Report shows how one circuit judge's practices contribute to chronic jail overcrowding in two Kentucky counties - Entrepreneur Generations

Mercer (top) and Boyle counties (Wikipedia map)
Rural jails all over the country face constant overcrowding, and though the problem is usually blamed on jail construction delays or outdated jails, judges could also share some of the blame. A recent study of the criminal justice system in Kentucky's Boyle and Mercer counties found that one circuit judge was largely responsible for overcrowding at the Boyle County Detention Center because of "'discriminatory' bond practices and lethargic case-processing times at Kentucky’s 50th Circuit Court," Ben Kleppinger reports for The Advocate-Messenger in Danville, Ky. Kleppinger is a fellow of the Center on Media, Crime and Justice at John Jay College. "The jail is stuffed with pretrial felony defendants who can’t afford their bonds and must wait months to resolve their cases, according to the blunt assessments of consultant Dr. Allen Beck in chapter two of the 106-page 'Jail and Justice System Assessment.'"

The report, which the counties commissioned, found that Circuit Court Judge Darren Peckler is a major contributor to overcrowding by requiring cash bonds, setting limits on the number of pleas he will hear, only setting one arraignment date per month, revoking bonds when defendants are indicted, and not offering bonds to participants in a new "rocket docket" program intended to quickly dispose of cases, Kleppinger reports.

Requiring defendants to pay a cash bond to leave jail is the biggest cause of overcrowding; the report found that only 3 percent of defendants in Boyle and Mercer counties are able to leave jail without a cash bond, compared to rates of 18 to 55 percent in neighboring counties. The report notes that research shows that non-financial bonds are as effective as financial bonds, Kleppinger reports. Requiring cash bonds also can cause poor defendants to plead guilty to crimes they didn't commit in order to speed up the process.

Peckler refused to participate in the study, and forbade District Court Judge Jeff Dotson from participating as well. The consultants combed through tens of thousands of documents and interviewed people at every stage of the local criminal justice system before writing their report.

"The report does note a 'major decline in the jail population in the last several months,' which it attributes to the public defender’s office and defense attorneys 'advocating for the pretrial release and use of non-financial bonds during circuit court arraignment,'" Kleppinger reports. The report also notes that it's common for such a decline to happen during a criminal justice system study because the sudden attention often prompts members of the system to reconsider habits.

Still, the report found that there is still a strong "local legal culture" in which participants reinforce each other's incorrect belief that financial bonds improve appearance rates in court. The consultant recommended that someone from the Pretrial Justice Institute hold a presentation for local criminal justice officials.

from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/2QqDHC9 Report shows how one circuit judge's practices contribute to chronic jail overcrowding in two Kentucky counties - Entrepreneur Generations

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