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In a letter recently reviewed by WW, Multnomah County’s top circuit judges cite data showing that their courts’ dismissal rate for criminal cases is now at pre-pandemic levels.
In fiscal year 2023, 52.3% of criminal cases in Multnomah County Circuit Court were dismissed. In fiscal year 2019, it was 51.6%.
The data was included in a letter sent by Multnomah County Presiding Judge Judith Matarazzo, Chief Criminal Judge Cheryl Albrecht and trial court administrator Barbara Marcille on Aug. 23 to state Chief Justice Meagan Flynn, as directed by a new state law requiring circuit courts to create plans to address the public defense crisis.
The letter cites the statistics to show that at least some court processes are returning to normal function after pandemic-related disruptions. “Our data shows that cases with attorneys are resolving,” the judges wrote. “There has been speculation that cases are not getting out to trial as frequently as they used to and that dismissals have dramatically increased, but that is not what the data shows.”
It is not certain which speculation the judges are referring to. A variety of factors have driven the perception that Multnomah County is holding fewer criminals accountable. WW reported in June how new bail policies have made it easier for defendants to return to the streets. The county’s courts are also some of the slowest in the state at resolving cases, a pandemic-related trend that has only worsened in recent years.
Critics of District Attorney Mike Schmidt argue that he has not prosecuted criminals as aggressively as his predecessors. Schmidt, who is now being challenged for reelection by a prosecutor in his own office, has countered that narrative, saying the data just doesn’t back it up.
For his part, Schmidt’s office has gone to great lengths to highlight the connection between a shortage of public defenders and dismissed charges, sending out weekly emails listing the cases dismissed due to a lack of defense counsel and citing the ”urgent threat to public safety.”
For additional context, WW requested the last six years of data from the court. Spokeswoman Rachel McCarthy said only the last five years were available. Here’s the data, which shows that the dismissal rate has fluctuated in recent years around the 50% mark:
