海角破解版

For years, in order to allow more people to skip the jail cell and await trial from home. In the wake of a scathing U.S. Marshals Service report on the jail, advocates want changes now.

Since the release of the report in November, protesters have demonstrated outside county headquarters and the Justice Center. They want reforms to reach beyond the jail itself and into the courtrooms where judges decide who gets locked up in the first place.

鈥淲e want to see the situation in the jail rectified,鈥� Rachael Collyer with the Ohio Student Association said at a protest in January. 鈥淲e want to see bail reform happen, because so many of the people in there should not be there in the first place. So many other places have passed bail reform.鈥�

The county jail population has fallen about 16 percent since the marshals鈥� investigation, from 2,420 in late October to an average of 2,023 last week, according to the county. But that鈥檚 still about the jail鈥檚 capacity of 1,765 people.

In 2017, the . The study found that 25 percent of felony defendants were detained from arrest to sentencing, with an average stay of 104 days. The remaining three quarters of defendants won release after an average of 17 days in jail.

The Conversation on Pretrial Services 

Local judges have been discussing how to keep more people out of jail before their trials. Last year, the courts and county formed the Cuyahoga County Criminal Justice Council to continue the conversation.

One possibility: Expand the services available for defendants across the county. Judges could set more personal bonds, meaning people don鈥檛 have to pay to stay out of jail. A pretrial services program could keep an eye on defendants, making sure they show up for court.

鈥淭hese conversations start to embrace, could we see all of these individuals in one location, where all of the social service agencies gather in one spot, where mental health services could happen in one spot?鈥� Shaker Heights Municipal Judge K.J. Montgomery said.

Shaker Heights is one of 13 municipal courts in the county. Defendants usually make a first appearance in one of these courts after their arrests. The municipal judge sets bond and transfers felony cases downtown, where defendants could spend time in the county jail.

There鈥檚 less pressure on the jails if defendants could be released soon after arrest and enroll in pretrial services. But courts don鈥檛 all have the same resources, Montgomery said.

鈥淚f I have someone who鈥檚 presenting that they might be a threat to themselves, and I鈥檓 trying to find a psychiatrist, we are literally on the telephone making calls to private psychiatrists who have to meet certain criteria,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd, 鈥極K, I can see them on Tuesday at 2:45,鈥� and they drive to the jail. Another couple days for the report.鈥�

Judges have talked about how to go in together on a centralized pretrial program, allowing municipal courts to share services like GPS monitoring and psychiatric help.

Judge John Russo, the administrative and presiding judge of the common pleas court, said that expanding the county鈥檚 pretrial system to the municipal courts will cost money.

鈥淚 hope it doesn鈥檛 end with nobody doing anything,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd that鈥檚 why we鈥檙e continuing to push the buttons to move forward. I think the jail issue has caused a lot now to be concerning about what do you do and how do you do it here in Cuyahoga County.鈥�

Russo said he鈥檚 been talking with PJI and the ACLU of Ohio about coming up with a cost estimate for centralized services.

鈥淲e鈥檙e going to get to a point where I might say, I need five more court psychiatric clinic employees, I need 15 new pretrial services [staff], I need 300 new ankle bracelets, and I need all of that in order to get pretrial services,鈥� Russo said, 鈥渙nce everybody鈥檚 on the same page of, 鈥楾his is the process we鈥檙e going to use.鈥欌��

It's one of a few big court projects up in the air right now. The county is studying whether to fix up or rebuild the Justice Center. And last week, Russo suggested municipal courts .

There鈥檚 impatience among advocates who want to see progress more quickly.

Jocelyn Rosnick, the ACLU of Ohio鈥檚 policy director, pointed out that it鈥檚 been almost a year since .

鈥淚mplementation needs to happen now,鈥� Rosnick said. 鈥淭hings are moving fairly slowly, and I realize that we do not have a unified court system in Cuyahoga County, and that can cause some delays.鈥�

Cleveland Moves Forward

As these talks have continued, Cleveland Municipal Court went ahead on its own. In September last year, weeks after several deaths at the jail began to appear in headlines, the court launched a pretrial services program for its defendants. 

鈥淲e spotted an issue where people were being detained because they did not have resources,鈥� Administrative and Presiding Judge Michelle Earley said. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 not fair and that鈥檚 not justice.鈥�

The court is contracting with the nonprofit Oriana House. Defendants check in regularly either by phone or in person. Some wear GPS monitors.

Earley said the program is currently just for misdemeanor defendants. After the program crosses the half-year mark next month, the court plans to release more data on how the system is working.

鈥淲hen we started our pretrial services department,鈥� she said, 鈥渢he situation in the jail made us increase our numbers probably a little faster than we had planned on doing.鈥�