COLUMBIANA CO. Courts to use video link to inmates

With the new system in place, fewer prisoners will have to be transported to court.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- The Columbiana County court system is about to embark on a high-tech undertaking that's expected to save money and improve security.
Starting Monday, judges will begin using a video link to conduct routine court hearings for prisoners at the county jail.
Installation is complete on the nearly $54,550 system, county officials said Friday.
Money to pay for the setup has come from a special fund fueled by court costs paid by defendants in criminal cases.
Video equipment at the county jail is connected over telephone lines with similar systems in county common pleas and municipal courts, and in East Liverpool Municipal Court.
The setup allows judges to remain in the courtroom and converse by video with prisoners at the county jail during arraignments and other routine court matters.
The link allows court officials, attorneys and prisoners to see and hear one another on 27-inch television screens at each video-link location.
Trials and other complex court proceedings will continue to be conducted in the courtroom.
Advantages
The system allows the county to reduce the time and staff the sheriff's department must allocate to transport prisoners to and from courtrooms in Lisbon, Salem, East Palestine and East Liverpool.
"This ought to save eight to 10 man-hours per day" for the sheriff's department, said Judge Robert Roberts of county municipal court.
Sheriff Dave Smith, who praised the new system, said he believes it will save his department money, but he said he didn't know how much.
Another benefit of the system is improved security.
Judges have noted that jail prisoners must frequently be brought into crowded courtrooms and through adjoining lobbies, which presents a security risk.
Now, fewer prisoners will actually be taken into court.
The new system is portable, meaning it can be moved to the new county municipal court building being planned.
Court officials are still trying to determine a location for the courthouse, which is expected to be erected in or near Lisbon sometime in the next two years.