The Genesee County public defender said he hopes to see a centralized location for arraignments in the near future – action that could save the county money in transportation costs.
Speaking at the Genesee County Legislature’s Public Service Committee meeting today at the Old County Courthouse, Jerry Ader said that arraignments are back to the “24/7 … off hours and weekends” set-up now that emergency declarations related to the COVID-19 pandemic have ended.
“We went through some changes during the pandemic; the state allowed us to go virtual for all court proceedings,” Ader said. “So, the electronic appearances were being done without any travel for the sheriff's department, for the court staff or for us (public defenders) -- and everything was done at the jail through electronic appearance.”
Ader said the Sheriff’s Office has been cooperating with his department to possibly allow arraignments at the old sheriff’s office building on West Main Street for a centralized arraignment.
“Talks are ongoing right now between the (New York State) Indigent Legal Services Office, Office of Court Administration and the sheriff's department,” he reported.
“So, there might be some progress in the very near future that we might have a central location to do arraignments at night and weekends and during the day either at the jail and at the city courtroom, depending on when the arraignment is done. This would alleviate transportation for defendants to the courts of their jurisdiction and, obviously, transportation for my attorneys.”
Ader said many counties have instituted such a plan, and that local magistrates are supporting it for Genesee. He said that his office is handling 20 to 30 arraignments per month on average.
In his report to the committee, Ader said he has funds to fill open staff positions this year, but it has been difficult to find qualified applicants for attorney, paralegal and social worker jobs, and office space is a concern.
The public defender’s office application to the Unified Court System for a new five-year contract to provide "attorney for the child services"was successful, Ader reported. The new pact will fund a full-time Family Court lawyer.
The Public Service Committee approved a resolution to accept an amended contract with the Office of Indigent Legal Services for grant funding for year three of the county’s five-year contract.
State law ensures that all eligible defendants are represented by counsel at arraignment, in compliance with ILS caseload standards. The contract for 2022 is for $283,260.
Ader said negotiations with ILS for the fourth year of the grant will be focused on renovations at the former Engine House to create more office space for the department.
