Judges team up to iron out snag in court system
Defendants in Judge Hugh Finkelstein’s courtroom today won’t notice any shift in procedure. But a change is underway that could save money and avoid unnecessary arrests by ironing out a wrinkle in Pulaski County’s criminal justice system, officials say.
The pilot project is a partnership between Finkelstein, the current Little Rock District Court criminal judge, and Herb Wright, a Pulaski County circuit judge.
The idea, if proven effective, should save “a huge amount of not just budget dollars, but resources,” Wright said.
Understanding the problem requires knowing how arrests are processed in Pulaski County.
After someone is arrested, Wright explained, that person must appear in district court.
But Finkelstein’s courtroom only resolves misdemeanor cases. So if a person is accused of a felony, that case is then sent up the chain to circuit court, and Finkelstein is responsible for setting the initial bail at that person’s first appearance, Wright said.
As the case progresses, the arresting police agency sends that person’s file to the prosecuting attorney’s office. It’s the prosecutor who actually determines what charges a person must answer for, Wright said.
When the prosecutor files those charges, a document called a bench warrant is issued, which the sheriff’s office has to serve. If the person has already posted bond, the sheriff’s office mails him a letter that says, in essence, that he must show up to the courthouse to be formally processed for those charges.
After showing up and signing that paperwork, the
person is free to go until his court date, which he receives through another mail notice.
This lengthy system is outlined in state statute, Wright said. But when he contacted the Administrative Office of the Courts, an administrator didn’t know of any other jurisdiction in Arkansas that actually follows this procedure, he said.
This process works when someone still lives at the address that the court has on file. But people move, and documents can get lost in the mail, Wright said.
“The worst thing that can happen is someone failing to appear when it’s not their fault,” Finkelstein said.
Also, if a person gets pulled over or stopped after the bench warrant is issued, the police officer would see the warrant on file but wouldn’t know the person already posted bond and would arrest the person again.
“Next thing you know, it’s Saturday afternoon and you’re picked up and held in jail until Monday. No one wants to see that happen,” Finkelstein said.
Serving bench warrants through the sheriff’s office also inflates arrest statistics, some jail officials have previously said. In May, two firms analyzing county data reported that there were 30,089 adult arrests in Pulaski County in 2016. They also said the sheriff’s office arrested the most people of any agency.
But that figure and that statement are incorrect, Maj. Matthew Briggs said at the time. That’s because a bench warrant shows up in the data as an additional arrest, even though it stems from the same crime as a person’s original arrest, he said.
The county devotes significant resources to filing and serving those bench warrants. A couple of sheriff’s deputies spend their entire shifts serving them, Wright said. An employee in the clerk’s office is responsible for filing them. Judges also have devoted staff members who help process the paperwork.
Starting today, Finkelstein is doing something different.
People arrested on felony charges will be given another district court date within 60 days. When they appear on that day, and if they’re assigned to Wright’s courtroom, they’ll be formally served their bench warrant by a bailiff and given a circuit court date in person.
That way, the mail is avoided. And hopefully, Wright said, the sheriff’s deputies and clerk employee who currently deal with bench warrants can eventually be diverted to other duties.
Little Rock’s criminal district court is among the busiest in the state. If this trial program proves effective, Wright and Finkelstein hope to extend it to the four other district courts in Pulaski County, plus to the other circuit judges who handle criminal cases.
It will “hopefully [smooth] the path so people don’t get tangled up into rules they don’t understand,” Wright said.
Finkelstein said he’s somewhat concerned people won’t show up for their new court dates, regardless. Still, he’s optimistic.
With this method, he said, “There’s more accountability on everyone.”
People arrested on felony charges will be given another district court date within 60 days. When they appear on that day, and if they’re assigned to Wright’s courtroom, they’ll be formally served their bench warrant by a bailiff and given a circuit court date in person.