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Courthouse initiative to reduce jail population

2 min read
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A new court hearing arrangement could have a big impact on the county’s judicial system.

On Wednesday, for the first time in Washington County Court history, a judge went to Washington County jail to preside over revocations and bond reduction hearings.

Washington County Common Pleas Judge John DiSalle said the process went smoothly, saving time and energy for everyone involved.

“We saw 14 inmates in roughly two hours,” DiSalle said Wednesday. “It shortened the process. The goal is to be more efficient and be able to process revocations more efficiently. It will also help to reduce our backlog and jail population.”

DiSalle said jail staff converted the facility’s chapel into a makeshift courtroom. First Assistant District Attorney Chad Schneider said a representative from the district attorney’s office, public and private defense attorneys and two probation officers were present. When the same hearings take place at the courthouse, Schneider said it takes a better part of a day to complete.

“Typically, we have to wait for sheriff’s deputies to transport three inmates (to the courthouse) at a time. That’s half a day, and we condensed it down to a little over two hours,” he said. “We never had to wait for an inmate. (The jail staff) rotated them through.”

Schneider said the current process for revocation hearings takes 45 days. A revocation occurs when a person violates his terms of probation or parole by either failing to follow the rules set forth for him or when he commits a new crime, Scheider said.

“Under a program such as this, the process can happen more quickly,” he said.

Schneider said he’s willing to continue holding hearings at the jail, and DiSalle agreed to preside over future hearings one day each week. He is unsure if his fellow judges will offer their assistance in the future.

Washington County Correctional Facility Warden John Temas will also continue to corporate with the initiative.

“Anytime an inmate doesn’t have to leave (the jail) you have a more secure matter,” he said.

Temas said each time an inmate leaves the facility, he is searched and required to shower upon return.

“It is time-consuming,” he said. “This is definitely a worthwhile project.”

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