When the prosecutor’s office sets a hearing or reviews a case, officials are looking at whether the suspect can have their bond lowered or be sent to work release or home detention while they await their trial.
And they are considering every argument made for why someone’s bond should be lowered.
But even with all of those steps being taken, the number of inmates at the Johnson County jail has hovered around 400, or about 80 people above maximum occupancy.
The methods the county has used in the past to help reduce the number of inmates in the county jail, including moving them to community corrections programs and sending them to other counties where they have warrants, aren’t working.
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Next up, a Johnson County judge has re-arranged some of her court’s schedule to fit in as many bond hearings, plea agreements and sentencing hearings as possible, in an attempt to move people out of the jail quicker.
Johnson County Superior Court Judge Cindy Emkes is working to fit in criminal proceedings as time allows on days normally set aside for divorce cases. Finding time for hearings isn’t the only challenge. While a hearing might last 15 minutes, the time it takes to handle paperwork could be 10 times as long, Emkes said.
But there is only so much the prosecutor’s office and courts can do, Prosecutor Brad Cooper said.
Plea agreements alone aren’t enough to clear out the jail, he said.
Johnson County Sheriff Doug Cox said a portion of the reason for the high number of inmates in the jail is that recent state legislation limited the types of offenders who can be sent to prison, instead saying people guilty of the lowest level felonies, for crimes such as repeat drunken driving or theft, must be housed in county jails.
Because of that law, which went into effect in 2014, the jail has an average of nearly 60 more inmates who otherwise would have been sent to state prisons, Cox said.
The majority of inmates — or more than 250 — are being held at the jail prior to sentencing. But getting their cases resolved faster isn’t always feasible, local officials said.
The judicial system has done its best to keep the numbers down, but if someone breaks the law, they are going to face the consequences for doing so, Cox said.
Defense attorneys have an obligation to represent their clients, which means they often need time to review information and collect further evidence before making an agreements on a plea, Cooper said.
Every defendant has the constitutional right to request a speedy trial, which would mandate the county have a trial and sentencing within 70 days. But the county typically has an average of three to four of those requests because defense attorneys may not see that as the best option for their client, Cooper said.
For years, the county has had procedures in place for what to do when the amount of inmates at the jail must be reduced. Options range from expediting hearings to re-evaluating bonds, Johnson County Circuit Court judge Mark Loyd said. Judges also attempt to keep cases moving swiftly through the system, such as expediting inmates going into community corrections programs, he said.
“We are in regular community with prosecutor’s office and sheriff’s department and all the courts to see what we can do,” Loyd said.
While inmate bonds are reviewed regularly, lowering bond requirements often isn’t an acceptable option, Cooper said.
He looks at two main criteria when considering a bond reduction request — whether inmates are a risk to the community or are likely to flee the area.
Three-quarters of crimes in the county are related to drug use, whether it is the possession of illegal drugs or crimes committed to try get more drugs, Cooper said. Cooper cited the example of a man who had recently requested that his bond be lowered so he could afford to pay it and get out of jail. Although it was the man’s first offense, he had admitted that he was hooked on methamphetamine and would likely return to it, leading Cooper to successfully argue that his bail shouldn’t be lowered.
If someone is addicted to drugs such as heroin or methamphetamine, releasing them early doesn’t resolve any issues, since it can take months for the effects of addiction to leave their system, he said.
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The county is looking at plans to build a new and larger community corrections facility, which officials have said could also be used to help lower numbers at the jail.
Coming Monday
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