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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

District Court Judges To Begin Holding Weekend Sessions Change Will Cost Taxpayers; Reduced Jail Crowding To Be Fringe Benefit

William Miller Staff writer

(For the record, Friday, January 13, 1995): Spokane County District Court Judge Daniel Maggs was incorrectly identified in a story Thursday.

For the first time, people arrested on a Friday in Spokane County won’t have to wait until Monday to see a judge.

They’re going to Weekend Court.

On Sunday, more than 100 accused lawbreakers will come before District Judge Donald Maggs.

In most cases, he’ll decide in a few minutes if police had probable cause to make the arrest, will set bail and assign public defenders.

The move - required by the Washington Supreme Court - is designed to protect civil liberties.

“It’s constitutionally mandated, and we’re looking forward to performing our duty,” Maggs said.

A fringe benefit is reduced jail crowding.

But Weekend Court will cost taxpayers more - at least initially.

Clerks, sheriff’s deputies and community corrections workers are demanding overtime pay until flexible work schedules can be arranged, court officials say.

Negotiations with public employee unions have begun.

Sheriff John Goldman, however, welcomes the change.

Goldman anxiously watches his jail population explode Friday and Saturday nights, sometimes filling all 600 beds.

With judges conducting initial hearings on Saturdays (Sundays during long holiday weekends), the sheriff can expect 30 to 40 low-risk defendants to be released on personal recognizance.

“That’ll help. We won’t be quite as crowded,” he said.

Weekend Court is nothing new.

A number of West Side counties have been holding it for years to keep pace with soaring criminal caseloads.

Less burdened, Spokane had no plans to follow suit until the state Supreme Court stepped in last month.

The high court ruled that a person accused of a crime and held in jail has a right to a bail hearing within 48 hours of his or her arrest.

Spokane County Public Defender Don Westerman applauds the decision.

In Weekend Court, “the judge is going to take an earlier look at the defendant, and the defendant is going to have an opportunity to say, ‘Hey, I’ve got a job and lived here all my life,”’ Westerman said.

The judge and the inmates - ranging from suspected killers to traffic scofflaws - won’t be in the same room, however. Initial hearings will be conducted via closed-circuit television, as is the case now.

Goldman said he plans to hook up a monitor in the jail lobby to allow the public to watch the proceedings.

Until then, the entire Public Safety Building will be opened on weekends while court is in session to allow for viewing on an existing monitor.

Court Administrator Henry Bruno says he expects 100 to 125 defendants to appear on the weekend docket weekly.

People arrested on felony charges or accused of domestic violence or harassment will continue to be held without bail until their first Weekend Court appearance.

Bruno said District Court judges will take turns presiding over Weekend Court, rotating weekly.

Superior Court is considering whether a similar move is warranted.