Around AAC


Judges, attorneys, legislators, county officials hear ideas for pretrial costs


A workshop on jail population manage- ment attracted


40 attendees, including


County Judges, Sheriffs, Circuit Judges, County Attorneys, Legislators, and NACo personnel.


Te day-long Pretrial Justice Institute


event was held Oct. 29 at the James Baker Conference Room at AAC in Little Rock. Te problem is not just a matter for the


Governor and Legislature to address, said Sebastian County Judge David Hudson – rather it is a problem that those involved up and down the judicial system pipeline should be helping to assess and find an an- swer for. Judge Hudson serves as Chair of the National Association of Counties Justice and Public Safety Steering Committee. He reiterated a sentiment often heard


from Gov. Mike Beebe in context of the Pew work group studying Arkansas’s sentencing policies and prison spending: We must find a way to punish the non-dangerous, non-vi- olent offenders without filling the jails with them.


Te problem, as stated by the Pretrial


Justice Institute: “As public budgets are shrinking, jail populations across the nation continue to grow. Local governments are struggling to find ways to control jail costs and population levels while maintaining community safety and the integrity of the judicial process.” Nearly two-thirds of the nation’s jail popu-


lation are pretrial defendants – most of them held because they are unable to pay what is often a modest bond amount, according to the PJI moderators. “As our economy con- tinues to struggle, we can only expect these numbers to rise.” A solution offered by the Pretrial Justice


Institute: Te adoption of pretrial supervi- sion programs, with a typical cost of between $6-8 per day per defendant compared with a typical jail bed day that can run $75-100, according to PJI materials offered at the workshop.


– Randy Kemp / AAC 48 COUNTY LINES, WINTER 2011


Circuit Judges John Dan Kemp, Don Glover and Mary McGowan “talk shop” during a break.


Several Legislators attended, including Reps. Barry Hyde and Tracy Pennartz


AAC Chief Counsel Mark Whitmore; Ar- kansas County Sheriff Allen Cheek; and Sa- line County Attorney Jonathan Greer dis- cuss implications of the PJI recommenda- tions.


Sebastian County Judge David Hudson serves as Chair of the Na- tional Association of Counties Justice and Public Safety Steering Com- mittee. He urged the attendees to purpose to work together for solutions, rather than just leaving ideas up to the Legislature and Governor’s Office.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60