Falls video arraignments to begin
Video hookup could save the county 350,000 annually.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
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 for hearing.
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.
"Efficiency helps everyone," Judge Lawrence Turner said Friday before the judge met with Sheriff Thomas Altiere to work out the time of arraignments.
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.
Because of the manpower needed to transport prisoners from the Warren jail to the court here, Judge Turner's predecessor, Judge Thomas Old, had estimated the savings would be 350,000.
Judge Turner said he hasn't been on the bench long enough to estimate the savings.
Depending on the number of prisoners transported and their gender, it takes six to eight deputies to transport prisoners to Newton Falls.
The judge pointed out that not only does transport in patrol car place deputies in jeopardy, it's also not safe for the prisoners should there be an accident.
Since 1995
Video arraignments in Newton Falls has been a long time coming. Judge Old started on the project in 1995. He retired in September 2006.
"It was a shame we couldn't have gotten it up and running," Judge Turner said of the delays.
Because of the delays, Judge Turner attempted to cut costs by traveling to the county jail in January to conduct arraignments personally in the jail.
Newton Falls Law Director Richard Schwartz, however, filed a complaint with the Ohio Supreme Court, contending that proceedings held outside the court's jurisdiction have no force or effect. The case is pending.
Judge Turner held the arraignments in the jailhouse for about two weeks and then signed a journal entry saying there were security concerns and difficulty in opening the proceedings to the public.
The court's judicial district includes Newton Falls, as well as Farmington, Mesopotamia, Newton, Braceville, Southington and Bristol townships.
The court's share of the video arraignment hookup is 5,000 for the wireless connections.
The Warren court has donated old video equipment to the Newton Falls court that "works very well," Judge Turner said.
yovich@vindy.com