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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCP 31 t (BM W Hmulnmo maumm ti ' POLICY PROPOSAL DATE FILE NUMBER SUBJECT Municipal Court Night PAGE_OF_ 5/24/77 CP-31 Operations PROPOSAL PROPOSED BY: Councilman CITY NAGER'S REVXVJ Richard C. Newkirk &--4i To more adequately meet the needs of the citizens it is proposed that a night court be established. Chief Judge Ferchill has described the need and advantage of such a court as he sees them in the following information: Benefits of Night Court I. Benefits to the Police Department A. Magistrate would be available to warn subjects arrested after 5:00 P.M. B. Arrest warrants and search warrants could be issued until 10:30 P.M. C. * Overtime payments fop court appearances of second-shift officers would be eliminated. D. Effectiveness of• Team Policing would be improved. (1) Second-shift officers could take their prisoners before magistrate instAad of relying on day shift. '(2)• Day officers would be relieved of securing warnings for subjects arrested by the second shift. ' 0-1 (3)" Second-shift officers would be able to question suspects when the case is freshest. (4) Second-shift officers would be able to take statements and file charges earlier. E. Speedier trials would allow better recall of details surrounding issuance of traffic citations. F. Potential reduction in overtime paid to police officers. II. Benefits to the Public A. Innocent party could be released earlier due to earlier questioning. LEGALITY OPI FISCAL NOTE [ CITY MANAGER'S COMMENTS POLICY PROPOSAL (cont'd) PAGE OF B. Persons apprehended on traffic warrants after 3:,60 P,M. would not have to wait until 9:00 A.M. to eater their pleas. C. Some citizens would be able to have their trials at night after work. D. Citizens would receive a speedier trial. E. "Quality of justice would be improved. III. Benefits to the Court A. Quality of justice would be improved. B. Backlog would be substantially decreased. C. Trials could be given 30 days after requested. D. Cases would be fresher at Municipal level and consequently fresher on appeal. E. Jail docket would be evenly apportioned. F. Preparation for Court of Record. Possible Court Hours for Municipal Court No. 3 2:30 P.M. On Duty 3:00 P.M. (10 cases) 4:00 P.M. (10 cases) 5:30 P.M. (10 cases) 6:30_ P.M. (10 cases) 7:30 P.M. (15-20 cases) 9:00 P.M. Jail Docket 10:30 P.M. Off Duty Need for Night Court Whenever a subject is arrested after 5:00 P.M., he presently cannot be delivered to a magistrate to be warned of his constitutional rights until 8:30 A.M. the next morning. Since the arresting officer cannot interrogate or question a subject until after the subject has been warned, those who are arrested after normal business hours must simply be put in "cold storage" until the following day. This lack of a night magistrate creates a burden on law enforcement personnel as well as our citizens. In the first instance, the arresting officer who is on a night shift cannot carry through with his investigation, complete his reports, and file charges while the case is at its freshest stage. In the second instance, a citizen who might be able to clear himself and be sent on his way all in the same evening cannot do so because, under the law, he cannot be questioned by the police until he has first been warned of his rights by a magistrate. CITY OF FORT WORTH POLICY PROPOSAL tont'd PAGE !-OF 4 Several day officers have told the ju4ge that the added responsibility of getting the night shift's prisoners warned has increased their workload thereby reducing their efficiency. Likewise, some of the night officers have stated that they are unhappy because they have to rely on a day officer to get their subjects warned. It merits mention that on occasion prisoners have been "overlooked" and it was even later than 8:30 A.M. before they were taken to a magistrate. A night court would not completely solve the problem but if the 5:00 P.M. to midnight officers were able to `gat their prisoners warned immediately, the day shift would only be responsibl for transporting those who are arrested between midnight and 7:00 A.M. Furthermore, the magistrate often finds himself faced with a situation where the officer who brings the subjects to be warned at 8:30 A.M. has no real knowledge of the allegations or incident behind the arrest and consequently cannot give the Court any meaningful input in regard to the setting of bail. A factor to be considered in creating a night court is the possible savings in over- time -pay that might be realized if the second-shift officers could come to court while on duty. If we had a third court with settings at 5:30, 6:30, and 7:30 P.M. we could accommodate most, if not all, of the second shift officers. Then only the third or midnight, shift would be paid overtime for court appearances in Municipal Court. Another benefit that would stem from a night court would be the division of the "jail docket" into- two twelve-hour time periods. We presently have a jail docket at 9:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. and if anyone is picked up after 3:00 P.M., he must wait until the next morning to enter a plea. This results in an extended incarceration for those brought in after 3:00 P.M. and sometimes causes us to have a morning jail docket with as many as 60 persons and an afternoon one with as few as one or two. Next, by funding a night court, the Council would be offering an invaluable benefit to the many citizens who work during the day and cannot leave their jobs to contest a citation. We would not, however, be able to offer night settings for all who may want them since cases must be set according to the issuing officer's assigned court time and only those who receive tickets from second-shift officers woul ever be able to have an evening setting. A third court would allow us to reduce our backlog and provide each citizen with the speedy trial he is promised by and entitled to under the Code of Criminal Procedure. Justice delayed, more often than not, is justice defeated. On certain days I am now hearing cases which are five to six months old. Many of these have to be dis- missed because the officer is simply unable to recall any details surrounding the issuance of the citation. I personally would like to see us be able to provide a trial 30 days after receiving a request for such; A third court would make this possible. Furthermore, a third court would improve the quality of justice available in our court system. In an effort to keep the docket moving and reduce backlog, I have long advocated the addition of extra settings to our court dockets. You may recall that as an Assistant City Attorney I worked with you back in November 1975 to increase the caseload from 4 daily settings of 8 cases each or 320 potential weekly settings to 5 daily settings of 10 cases each for a total potential of 500 cases weekly. CITY OF FORT WORTH t V POLICY PROPOSAL (cont'd) PAGE_OF After I took the bench of Court No. 2, I added 25 additional cases to my Court and that increased the weekly figure to a potential of 525. As Chief Judge, I have again revised the settings for both Courts and we now have the potential to set 560 a week. It is not difficult to see that any further expansion of the two courts' dockets would dangerously impair the quality of justice. In fact, I am not entirely sure that this hasn't already happened -- there is simply a limit to how many cases a prosecutor can prosecute and a judge can hear. After all, "cafeteria-style" justice is not something we should be proud of. Lastly, if and when we become a court of record, we will have to set up a thii,1 court. It would be so helpful to already have it in operation. Recommendation I propose that the Council consider this proposal of a third court at night or consider changing one of the present day courts to a night court to determine actual results. The estimated cost of an additional court is in the range of $32,000 to $35,000 annually, based on not hiring an additional prosecutor. Legality Operation of night court is needed to more fully comply with existing statutes. Fiscal Note If it is determined that an additional court is to be provided, appropriations will have to be made from prior year revenues. City Manager's Comments The operation of a night court could have significant benefits to the citizens. Since there seems to be a major change occurring in the quantity of citations being issued, an evaluation of the cost and benefits of a night court could be tested by temporarily operating a night court with existing judges and personnel. The test could be conducted in time to provide input into the budget for 1977-78. 3TY OF FORT WORTH, TEAS MM SUBJECT MATTER OF THIS 1(. &C. C. WAS FRESENTID TO THE CITY CORCIL AND WAS Z4 _ V APPROED ic �C. Newklrk�, Cou�ncilman hard W, City Secretary CITY OF FORT WORTH