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Monday, July 31, 2006
Ind. Courts - "Proposed bond court to ease overcrowding"
A story today in the Munster (NW Indiana) Times by Ruthann Robinson reports:
CROWN POINT | If the working group of the jail oversight committee has its wish, a Saturday bond court in the Lake County Jail courtroom will start as early as Sept. 9.The jail is at capacity, averaging more than the 1,040 inmates it was designed to hold, and the proposed court could be one solution to overcrowding.
Many of those arrested on misdemeanor charges who can't make bail sit in jail until their city or town court initial hearings.
Of the 10 city and town courts, five hold court two or fewer days of the week.
The proposed Saturday bond court could expedite the process by deciding bond reductions sooner so inmates who couldn't pay the higher bond could be released.
Lake County Sheriff Rogelio "Roy" Dominguez said it would save time and gasoline and be safer to hold bail hearings in a courtroom housed within the County Jail, eliminating the transportation of inmates around the county to individual community courtrooms.
The group working on getting a bond court in place has met once a week since February.
At a meeting last week, Lake County Superior Court Judge Julie Cantrell reported all county judges are willing to staff the Saturday court. They also are willing to take a look at their bond schedule to see if they can bring them in line with each other.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on July 31, 2006 08:25 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts