Criticism of proposed law enforcement change not justified

I write to make some objections to comments that the Lake County Leader published about the County’s intention to withdraw from Public Law 280, which governs administration of law enforcement on the Reservation.

First, the Commissioner’s action in passing the Resolution to withdraw is not a “fundraising effort.” It is a recognition that the costs of doing what is otherwise performed by the federal government has become too much for Lake County tax payers to bear. The explosion in criminal cases, primarily driven by methamphetamine, have created the conditions where the County is going to need an additional $3-$5 million dollars a year to meet the requirements of PL 280. Since the loss of the revenue from the dam as the Tribe has taken over operations, the County is in an ever increasing fiscal death spiral. One way to slow that spiral, is to return the administration of justice of tribal members to the feds. Another way is to have the County reimbursed for the costs incurred due to an agreement between the State of Montana and the federal government. Where the additional money is to come from is not an easy answer. But simply sticking it to the remaining property owners of the County is not the answer either. Most of you have already seen a 24% increase in your property taxes over the last two years. It is unlikely that we will be able to prevent even more increases without either assistance or withdrawal.

I spoke with Mr. Rusche about his “quote” that we have “cherry picked” statistics in our presentation. He denies that he said that, and he agreed that there is nothing that is “cherry picked” in order to drive up the statistics.

Ms. Swaney is partially correct that the over representation of tribal members stems from socioeconomic reasons, but it is the conduct, not the person that drives the jail rates. In fact, we have made every effort to find a way to keep drug users out of the criminal system. I have made a commitment that anyone who is a tribal member arrested for drugs the first time who seeks and completes treatment will be eligible for a deferred prosecution. What that means is that someone who is using meth who is arrested and complies with the treatment recommendations would have their case dismissed at the end of the treatment and avoid a conviction. Unfortunately, it is our experience that very few have taken advantage of this program. It is very costly to imprison someone, and sending a drug user to prison will not solve the problem of a severe addict. They will just be counting the days until they are released and can get high again. What we need, as I have asked the Tribal Council before, is a residential treatment facility here on the reservation.

Finally, Ms. Bear Don’t Walk claims that we are “padding the numbers” in our prosecution of drug cases. As the managing attorney for the State Public Defenders, she has to know that is not true. Her example is the arrest of a tribal member for a misdemeanor paraphernalia case which is adjudicated in Tribal Court, and the meth residue is prosecuted as a felony in District Court. They are two separate offenses, and there is not a legal amount of methamphetamine that you can have. It is our experience that if you have a meth pipe, it’s because you are using meth. We would rather get you the treatment that you need than to simply ignore it. Also, as Ms. Bear Don’t Walk knows only too well, we dismiss many cases before they are filed if a defendant pleads guilty to a case already charged and gets the treatment that they need. That is not a way to pad the numbers, it’s a way to get help for the addicted.

The dream solution for this is to have the responsible agencies assume the responsibility for the costs involved in dealing with the meth epidemic. If we don’t get the help, it is not in the County’s best interests to remain.

– Steven N. Eschenbacher, Lake County Attorney