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State committee endorses Howard Co. request for magistrate judge

Kokomo Tribune - 9/21/2018

Sept. 21--Howard County took a crucial step this week toward implementing a magistrate judge into its judicial system, a position that would assist the county's existing five judges.

A magistrate, say local officials, could help reduce the Howard County Jail's persistent overpopulation problem and more quickly get defendants the help they need, specifically through the county's varied problem-solving courts.

Three elected Howard County officials -- Commissioner Paul Wyman, Prosecutor Mark McCann and Superior Court III Judge Doug Tate -- made that case Wednesday at the Indiana Statehouse to the Committee on Courts and the Judiciary, comprised of state Senate and House members.

Also in attendance was Indiana Supreme CourtChief Justice Loretta Rush, who commended Howard County as "a leader" on problem-solving courts and initiatives. Minutes later, Tate revealed that Howard Circuit Court, headed by Judge Lynn Murray, will be starting a new problem-solving court dedicated to family recovery.

Ultimately, committee members voted unanimously in favor of the county's request for a magistrate judge. The request will next go before the Indiana General Assembly and, if approved, will be implemented at the earliest by summer 2019.

"Helping us reduce our jail population is a critical component of this," Wyman told committee members.

"We've been very successful in Howard County in putting together many programs to assist people that are in drug addiction, and it would be our hope that the magistrate, by working with folks at the bond hearing, would be able to get people into these programs faster and start receiving the treatment they need and getting down the road to recidivism."

Tate said Wednesday that Howard County had 460 inmates, a dramatic increase over the jail's fixed-bed capacity of 364, requiring a significant portion of the jail population to sleep on portable bunks.

In fact, it's a currently unused courtroom in the jail that would become the magistrate's home five days a week, allowing defendants to appear before a judge at a faster pace than is currently possible.

Tate, for example, hears all of the county's misdemeanor cases but only holds initial hearings on Tuesday and Friday, a situation that creates "a lag time," he acknowledged.

"We try to do a good job of not having individuals in our jail simply because they can't post bond, and I think we could do an even better job if we had a judicial officer who was available five days a week to address those issues," said Tate.

McCann echoed those comments.

"What we're needing is a magistrate that can assess them immediately so this is not taking two weeks, 30 days -- but we're getting this person in front of a magistrate [in a day], where they can be assessed, we can have an additional hearing or hearings and assess their bond, assess their need for treatment and have a prosecutor, a public defender, magistrate and program services available to get them out of our jail," he said.

The county's request, according to Wednesday's testimony, has the additional backing of Howard County Sheriff Steve Rogers, Clerk Kim Wilson and the county council.

The need for a magistrate judge, in conjunction with the overpopulated jail, is also displayed in the state's weighted caseload measures, which determines the adequate resources needed to effectively manage a county's caseload.

Howard County, according to data updated in April, is the 10th-most heavily stressed court system in Indiana.

That ranking, however, is an improvement over the county's previous position as the second-most heavily stressed court system, a placement that led to a revision of Howard County's case-allocation system, including a weekly rotation schedule for felony cases.

That change was approved by the Indiana Supreme Court on March 21 and implemented in April.

Also at the center of the courthouse reallocation decision were the county's problem-solving courts, which involve a drug court and other initiatives dedicated to mental health, veterans, domestic violence and a juvenile program.

Tate said previously that by October patterns related to the reallocation plan and jail overcrowding will emerge and judgments can be made on the lasting impact of the plan.

If the courthouse overhaul shows itself to be a lasting improvement, combined with a still-nascent work release program, a magistrate judge could be the next step needed to point Howard County toward a reasonable jail population and a benefited population of at-risk residents, local officials hope.

"We do have a situation where we need to get individuals into treatment facilities, not incarcerated -- unless they need to be incarcerated -- and get them services versus them sitting there for what we call minor offenses or revocations of probation ... when they could be being treated and back into society and addressing the problems that got them there in the first place," said McCann.

George Myers can be reached at 765-454-8585, by email at george.myers@kokomotribune.com or on Twitter @gmyerskt.

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(c)2018 the Kokomo Tribune (Kokomo, Ind.)

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