Denver Post again failed to report that Ritter plea-bargain rate is similar to national average

Written by Media Matters Staff

Published

In a profile of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill Ritter, The Denver Post again failed to inform readers that the 97 percent plea-bargain rate cited in anti-Ritter ads is similar to the national average. In contrast to the Post, The Gazette of Colorado Springs noted the similarity.

In a July 30 profile of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill Ritter, The Denver Post reported that “Republicans are attacking Ritter for his plea bargains, noting that his office typically struck deals in 97 percent of cases, all of which are convictions.” The Post article, by staff writer Miles Moffeit, failed to report that the plea-bargain percentage cited for Ritter is similar to the national average. As Colorado Media Matters previously noted, a July 18 Post article similarly reported that the conservative Trailhead Group “suggest[ed] that as prosecutor, Ritter was soft on crime because he plea-bargained 97 percent of his cases,” without comparing Ritter's plea-bargain rate to the national average. The most recent data from the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics show that 95 percent of state court felony convictions, as well as 96 percent of federal criminal convictions, are obtained through plea agreements.

Moffeit was apparently referring to radio ads released by the Trailhead Group, a conservative, non-profit organization founded by current Colorado Gov. Bill Owens (R), former Republican Senate candidate Pete Coors, and former Colorado Republican Party chairman Bruce Benson.

Moffeit did paraphrase what he reported was “Ritter's response” to Trailhead's attacks on his plea-bargain record: “For an agency that handles 5,000 cases a year with only seven available felony courtrooms, striking plea bargains for the vast majority is a matter of necessity.”

In contrast to Moffeit's report in the Post, The Gazette of Colorado Springs noted in a July 27 article about Trailhead's ads that "[t]he Department of Justice reports that 95 percent of state felony convictions are obtained through plea agreements":

“Obviously, the lengthy record of plea bargains will be a point of debate with regard to Bill Ritter's career,” said Alan Philp, executive director of the Trailhead Group.

Philp's organization is backed by key GOP leaders, including Pete Coors and Bruce Benson, and charged with helping Republican candidates in Colorado. It recently received $500,000 from the Republican Governors Association.

Trailhead last week began running radio attack ads criticizing Ritter for pleabargaining 97 percent of his felony cases.

[...]

Ritter said criticism of his office's plea bargain rate is unfounded. He said the rate is on par with national averages.

The Department of Justice reports that 95 percent of state felony convictions are obtained through plea agreements.

From Moffeit's July 30 Denver Post profile of Ritter:

Today, Republicans are attacking Ritter for his plea bargains, noting that his office typically struck deals in 97 percent of cases, all of which are convictions.

Ritter's response: For an agency that handles 5,000 cases a year with only seven available felony courtrooms, striking plea bargains for the vast majority is a matter of necessity.