Thursday, December 22, 2005
The federal judge has ordered the sheriff to hold contempt-of- court inmates.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Municipal Judge Elizabeth A. Kobly says she and her colleagues -- lower court judges -- never agreed to the emergency jail release policy and expect the sheriff to hold certain inmates when so ordered.
After jail inmates won a class-action lawsuit in March, Mahoning County Common Pleas judges developed a 13-step emergency release plan. Some inmates are released on a court summons, and others are placed on furlough, meaning they must return at some point to serve their time.
The parties involved in the federal lawsuit capped the jail population at 296. It can hold 564.
Toledo attorney Vincent M. Nathan, who is acting as a fact finder for U.S. District Judge David D. Dowd Jr., said in a letter to the judge this week that Sheriff Randall A. Wellington is in a difficult position.
Nathan said when municipal judges write "do not release" on orders of incarceration, such orders are in direct conflict with the emergency release policy. Nathan said the situation creates confusion for the judges and sheriff, particularly in the case of defendants found guilty of contempt of court.
Clarification advised
"I believe that clarification to the sheriff would be helpful," Nathan said in his letter to the federal judge on Tuesday.
Judge Dowd moved quickly and issued an order Wednesday that directs the sheriff to keep in jail any defendant found in contempt of court by any municipal, county or common pleas judge in Mahoning County. The judge said his order is without regard to the emergency release mechanism.
Judge Dowd instructed Nathan to keep track of how many contempt of court inmates are serving time in the jail. The judge's order does not address defendants sentenced to jail for misdemeanor crimes other than contempt of court.
Judge Kobly, when told of Nathan's letter that described a conflict with "do not release" orders and the emergency release mechanism, said she saw "no conflict at all." The judge said when she orders the sheriff to not release inmates she expects him to follow the order.
"When the emergency release policy was approved by the common pleas judges, we had no input," Judge Kobly said Wednesday. "Basically it says, 'Release all the misdemeanor inmates and keep ours.'"
"Ours" refers to common pleas judges whose cases involve inmates being held on felony charges. Judge Kobly said no other court should have the right to say that her sentences should not be carried out.
Common Pleas Judge Maureen A. Sweeney, who represents the common pleas courts with the criminal justice working group trying to solve the jail problem, could not be reached to comment Wednesday afternoon.
Agreement
Judge Kobly, meanwhile, said she and her fellow municipal judges, Robert P. Milich and Robert A. Douglas Jr., agreed to see how the emergency release plan would work. They didn't want another situation where the jail would be deemed unconstitutional.
"After 10 months, we saw the city turned into a war zone -- I'm appalled by what is happening on the South Side," Judge Kobly said. "Everyone talks about crime in the city but we can't put people in jail -- it's ridiculous. Why have police on the streets if criminals won't be punished?"
The judge said she is "fed up" and had to do something by issuing "do not release" orders. She said her colleagues have followed suit, as has at least one county court judge.
Judge Kobly said the common pleas judges' emergency release policy is unfair to the lower court judges and unfair to society as a whole.
In a related matter, Mahoning County Area Court judges submitted sentencing information Wednesday that had been requested by Judge Dowd.
The county judges said that, from January through the end of November, they had 231 convictions for domestic violence and 443 for driving under the influence. Other crimes were marked unknown. Under "charged who failed to appear" is 511.
The jail released 583 county court inmates on summons, granted emergency release to 303 and furloughed 121, court papers show.
meade@vindy.com