Release before trial aids Pierce County defendants and taxpayers

It’s a Thursday afternoon, and four people accused of low-level felonies tramp into Judge Frank Cuthbertson’s eighth-floor courtroom, the shackles they wear clinking in time.

Rays from the low November sun stream through the windows, offering the hint of a mild evening.

If all goes well for them, the two men and two women appearing for Pierce County Superior Court’s new pre-trial services docket might be outside to enjoy it.

The goal of the program, which began this summer, is to identify inmates who pose a low risk to the public if released from jail pending the resolution of their cases.

A team of court workers evaluates their situations. Do they have housing? Do they have past histories of violence? Do they have community support?

If judged good risks to stay out of trouble and appear at future court dates, a recommendation is made to Cuthbertson to release them from jail until they come up for trial.

The judge makes the final call.

A pre-trial release allows the defendants, most of them poor and unable to put up even minimal bail, a chance to keep their jobs or help their families while they await their fates, said Cuthbertson, the Superior Court’s presiding judge and driving force behind the new docket.

“We don’t want a system where people with resources are presumed innocent and poor people are presumed guilty,” he said during a recent interview. “Part of this is leveling the playing field.”

Getting prisoners out of the jail also saves county taxpayers money, $100 a day or so for each inmate, said Ron Klein, spokesman for County Executive Pat McCarthy.

That’s a big incentive for county government, which saw unbudgeted overtime expenses for corrections deputies swell to more than $6 million over the 2013 and 2014 fiscal years.

“Keeping these people in the jail, that’s not a good use of taxpayer dollars or use of the jail,” Klein said.

The program currently is funded through the end of the year at a cost of $250,000. County Clerk Kevin Stock, whose office oversees the program, has asked for $400,000 to fund the program for all of next year.

NOT A NEW IDEA ELSEWHERE

The pre-trial services docket is new to Pierce County, but jurisdictions across the nation have used such programs for years to try to ease crowded jails.

A 2001 report by the National Institutes of Justice found that all 94 federal court districts and more than 300 local governments used a variety of pre-trial release.

“Pre-trial services programs can be valuable resources for making significant improvements in the criminal justice system because they are used in the early stages of the criminal case process,” the report found. “Unnecessary detention before trial not only results in unnecessary jail costs, it also deprives defendants of their liberty.”

Jurisdictions across Washington State, including Thurston, King, Clark, Spokane and Snohomish counties, have employed pre-trial services programs for some time.

Marshall Farnell is the chief executive officer for Spokane County. He said Spokane County has had such a program for 15 years or more and has been effective in holding down jail costs.

That county’s program diverted 877 inmates from the jail in 2014, according to a report prepared for by the Spokane County Office of Pretrial Services. The result: $6.8 million in “jail housing cost avoidance,” the report states.

“We can keep costs down by keeping some of these people out of jail,” Farnell said. “I’m surprised Pierce County hasn’t had such a program, being that it’s an urban county.”

Cuthbertson admitted Pierce County is behind the times.

The idea of a pretrial services program was floated in 2009 but couldn’t gain traction, he said.

Stock said the recent cost overruns at the jail got people’s attentions.

UNDERGOING AN INTENSE SCREENING

Before defendants recommended for the program ever appear before Cuthbertson, they undergo intense screening by program coordinator Andrea Kelley and two case coordinators.

They are interviewed in the jail about their housing situations and family support. A national criminal background check is done. Calls are made to employers and family members to validate the information, Kelley said.

“We recommend verifiable folks only,” she said.

A hearing then is held before Cuthbertson.

Attorneys from the Department of Assigned Counsel argue on behalf of the defendants. A deputy prosecutor, usually chief criminal deputy Steve Penner, argues for the state.

Penner said the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office consulted on the setup of the program.

“It wasn’t our idea, but at the same time we understand why the court wanted to do it,” he said. “We don’t have a blanket objection to it.”

Cuthbertson then makes the call.

Court personnel don’t have time to do such intensive research at a defendant’s first appearance in court shortly after arrest, but county officials hope one day they might be able to.

Defendants released under the program are monitored frequently, reminded of court dates and referred to other programs, such as drug and alcohol treatment, that might allow them to clean up their lives and make a better impression upon a judge at later sentencing.

“We want people to try to land safely when leaving here,” Cuthbertson told defendant Kimberly Lambert during a docket earlier this month.

Weekly face-to-face meetings with case coordinators are often the norm, and defendants are subject to random contacts. A missed court date ensures an arrest warrant and possibly new charges of bail jumping.

So far, so good. Of the 45 people recommended for release under the program, 37 have been approved. Of those released, only two have failed to show up for a court date, Kelley said.

Cuthbertson said county officials hope to divert enough inmates in the future so corrections officials can close two pods in the jail.

Sheriff Paul Pastor said his administration is working closely with the court to monitor and implement the program.

“We intend to see that people are held accountable and that we are using valuable jail resources in a manner that keeps people in jail who especially need to be there,” Pastor said.

SOME STAY BEHIND BARS

Not everyone gets released, as 35-year-old Victor O. Field II found out in late October.

Field is accused of breaking into some cars and then grabbing the throat of a man who caught him. He also allegedly was carrying illegal drugs.

The defendant had no previous criminal history, and his mother was at the hearing to support him. He’s never been violent and helps take care of her, the woman told Cuthbertson.

Field gave a plea on his own behalf.

“My mother is right,” he said. “This was the first time. This will be the last time.”

But Penner, who didn’t object to anyone else’s release that day, said he couldn’t support Field’s release.

“If it had stopped at the drug, the state probably wouldn’t have had any concerns,” the deputy prosecutor said.

The man who allegedly confronted Field was in attendance and spoke against his release.

“I got to look Mr. Field in the eye as he had his hand around my throat,” the man said. “He intended to cause me harm and did so. What happens next time?”

Cuthbertson denied Field’s release.

“This was a violent crime,” the judge said. “You’re going to have to get family and friends to help raise bail or resolve this matter as quickly as possible.”

“THANK YOU, YOUR HONOR”

The four defendants on the sunny November afternoon had better luck.

All were released, including Zachariah Murray, who’s accused of second-degree identify theft.

Murray is 28 and has a young son.

“My son’s grown up without a father, and every day that tears me up,” he told Cuthbertson.

Case coordinator Christopher Sprinker told the judge that Murray has verified housing and a HVAC job waiting for him on the outside.

Cuthbertson said he was inclined to grant the release, and Murray started to thank him.

“Don’t thank me yet because there are some conditions here,” said Cuthbertson, who then recited a litany of rules Murray has to follow.

The lengthy conditions didn’t seem to diminish Murray’s gratitude.

“Thank you, your honor. Thank you,” he said as he walked back to the jury box to await his trip back to jail to process out.

This story was originally published November 15, 2015 at 4:30 AM with the headline "Release before trial aids Pierce County defendants and taxpayers."