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Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Ind. Courts - Porter County "Judges use video technology to arraign, sentence miles-away jail defendants."

The Munster (NW Indiana) Times reports today, in a story by Jerry Davich:

VALPARAISO I Porter County Superior Court Judge David Chidester raised his right hand, looked into the television screen inside the downtown courthouse and faced the defendant.

He asked, "How do you wish to plead, guilty or not guilty?"

Anthony Ashby raised his right hand, looked back through another television from inside the Porter County Jail, and answered the judge.

"Guilty, your honor. I was impaired. I drank vodka the night before," said Ashby, arrested May 12 in Kouts on charges of drinking and driving.

"I want to get this over with. I want to deal with it."

Chidester sat inside a tiny conference room on the courthouse's third floor, next to deputy prosecutor Melanie Eggers, and court reporter Becky Stowers.

Ashby, sporting an orange jumpsuit, sat in front of a handful of other inmates inside the county jail, located several miles away.

Unlike many Indiana counties, including Lake County, Porter County has for years been conducting court hearings, arraignments and even on-the-spot sentencing using video and audio feeds between the courthouse and jail.

It has proven to be especially economical with the high price of gas, judges say.

Almost daily, judges in the county division courts can handle routine misdemeanor charges, extradition hearings or probation violations through the video system, while more serious felony charges are handled in person. * * *

Judges say that Mondays are the busiest days for video arraignments, following typically "eventful" weekends, and the days after holidays are even busier.

Soon, every courtroom in the downtown courthouse will be equipped with such video technology, so judges won't have to squeeze into the tiny third-floor conference room.

Instead, they will be able to conduct business directly from their benches, said Chidester, who also regularly travels to the county jail to conduct court hearings.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on June 27, 2006 07:25 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts