Judges Balk at Cost-Saving Jail Arraignments : Courts: Northern district judiciary withdraws support from plan billed as way to save costs. Proponents not giving up.

Judges in Orange County’s northern district are balking at the idea of arraigning suspects at the County Jail here, jeopardizing a plan billed as a major money saver for the financially strapped county.

The judges sudden withdrawal of support has angered some county officials, who are now regrouping to see if they can solve the problem.

County supervisors have already agreed to spend $160,000 to build a courtroom in the Main Men’s Jail and arraign suspects there. The plan is designed to cut down on bus trips between the jail and outlying courts and to save jail beds by moving suspects through the judicial system more quickly.

But Municipal Court judges in the county’s Fullerton branch now have problems with the plan. Presiding Judge Martin Hairabedian Jr. told the county in a recent letter that it would be “ill-advised” to move ahead.

Hairabedian said in an interview Tuesday that he is not yet convinced that the plan would end up saving the county money. And he said he is worried that shuttling court staff to Santa Ana could cause “a morale problem” because of work schedule changes and transportation difficulties.

In addition, county officials said the plan has been sidetracked because Anthony J. Rackauckas Jr., the municipal judge who was scheduled to move to a jailhouse courtroom by year’s end, is being considered for an appointment to the Superior Court. No one has come forward to take his place.

“There are still a lot of questions we have. Has this thing been analyzed as much as it should have been?” Hairabedian said. “The plan’s not dead, but it’s certainly on hold.”

The Fullerton judges approved the in-jail arraignment plan in concept at a January meeting but were startled to see the supervisors approve the $160,000 in funding in August, Hairabedian said. Late last week, members of the Fullerton court told county officials that they were backing away from their support.

“I’m just baffled to be getting feedback like this now,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Roger R. Stanton. “The board took action a couple of months ago (on the funding), and I would have assumed we’d have heard about this before now.”

The judges’ surprise decision marked the second time in a week that the county has found itself at odds with members of the local judiciary.

Earlier that same week, Orange County municipal judges in the central district in Santa Ana asked the state Supreme Court to reimpose a contempt of court order against Sheriff Brad Gates, who had infuriated local judges by releasing prisoners early to ease jail overcrowding.

The in-jail arraignment plan was seen as one remedy for the overcrowding problem.

There is now often a lag of several days between a suspect’s arrest and arraignment, as prisoners are bused to courts around the county before they can be considered for release on bail or on their own recognizance.

County officials hope that by arraigning some suspects in the jail itself, prisoners can be processed and released more quickly, freeing up jail beds. That, in turn, could save perhaps several hundred thousand dollars a year in transportation and jail housing costs, some officials suggest.

Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez said he believes the issue has already been studied extensively and he “would hope that these lingering issues can be resolved. It would be a great disappointment if this program was not implemented.”

And Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder said she plans to meet with Hairabedian and county staff later this week to try to iron out the issue. “We don’t seem to be communicating, and I want to find out for myself why,” she said.

County Administrator Ernie Schneider said he was “disappointed” by the judges’ action.

“But there’s no question in my mind we’ll save money. And I’m optimistic that we’ll be able to find a judge who is willing to help the county save money,” Schneider said.

As a result, Schneider said that he will recommend to county supervisors that they move ahead with construction of the jail courtroom even if the judges ultimately do not offer their support.

As one county official said, “It’s like in (the movie) ‘Field of Dreams.’ If we build it, they will come.”