and sexual abuse. "Those are the big ones for me," he said.

"I am vehement about drug-dealers — and I will hold second-time offenders accountable," he said. Drug abuse leads to other crimes such as theft and violence, he added.

Olt said that in an effort to handle the large case load that comes with the DA’s position he plans to work long hours as well as hire three full-time lawyers.

"I don’t believe in part-time. I will have three people working 50 to 60 hours per week and I will expect those people to do their job," he said.

He said his people will be prepared to have 20 cases ready to go to court each Friday for the following week.

"There is no question that the DA’s office will have to plea-bargain — but I plan on having plea bargains with teeth," Olt said. "Right now there is no accountability because offenders aren’t worried about their case going to court."

Olt said that, as a result, the current DA’s office is hampering the efforts of the rest of the criminal-justice system. "The DA’s office is the crux in the middle of the (criminal) system. If the DA’s office doesn’t do their job then the rest of the system stinks," he said.

"We have great cops and a really decent court system but our district attorney’s office is the weakness in the middle," he said. The police go out and cite the lawbreakers and then the DA’s office dismisses the case, he said.

As an example of poor judgment by the current DA’s office, Olt cited a recent case in which Green charged John Coleman, a Louisiana man, with kidnapping his own daughter in Mancos during a custody dispute.

Coleman’s defense attorney Kyle Ipson accused Green of filing charges "in bad faith."

"Colorado law says a parent can’t kidnap their own child," Olt said. Several people brought that to Green’s attention but he ignored them and filed the charge anyway, he said.

"He may not agree with the laws — but he still has to follow them," Olt said.

Subsequently the kidnapping charge against Coleman was dropped, but Green is appealing the dismissal at the district-court level — an appeal which Olt says he would drop if elected (assuming that no new evidence surfaces). "That appeal is a slap in the face of justice and an insult to the system," Olt said.

The candidate said that in the weeks prior to the election he will be visiting towns within the district in order to meet and talk with the public.

"I think there is a real misconception about this office," he said, adding that, if elected, he will visit one town per month within the district to listen to comments about the DA’s office.