Nearly 100 improperly sentenced jail inmates experienced "legal deja vu" Wednesday.
Shackled and clad in orange and red jumpsuits, 49 inmates from the minimum-security Oxbow Jail arrived at 3rd Circuit Court in a pair of leased Utah Transit Authority buses. Another three dozen inmates from the downtown Metropolitan Jail walked to the courthouse.Their "bounce-back" appearances came after the Utah Supreme Court on Monday nullified a 1992 statute giving court commissioners authority to accept pleas and issue sentences in misdemeanor criminal cases.
Consequently, almost all misdemeanor-related actions taken by commissioners were deemed invalid.
Wednesday, inmates jailed by commissioners squeezed into crammed courtrooms, quickly filling up benches and jury chairs. In Judge Philip K. Palmer's court, almost two dozen inmates and their attorneys offered pleas and accepted sentences in about two hours - prompting one observer to label the unprecedented scene "assembly-line justice."
Prior commissioner decisions generally held, as most inmates re-entered guilty pleas and were handed original sentences including credit for jail time already served.
"Almost all of the cases have been following the status quo," said Assistant Salt Lake County Attorney Greg Skordas. "A few people did withdraw a guilty plea, including one man who had originally pleaded a felony drug charge down to a misdemeanor. He'll be tried on the felony now."
Ironically, a few inmates who changed their pleas are slated for trial in front of the same commissioners - now serving as pro-tem judges - who presided over their cases.
Some inmates serving a few days in jail for minor crimes like vagrancy and public intoxication were released.
Skordas dismissed fears that major crimes would have to be heard again, saying felonies and serious misdemeanors were handled by judges.
The courts now have to deal with the validity of search and arrest warrants, preliminary hearings and complaints handled by commissioners. Several inmates were also handed stiffer jail terms by judges because of prior sentences imposed by a commissioner.
"We've asked law-enforcement agencies to take bench warrants issued by commissioners and have them reissued by judges," said Skordas.
Despite stuffy courtrooms and some expected confusion, most involved in the rehearings were pleased with Wednesday's proceedings.
"Things have generally gone in an orderly manner," said F. John Hill, director of the Salt Lake Legal Defenders Association.
"I think everyone's done a good job taking care of clients and working through all this."