Assemblywoman
Addie J. Russell (D-Theresa) announced that the Assembly passed legislation
today to help resolve custodial issues for pre-arraigned suspects held at the
Metro-Jefferson Public Safety Building. The bill allows suspects from
jurisdictions in Jefferson County other than the sheriff's department to use
the jail to house suspects awaiting arraignment (A. 9520).
“This legislation is one piece of
the puzzle for resolving this issue and bringing the city and county into
compliance with statewide standards,” Assemblywoman Russell said. “Enabling the
continued use of the facility for short amounts of time, coupled with recent
measures that provide for more regular night arraignment of suspects, will
enable the city and county to move forward as efficiently as possible.”
The exemption is necessary due to a
provision of state corrections law that prohibits municipal arrestees from
being held in county facilities prior to going before a judge. As an emergency
stopgap measure, pre-arraigned suspects are currently being detained in two
hastily refurbished holding cells in the City Court wing of City Hall. The
exemption that passed today would help eliminate the need for this arrangement,
which requires additional police resources and could lead to increased overtime
expenditures.
To ensure that suspects are arraigned in
a timely manner in accordance with state law, the state Office of Court
Administration has provided for three town justices to act as City Court judges
to provide overnight and weekend arraignments of suspects as needed to
facilitate following the state’s rules on the matter.
The bill, which has passed the state
Senate and will now be sent to the governor, will place Jefferson County among
fourteen other counties that have received similar exemptions from the statute
under Municipal Home Rule legislation, to allow for cost savings between levels
of local government.
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