海角破解版

The first time a person shows up in court after being arrested, the judge has a decision to make. Should the defendant be released back, or should they await their trial from jail? Judges make this call by setting bond.

Cuyahoga County , so that people don鈥檛 wait behind bars merely because they can鈥檛 pay.

Meanwhile, this year , which provide judges with more information about defendants shortly after arrest. that it would begin using such measures.

Summit County changed its bail system a decade ago, and could provide an example of where Ohio courts are headed.

鈥榃e鈥檙e Kind of Like Switzerland鈥�

This is how the morning begins in Akron Municipal Court. Defendants who鈥檝e been arrested on felony charges make their first appearance before a judge. They鈥檙e in Summit County Jail, but join the proceedings via closed-circuit TV.

Judge Jason Adams has to set bond. Defendants often must put down a percentage of that to get out of jail.

Standing before Adams is Kerri Defibaugh. She heads Summit County鈥檚 pretrial services division. It鈥檚 her job to recommend a bond amount.

鈥淪o, regarding bond?鈥� Adams asked.

鈥淵our honor, the recommendation is a $5,000 signature bond, medium supervision,鈥� Defibaugh replied. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been seven years since his last felony conviction. He鈥檚 one of two co-defendants in this case.鈥�

Signature bonds allow defendants to go free, without paying, after signing a promise to show up for court again. They would only have to pay if they don鈥檛 reappear. In this case, the prosecutor asked for a higher bond because a gun was allegedly involved.

Defibaugh is meant to be a neutral party in an adversarial courtroom.

鈥淲e鈥檙e kind of like Switzerland,鈥� Defibaugh said in an interview. 鈥淏ecause you have the prosecutor who鈥檚 there who makes the recommendation one way or another, and we鈥檙e just there to provide the most unbiased information.鈥�

A 鈥楯ob Application鈥� for Setting Bond

Defibaugh鈥檚 department鈥檚 work actually begins much earlier than this, with an interview of the defendant in jail. It鈥檚 called a pretrial risk assessment, and it鈥檚 what makes Summit County鈥檚 court different from many others in Ohio.

鈥淭his is what it would look like completely blank,鈥� she said, holding a small packet of papers used in the assessment.

There are nine check boxes for what are known as risk factors鈥攕uch as criminal history or past drug use. Defendants are assigned a risk level.

鈥淭he one that carries the most weight is this one, the two or more failure to appear convictions,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o each one carries a numerical score on this grid here.鈥�

On the following pages, defendants can provide education, employment and medical history. There鈥檚 even a section for references.

Judge Amy Corrigall Jones, the administrative judge in Summit County common pleas court, said the assessment is 鈥渁lmost an extensive job application, for lack of a better term.鈥�

The assessments give an idea of who might pose a greater risk of reoffending or missing court, and that helps judges decide what bond to set.

But Corrigall Jones said the papers are not predictions, and judges aren鈥檛 bound by them.

鈥淏ecause this is not a math equation,鈥� Corrigall Jones said in an interview. 鈥淭here is no crystal ball. And again, most of these folks are charged with very serious, serious crimes. So of course in Summit County, I think we鈥檝e been described as progressive as it relates to this instrument, but there are always difficult decisions every day, being mindful of community safety, on behalf of the judges that need to be made.鈥�

Supervision After Release from Jail

Of the people released on bond each year, about 1,500 last year were placed under what鈥檚 called pretrial supervision. They鈥檙e required to report to the nonprofit Oriana House.

Case workers there make sure defendants showing up for court and following the conditions of their release, such as avoiding alcohol or not contacting their alleged victim.

Melissa Bartlett, who heads pretrial supervision at Oriana, said low-level supervision means making weekly phone calls to Oriana.

鈥淢aximum, the defendant is required to report weekly in person,鈥� Bartlett said. 鈥淎nd there can be other special conditions, including electronic monitoring, urine drug screen testing.鈥�

As for success rate鈥攊n 2014, seven percent of the 1,051 people on pretrial supervision at Oriana missed a court date, . Another 6 percent were charged with a new crime.

Eddie Sipplen, an Akron defense attorney, said the assessment 鈥渨orks really well,鈥� but said judges and prosecutors sometimes don鈥檛 follow it.

鈥淓ither you鈥檙e going to follow it or you aren鈥檛,鈥� Sipplen said in an interview. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 my pet peeve with it, is it鈥檚 a great tool, but it鈥檚 not used in a consistent manner.鈥�

Margaret Scott, the deputy chief assistant for the criminal division in the Summit County prosecutor鈥檚 office, said she found the assessments helpful, and that the court should not keep all defendants in jail pending trial.

鈥淭he two things you鈥檙e looking at is, are they going to show up for court and are they going to reoffend while they鈥檙e out,鈥� Scott said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a judgment call, as it is with everything in life. So maybe it might be easy to just say, okay, keep everybody in. But that鈥檚 just not practical, and that鈥檚 not, that doesn鈥檛 work well for everbody or anybody.鈥�