Video arraignments OK'd for Newton Falls Court

NEWTON FALLS — Video arraignments between Newton Falls Municipal Court and the Trumbull County Jail are scheduled to begin May 7.

What this means is that prisoners will no longer be transported the 11 miles from the jail in Warren to the court, have a hearing, and returned to the lockup.

During an arraignment, a preliminary hearing or trial date is scheduled, bond established and determined if the defendant is indigents, thus entitled to a court-appointed attorney.

Since both Warren Municipal Court and Girard Municipal Court already conduct video arraignments from the jail, and because only one court can be served at a time, scheduling is necessary to fit in the Newton Falls court.

For the complete story, see Saturday's Vindicator and Vindy.com.