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Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Ind. Courts - "Vigo County judge connecting to jail with video system"
Howard Greninger reports today in the Terre Haute Tribune-Star in a story that begins:
With a touch of his finger, Vigo County Judge Michael Lewis can swing a small courtroom camera toward an attorney, who can see and respond to an individual housed inside the Vigo County Jail.Lewis can then return the camera’s focus back on the incarcerated individual from a control on his judicial bench in Vigo County Superior Court Division 6.
The process is video arraignment, and Lewis is the first, and so far only, judge in Vigo County to routinely use it.
“We do it for initial hearings, initial probable cause hearings and further court proceedings where all we are doing is setting trial dates,” Lewis said. “If it is something involved where the defendant is going to have to testify, or have the defendant talk and an attorney’s presence is necessary, I bring them over” to the court from the jail.
The system was installed in the courtroom in early February, but has been in regular use for the past two weeks. Lewis said video arraignment allows better security and it reduces the number of correctional officers required to walk individuals from the jail to the adjacent county courthouse.
As an example, Lewis had 36 cases scheduled for court proceedings on Tuesday. Without the video system, at least nine of the cases would have required bringing nine people on a “chain gang” to the courtroom.
“We only needed two live on the chain,” Lewis said, “and had seven on video.”
The judge said that with the new security measures, “We don’t have family members popping up,” attempting to come in contact with the incarcerated or possibly give them some type of item, which is not lawful.
Scott Swan, information technologies director for Vigo County, said the system, including installation labor, cost about $10,000, plus nearly $1,000 for two flat-screen televisions. One unit is a 42-inch TV viewed by the public in the courtroom during a video arraignment. The second, smaller screen is used by the judge.
Vigo County Sheriff Jon Marvel paid for the system from his departmental budget. Marvel said if he had funding, he would also place video arraignment in the Division 5 courtroom.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 11, 2009 09:10 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts