Photo by Thom Randall
At the July 10 dedication of the new Warren County arraignment court, county supervisors, government employees, and area judicial and public safety officials listen to Glens Falls Judge Gary Hobbs talk about the positive impact that the new court and its centralized sessions will provide for victims, suspects, judges, police officers — and county taxpayers.
QUEENSBURY | Warren County government made a substantial change in their judicial system last week that is intended to protect the Constitutional rights of suspects, uphold the public’s right to witness court proceedings and protect the safety of crime victims.
On July 12, the county launched a new system for centralized arraignments of suspects that are being held in custody by police and might be jailed. The courtroom recently constructed for these arraignments, situated on the Warren County Municipal Center campus, was dedicated July 10 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, and is now being utilized.
This new facility, along with the county’s accompanying new arraignment system, means that police officers, prosecutors and defense attorneys will no longer have to drive all over the county at any hour of the day or night to a town court for an arraignment. Also, judges won’t have to be called out unexpectedly in the middle of the night, or on weekends or holidays, to conduct these hearings.
The arraignment court sessions are to be held each morning and early evening as needed, and town judges will be scheduled on a rotating basis to preside over these sessions.
‘ALL WORKED TOGETHER’
This centralized arraignment system is relatively rare — it is the second one in the state’s Fourth Judicial District, which spans 11 counties in northeastern New York from Schenectady County north to the Canadian border.
In years past, these off-hour and weekend arraignments may have only hosted a judge, a suspect and the arresting police officer.
But in 2010, the Court of Appeals affirmed the Constitutional requirement to provide for a defense attorney to be present at every arraignment for a serious crime. Then in 2016, the state legislature approved a measure that allows counties to create the arraignment courts. Since then, dozens of people involved in Warren County’s public safety, its facilities and the area’s judicial system have been formulating a plan to establish the centralized arraignment court.
Glens Falls Judge Gary Hobbs, who supervises local court justices in the area, oversaw the efforts to develop the new arraignment system. At the court’s dedication, however, he deferred credit to others.
“We had groups come from different state agencies, local municipalities and the county, who had differing views, interests and responsibilities that all worked together to make this happen,” he said.
‘NO SMALL FEAT’
The new arraignment court is located in the old county jail’s booking area, which in recent years has been used as a storeroom.
Sheriff Bud York noted that this is an ideal location, as it is adjacent to a secure “sally port” or garage — in which a police officer can securely deliver suspects directly into the court through an entrance with a fortified door.
Hobbs said that with a centralized arraignment court, all people who have interest in the proceedings — including victims’ and defendants’ families as well as media representatives, can now conveniently attend the sessions, as they are held on a set schedule.
“This means a much more open government, which is what we should be striving for,” he said.
County Administrator Ryan Moore, who emceed the dedication ceremony, noted that the new court would save time for the county’s public safety and judicial personnel, and it would also save taxpayer dollars previously spent on overtime and travel expenses.
Chester Supervisor Craig Leggett and former Queensbury at-large Supervisor Ron Montesi were both praised for their successive roles in planning for the transition to a centralized court. Leggett credited dozens of others in county government as well as area judicial officials.
“This was no small feat,” he said.
ORDERS OF PROTECTION
Another prominent aspect of this new centralized arraignment court is that if the presiding judge institutes an order of protection, area police agencies will be notified within minutes of the decision, Hobbs said. Under the prior system, such notification might have been delayed for hours or even days — until the town court clerk returned to work. Hobbs also said that a new state computer program immediately alerts all courts and law enforcement agencies statewide of such orders.
Hobbs noted that the new arraignment court has a secured conference room, where suspects can meet and talk confidentially with their defense attorney — unlike most local town courts.
After the dedication ceremony, county board of supervisors chairman Ron Conover of Bolton hailed the new arraignment court as a major accomplishment.
“We’ve found the best way to ensure that we have efficient administration of justice while protecting defendants’ and victims’ constitutional rights — and access for the media — all of which are very important in our democratic and judicial process,” he said.
