SALT LAKE CITY — A proposal to spend up to $50,000 for a consultant to study the feasibility of establishing a courtroom at Salt Lake County's Adult Detention Center died Tuesday on a 4-4 vote of the County Council.
Councilman Steve DeBry said there was sufficient expertise within the county and the state courts to determine the feasibility of establishing a courtroom intended to support implementation of the multijurisdictional Early Case Resolution program.
"I think we can get those answers from experts in our own realm," DeBry said.
Councilman Michael Jensen said he worried about the message that would be sent if the county spent $50,000 on a feasibility study, given the recent sentiments from some state lawmakers and members of the public how the county conducts its business.
"I guarantee they will say ... 'They have $50,000 extra to throw around?' " Jensen said.
Council Chairman Max Burdick and Councilman Jim Bradley encouraged the council to move forward with the request for proposals so the county could hire experts with experience in this arena.
"In this particular situation, you're pleading guilty or not guilty. That courtroom presence is really important," Burdick said.
Burdick, who works in real estate, said he has met many clients through his career who believed they could build their own homes. "At the end of the day, they wish they hadn't done it. I'm just saying, be careful what you wish for."
The Early Case Resolution program, which was launched in the 3rd District Courts in Salt Lake County last week, received startup funding from a Department of Justice grant. It aims to streamline the criminal justice process by resolving up to half of felony cases within 30 days after they are filed. The program's goals include freeing up more jail space and reducing recidivism rates.
According to the County Council memo written by Burdick and Councilman Jim Bradley, 60 percent of all inmates held in the county jail are awaiting trial. "The main goal of the ECR system is to address this alarming statistic," the memo states.
The absence of a courtroom at the detention center would not delay the implementation of the ERC; however, "the County Council would be shortsighted to not begin planning now to realize the full efficiencies of the ECR program. To that extent, we should move forward aggressively to learn the costs associated with constructing a full-functioning courtroom and related court space at the adult detention facility," Burdick and Bradley wrote.
District Attorney Sim Gill, who inherited the initiative from his predecessor District Attorney Lohra Miller, said he understood the council's desire to be fiscally responsible, yet he did not want the initiative to lose commitment and momentum.
The DA's office will fully participate in the working group to come up with an array of options, which could mean a courtroom in which defendants, attorneys and prosecutors would interact with judges via a video feed, or even a stand-alone full-service courtroom.
"We need to have buy-in (from all the parties). What is our long-term goal? What is our short-term goal?" Gill said. "We need to make a commitment and act on it."
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