First Appearances Become More Meaningful
Without Compromising Public Safety

People arrested by law enforcement in Orange County have always made their first appearances before a judge on a video screen if they couldn't make bail within 24 hours. But all that changed in March when County Judges Carolyn Freeman and Lawrence Kirkland began holding the hearings in a makeshift courtroom at the 33 rd Street Jail.

Judge Kirkland contucts Initial appearances at the jail

Putting the inmate before the judge is the latest effort by the Judiciary to enact recommendations made last year by the Jail Oversight Commission to save taxpayer money, reduce jail overcrowding, focus on public safety and ensure fairness. New courtrooms under construction at the Orange County Jail are scheduled to open in early 2006. Two courtrooms will accommodate live proceedings.

“Moving the hearings out to the jail is a big step in the right direction,” Freeman said. “The justice system is based on face-to-face interaction. The judge needs to see the defendant to assess the case and make a decision.” Never before have jail inmates been able to see the judge in person following an arrest. During the week, hearings were held at the Orange County Courthouse and on weekends at the Thomas S. Kirk Juvenile Justice Center with defendants appearing via video from the jail. By state law, people who been arrested have the right to see a judge to hear the charges against them within 24 hours. Previously, video cameras placed at the various locations transmitted images back and forth between judges, attorneys and defendants by television screen.

“It's difficult to make decisions when they are only seen by video,” Kirkland said. “You can absolutely tell more about a person when they appear before you instead of on a 20-inch screen.” Most of the nearly 60,000 people arrested annually at the jail post bail and return home until they receive a court date or remain jailed because they are accused of serious crimes. The Jail Oversight Commission found the burden of not having a meaningful hearing – where legal counsel for both sides were present and information about criminal history and community ties was available to the judge in person – fell heavily on the poor who could not afford a private attorney, bond or means to protest. The Jail Oversight Commission insisted in its report that public defenders be appointed at first appearance to give defendants the chance to argue for bail or a possible plea agreement and to ensure they understood the proceedings. That change was implemented in August 2002.

Before the changes took place, the old system was cited in independent studies as a reason the jail's population had exceeded its 3,400 capacity up to an average of 4,200 inmates daily. The Orange County Jail was ranked as the county's second biggest budget item eating up more than a fourth of the annual operating and staffing dollars. With a $110 million budget, the jail – the third largest facility of its kind in the state --- had the highest rate of incarceration of the seven largest counties. “Judge Freeman and I take 800 pleas a month now,” Kirkland said. “That's three to four times more than what it had been. Not only are we meeting the recommendations of the Commission, we are beginning to surpass it.”

Not only were first appearance hearings moved to the jail, but Freeman and Kirkland are holding court twice a day instead of the required once a day. “We have had an incredible drop in the population,” said Patrick M. Jablonski, PhD., research statisticians for Orange County Corrections . We used to have a lot of people who would linger in jail. The maximum sentence for their crime would be 30 days and they would still be sitting here 40 days later waiting for trial. There have been some day cases, someone would be in on a littering charge and they would be here a month when they should have been gone after 3 days. And they just sat here.” Jablonski emphasizes that public safety has not been compromised; the jail has become highly efficient in processing cases in a judicious and fair manner at a savings of millions of dollars to Orange County taxpayers. Two weeks ago, Orange County Corrections returned more than $5 million that has been saved due to the changes at the jail.

Additional changes have been made to streamline the process. Jail officials help inmates complete paperwork to request a public defender, a case number is assigned and the next hearing date is set. Potential savings will be huge. When pleas for nonviolent, misdemeanor crimes can be settled at first appearance, through pretrial diversion or release when appropriate, there are immediate savings. The Commission, which recommended improvements to the criminal justice system in May 2003, estimated the costs could be as much as $2 million a year. “Not only do these changes contribute to continued public safety, ease overcrowding and guarantee fairness, they are crucial to saving taxpayer money, which can be used in other important areas of the judicial system,” Freeman said.

Resolving cases or setting reasonable bail at first appearance has a trickle-down effect. It cuts down on the need to serve subpoenas. In 2000, it cost the Orange County Sheriff's Office $3.8 million to serve 252,000 subpoenas. The Orlando Police Department paid $1.25 million in salaries for officers who stood by waiting to testify. Transportation costs have been slashed. In May 2001, 4,730 inmates were transported to the Orange County Courthouse. Only 68 felony, misdemeanor and criminal traffic cases were disposed by trial. The cost for that year transporting inmates from the jail was $1.3 million. “It has been complete waste of everyone's time and money to wait around until the trial date to handle these cases. It's costly and unnecessary,” said Kirkland , who chaired a judiciary committee that researched what changes needed to be made to improve the system. “A person doesn't need to stay in jail any longer than a judge deems necessary.”

Chief Judge Belvin Perry, Jr. , who spearheaded many of the resolutions recommended by the Jail Oversight Commission and has been a driving force behind the changes, said moving first appearances to the Orange County Jail has been a critical change. “It doesn't take Einstein to figure out these cases could have been disposed of earlier or that bonds could be reduced,” Perry said. “However, judges can only base our decisions on what we're presented with. The proposals of the commission gave us the roadmap we needed to succeed.”