As a former superior court judge in Cumberland County for 24 years, Greg Weeks thinks he was part of a problem in the judicial system.
Once stepping away from the bench and becoming involved in reform programs like TheSentencing Project in Washington, D.C., and the Pretrial Justice Institute, Weeks said he realized bail disparity was an issuenot only in North Carolina.
The problem, Weeks said during anOrganizing Against Racism: Cumberland County meetingThursday night, is that two peoplewho committed similar crimes and have almost identical backgrounds could have different bond amounts set.
One offender could receive a $500 bond and anothercould receive a $5,000 bond, Weeks said.
Weeks said when he first became a private practice criminal attorney, public defender and judge he relied on what was the “norm” of what other judges were doing.
A prior policy was established with the intent to address bond disparities by providing minimum andmaximum amounts based on the charge or charges that were involved,Weeks said.
"It's a matter of learning, not being blind and directed by the norm, but doing what you are supposed to do under the applicable law,” Weeks said.
Weeks’stance is also recognized in aNorth Carolina Task Forces for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice 2020 report.
According to that report, “even short stays in jail pretrial can have destabilizing effects on an individual’s employment, health, and recidivism.”
“These destabilizing effects disproportionally impact people of color. Empirical research finds that judges overpredict the risk of Black defendants committing crimes on pretrial release and underpredict the risk of white defendants committing crimes on pretrial release,” the report states. “Accordingly, money bail is imposed more often on Black defendants than white defendants, and Black defendants receive higher bail amounts than white defendants for the same crime.”
Updating the policy
Along with districtand superior courtjudges in Cumberland County, Cumberland County’s district attorney and public defenderand chief magistrate and clerk of superior court,Weeksand othershelped make recommendations to the county’s pretrial release policy that was updated last month.
The updated policy is not set in stone, saidJudge Jim Ammons, seniorresidentsuperior court judgefor the12th Judicial District.
“Ifwe find that something doesn’t work or somebody has a better idea or another pretrial program comes up, we’re going to explore that,” Ammons said.
Ammons said he does not think the policy changes how judges and magistrates in Cumberland County have worked during the past few years, but said the policy instead is caught up with practices.
“We don’t want anybody in jail that doesn’t need to be there,” he said. “There are some folks that do need to be there, and we recognize that. The community needs protection, andwe also need to make sure thatfolks will show up(to court).”
Ammons said most defendants show up to court, but some do not.
Ammons said the updated policy sets forth clearer guidelines, especially for magistrates who are the first to see a defendant in jail before their courtappearance.
“There are lots ofpressureson folks that setthesebonds—the public, law enforcement,thedefendant, the defendant’s family, all kinds of folks,” Ammons said. "But when they have these guidelines that say you have to consider these factors and you have to be fair and equitable it helps them do their job.”
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Judge Toni King, chief district court judge for the12th Judicial District, agreed with Ammons aboutthe updated policy reflecting practices.
Anothercourt initiative, she said, is allowing defendants to come bydistrict court officesto get a new court date and have warrants recalled, if they missed an initial court date that led to an order for their arrest.
“That’s been in practice long before my time as chief just so that we could prevent people from getting picked up on warrants and getting placed in jail unnecessarily, because we understand a lot of times people miss court most people have a good excuse in termsofthey couldn’t get off work or they might jeopardize their work status,” King said.
Cumberland County also schedules first appearance court appearanceseach day instead of waiting96 hours or 72 hours, she said.
Ability to pay bail
According to the updated policy, bailcannotbe used as punishment.
“Making pretrial release contingent upon the payment of money bail that a person cannot afford results in a de facto detention order,” the policy states. “Thus, without the necessary safeguards, the use of secured monetary bail can deprive people of their constitutional rights.”
Cumberland County District Attorney Billy West said he thinks the policy is clearer about guidelines on the defendant’s ability to pay bail.
Thepolicystatesthat secured monetary bail set higher than what a person can pay “implicates that person's rights to pretrial liberty and against wealth‐based detention under the U.S. Constitution.”
The policy state that a judicial official shouldmake an individualized assessment on the defendant's ability to pay, which takes into account federal poverty guidelinesand whether the defendant receives federal and statesassistanceand if the defendant is eligible for a court-appointed attorney.
Cumberland County Chief Public Defender Cindy Blacksaid her office, West’s office and King’s office have representatives who look at Cumberland County’s jail list daily to identify individuals who need to see a bond counselor.
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“I’m a big proponent of doing away with cash bonds, because they really affect the poor and minorities…,” Black said. “Ifsomebody’s in custody for two or threedays, theylose jobs,lose their house, they lose their kids.”
That is why Black said she is glad to see thepretrialrelease policy take into account a defendant’s ability to pay, along with otherprograms that decrease the number of defendants sitting in jail awaiting the judicial process.
Black said an assistant public defender visits the jail daily to talk to those who are recently arrested and to determine if they’re a community resident, have families ties to Cumberland County, have a job, don’t have a prior record and what their ability to pay bond is—all which are factors when judges consider setting a bond amount.
“Most folks who are incustody who haven't been able to postthe bond in the past 24 hours you know must qualifyfor court-appointed counsel so our office will then represent them throughout the pendency of their charge,” she said.
West said his office also works to ensure cases are addressed and that a defendant is able to have a court appearance if they seem to be waiting in jailformore than a day or two.
“The magistratesare sort ofthe first line when it comes to bonds, but then that second line is normally the next day after someone's arrested, they're going to be before a district court judge,” West said.
Other considerations
West said it’s important for everyone in the judicial system to understand the policy and its requirements.
Weeks said he thinks theupdated policyis a “significant positive step,” but thinks more needs to be done to provide judicialofficials with appropriate resources for making informed decisions based on facts andcirc*mstancesofindividualcases.
After talking toofficialsat the Cumberland CountyJail, Weeks said the estimated cost to keep an inmate in jail per day in Cumberland County is about $90 a day.
“Reduction in those costs are monies that can be used to implement a stronger pretrial release policy,” he said.
Black agreed that she’d like to see county funding used to house inmates instead go toward pretrial diversion and supervision programs.
Indigent defense servicesisalso looking at if there can be a program to textdefendantsreminders about their court dates.
Another point, Black said, is a consideration that transportation for indigent defendants to get to the courtroom can be an issue.
“Maybe that's something else we could look at in the community about finding resources for transportationfor folks,” she said.
Weekssaid as a new policy is implemented, he would like to see records on misdemeanor and felony cases “to measure its success.”
Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.
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