[A]mid pressure to find structural savings in Vermont’s court system, the judiciary branch is planning to launch a pilot program to begin holding criminal arraignments by video conference.
The budget bill that passed the House Appropriations Committee this week includes $210,000 to fund a pilot program that could significantly ease the cost that the state pays to transport prisoners to and from court appointments, according to Court Administrator Patricia Gabel.
Gabel described the plan to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee as they prepare to take on the budget, which faces a House vote this week. The plan is one approach to absorb what Gabel says amounts to a $2 million shortfall in the judicial branch budget.
“Our job is to provide a remedy when rights are at stake and the current condition is threatening, really, justice in Vermont,” Gabel said.
After Gov. Peter Shumlin and legislators asked the judicial branch to begin looking for ways to find $500,000 in structural savings, the Supreme Court met with the Department of Corrections, the Defender General and representatives of many different aspects of Vermont’s court system last month.
The group reviewed several options for savings, but ultimately decided to move forward with video arraignments, which would allow for arraignments and potentially other proceedings, such as routine status meetings, to be held remotely.
The state spends more than $2 million on transporting people between prisons and court appointments, according to Gabel.
That cost often includes paying for sheriffs to accompany prisoners from prison to the court where their case is held. According to Lamoille County Sheriff Roger Marcoux, sheriffs can end up logging 12-hour days, resulting in high overtime costs.
When other states have set up similar video arraignment systems, Gabel said, it has saved between 20 percent and 30 percent of their transportation costs, which are paid from the executive branch budget. Based on those numbers, the Vermont judiciary calculated that it could find about $500,000 in structural savings.
Before a system is implemented, however, the state needs to run a pilot program and set up the infrastructure. The judiciary expects the savings will be realized in FY 2017.
Defender General Matt Valerio is not convinced. He told the members of the committee that the state has tried video arraignments four times before.
“Every time we do it, it doesn’t work,” Valerio said.
Valerio raised concerns that past attempts have been thwarted by shoddy technology. Video arraignments take longer, he said, and make it difficult for lawyers and defendants to have private consultation, which can be disruptive to the proceedings.
The judiciary has not yet decided where the pilot will be held, Gabel said.
Other pressures persist
The impact of the proposed $10.8 million statewide reduction to labor and personnel will likely be another blow to the judiciary branch. Gabel said that the judiciary received notice from the administration that it could see $1.1 million in labor cost reductions.
The Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs’ Association received notification from the administration that they should prepare for a $335,000 reduction in labor funding, according to David Cahill, executive director of the department.
He said employees in the department are not unionized and are outside the dispute over labor contingency savings. But if the cuts go through as planned, that could spell the loss of five prosecutors or three special investigations units (SIUs), which investigate sexual violence cases and serious allegations of child abuse.
Cahill said Vermont prosecutors already have heavier caseloads than prosecutors in Manhattan or other major urban areas.
In recent years, Vermont courts have been inundated with a rise in the number of children in need of supervision or care (CHINS) cases. Gabel sais under the current caseload, Vermont should have one more judge just to handle CHINS cases.
Vermont has a shortage of judges on the bench. There are currently four judge vacancies, with another position expected to open in September.
Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, chair of the Judiciary Committee, said the judiciary branch is a core function of government.
“I think if we’re really going to change the structure of government then we can’t be nipping around the edges of the justice system, whether it be the civil justice system or the criminal justice system,” Sears said.
Also a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sears said that he will be considering changes to security in Vermont’s courts as well as expanding the functions of assistant judges as opportunities to save costs. He said another way to find savings might be to allow a change of venue, so that meetings around a specific case could be held at a location outside of the county where the case is based.
Sears said he is not interested in closing courthouses.
