tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post116467397208144289..comments2024-03-25T20:06:39.794-05:00Comments on Grits for Breakfast: LTEs support Judge McSpadden's appeal to reduce drug sentencesGritsforbreakfasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-1164777891747494622006-11-28T23:24:00.000-06:002006-11-28T23:24:00.000-06:00The first LOE reminded me of something I've been c...The first LOE reminded me of something I've been curious about for a very long time...<BR/><BR/>How are jurors picked for a grand jury, and how long do they serve?Catonyahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06388517503945911587noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-1164737429673388862006-11-28T12:10:00.000-06:002006-11-28T12:10:00.000-06:00I wonder if someone were to check on Judge McSpadd...I wonder if someone were to check on Judge McSpadden's use of the pretrial services program in Harris County what would they find? I am certain he does not utilize the personal bond release option offered by that agency nor does he utilize the supervision services offered by that agency regardless of the type of bail - cash bond, surety bond, personal bond - a defendant uses to secure release.<BR/>If he really felt such offenders did not need to be in the criminal justice system as felons would it not make sense that he utilize unsecured release and/or supervision services that allowed for drug testing, monitoring, and treatment services. I regret that we likely already know the answer to this rhetorical question. I am reminded that "actions speak louder than words".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-1164709325850747502006-11-28T04:22:00.000-06:002006-11-28T04:22:00.000-06:00I linked to it two items below, actually, but than...I linked to it two items below, actually, but thanks! Since Charles Kuffner had already written it up, and Doc Berman linked to it, I just linked to them. best,Gritsforbreakfasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-1164685265399800022006-11-27T21:41:00.000-06:002006-11-27T21:41:00.000-06:00( I guess you missed this editorial in the Chron a...( I guess you missed this editorial in the Chron a few days before)<BR/><BR/> Nov. 25, 2006, 8:30PM<BR/>Our lock 'em up justice is a loser<BR/>Harris County doesn't need to build any more jail cells. We need to construct common-sense sentencing policies.<BR/><BR/>By RANDALL L. KALLINEN<BR/>TOOLS<BR/>Email<BR/> <BR/>Get section feed<BR/>Print<BR/> <BR/>Subscribe NOW<BR/><BR/>The Harris County jail has reached 102.31 percent of capacity, 9,660 inmates, as of Oct. 1. That is about 1,000 more inmates than mandated by the state (90 percent capacity is the rule).<BR/><BR/>The county wants to spend $267 million for construction of new jails that will take many millions of dollars more to operate each year. While Harris County and the city of Houston struggle to hire qualified peace officers, these proposed jails threaten to divert hundreds of new peace officers to the job of warehousing inmates. Flawed criminal justice policy, not crime, is the cause of our jail overcrowding.<BR/><BR/>Only 1,297 jail inmates (around 14 percent of the total jail population) are convicted misdemeanor offenders serving their sentence. There are more than three times that many not yet convicted, just waiting for trial - more than 4,000 pretrial detainees.<BR/><BR/>Working-class people live paycheck to paycheck and need to get out of jail while awaiting trial to feed their families and to afford a private lawyer, rather than a county-paid lawyer, to defend them.<BR/><BR/>Harris County's pretrial release agency creates one of the lowest personal recognizance bond (get out of jail with a promise to appear in court) rates in Texas. Originally created a few decades ago to ease jail populations, this local bureaucracy has grown and now feeds itself with a diet of probation fees and burdensome bond conditions. Harris County has the highest probation revocation rate of any major county in Texas due to the onerous conditions.<BR/><BR/>The Harris County jail is also holding 1,319 state jail felons as compared to an additional 577 for the entire rest of the state. Why won't the state take them? Maybe it is because Harris County is the state's per capita leader in jailing trace drug cases, such as empty cocaine vials.<BR/><BR/>All sides of the issue agree that drug treatment works, so let's do it. State District Judge Michael McSpadden suggests treating trace drug cases as misdemeanors. Good idea. While we're at it, how about spending a fraction of the $267 million of proposed new jail money on a 1,000-bed drug treatment facility?<BR/><BR/>Harris County has a growing population categorized as "others" that fits into no listed category of jail inmates as reported by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. Last August, the county held 799 "others" and in September this grew to 940 - the largest per capita amount anywhere in the state. Many of these "others" are people sentenced to drug treatment who are languishing in jail, often for many months, waiting to start their treatment.<BR/><BR/>Our criminal court judges also contribute to the jail overcrowding. They do so by hiring plea-bargain attorneys in clear defiance of state law (the Fair Defense Act) and creating an assembly line of one-size-fits-all prison or jail sentences. Some judges jail individuals merely for failing to have a lawyer and also give jail time after a jury mandates probation. These practices must stop.<BR/><BR/>Just who is driving new jail construction? The four Harris County commissioners have millions of dollars, much from construction interests, in their campaign accounts. Does that answer the question?<BR/><BR/>Conservatives, moderates and liberals agree: No more jails in Harris County.<BR/><BR/> <BR/><BR/>Kallinen is a Houston civil-rights lawyer who is an adviser to the University of Houston Law School's Criminal Justice Institute and a board member of the Harris County Criminal Lawyer's Association. He can be emailed at attorneykallinen@aim.com.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com