Wednesday, November 9, 2005
The federal judge also wants to know how many defendants are skipping court.
YOUNGSTOWN -- The federal judge rectifying problems at the Mahoning County jail wants lower court judges to tell him how many convicted defendants have served all or part of their sentence this year.
In a request filed Tuesday in Akron federal court, U.S. District Judge David D. Dowd Jr. said he has been advised by the special master that a reduced number of beds at the jail has resulted in serious problems with sentences. Toledo attorney Vincent M. Nathan is acting as special master, a fact finder, for Judge Dowd.
The judge is taking steps to make the overcrowded and understaffed jail constitutionally sound in response to a successful inmate class-action lawsuit in March.
The jail population was reduced to 296 by voluntary action, not by Judge Dowd's order. The lockup can hold 564.
Common pleas judges devised an emergency release criteria that keeps, for the most part, only defendants charged with crimes of violence. The rest are let out with a court summons or given a furlough, meaning they have to return at some point to complete their sentence.
What's being done
At Nathan's request, Mahoning County and Youngstown officials formed a working group to come up with solutions to the jail's problems by year's end. An interim report is due next week.
In his request Monday, Judge Dowd provided a questionnaire that municipal judges in Youngstown, Campbell and Struthers and county judges in Boardman, Sebring, Austintown and Canfield can fill out. He wants the form mailed to Nathan by Dec. 6.
The questionnaire asks how many defendants have been convicted of domestic violence, DUI and other offenses thus far this year; of that number, how many have been sentenced to jail and how many actually served all or part of the term of incarceration.
Judge Dowd also wants to know how many people charged with misdemeanors have failed to appear for a court hearing. He has learned from Nathan that some misdemeanant offenders treat municipal or county court judges with contempt because they believe there is no immediate remedy available to the judges to punish them.
Judge Dowd said any final remedial order he devises must address the problems facing the municipal and county courts.