Pulaski County Sheriff Found in Contempt of Court (Arkansas)

KATV CHannel 7 ^ | 9/08/2006 | Michelle Rupp

[TheBattman]

Pulaski County - The Pulaski County Sheriff is found in contempt of court Friday by a Little Rock District Judge. This after the jail would not accept repeat traffic offenders because the jail was closed. Late Friday afternoon an appeal was filed in circuit court by the County Attorney Karla Burnett.

Friday District Judge David Steward heard testimony as to why several repeat offenders were not picked up and taken to the Pulaski County detention facility as ordered by District Judge Vic Fleming.

(Judge David Stewart, District Judge) "It’s a financial problem a legal problem and a constitutional problem and it's a fine line as to how to resolve it."

Karla Burnett says the overcrowding problem at the jail dates back to when the facility opened in 1994. The detention facility is only housing violent offenders. Judge Stewart said Sheriff Randy Johnson willfully disobeyed seven lawful orders.

(Judge Steward) "However the county has no power to initially refuse to accept defendants into its custody and control. To fail to do so is in clear and direct contempt of this courts order."

(Karla Burnett, Pulaski County Attorney) "I think it is an indication of the frustration on the part of the courts with the inability to have their orders followed and be received into jail."

Seven separate charges of criminal contempt were handed down and carry a $500 fine. A stay has been issued so the sheriff will not pay the $3,500 fine immediately.

[TheBattman]

So, the court has held the sherrif in contempt because he won't accept inmates from traffic court. Yet the jail is over-capacity and is "closed" to new inmates.

What is the sherrif to do? If he doesn't trim the inmate population or find something else to do with them, he will be in big trouble. If he does, then he will be cutting criminals loose that need to be IN jail.

This is just a symptom of a much larger problem. Jails that are exploding at the seams, taxpayers who are already being bled to death with taxes out the wazoo (yet are paying for a bicycle bridge over the Arkansas River atop the Murray Lock & Dam at a cost of several million dollars... yeah, that's what we needed...more than jails, but I digress).

Little Rock's murder rate is on track to set an all-time record. Crime in general is way up county-wide. I wonder why???!!!! All but the absolute most violent are immediately turned loose.

There are a few people in Central Arkansas calling for the sherrif to put up a tent-city jail. But so far, he hasn't shown he has the guts.

I guess "To Protect & To Serve" means drive around a bit, arrest and immediately release criminals, and do nothing to solve the problem.

And I guess David Steward believes that "his" inmates - repeat traffic offenders, are more important to jail than rapists and murderers..... Not that I disagree that they need to serve their time. But priorities, please!

Oh - and there is a candidate running for sherrif this time around who says he WILL do the tent-city thing and has consulted with the sherrif out in AZ who has gotten so much attention for his own such facility.

[Doctor Raoul]

Strange. Around here, the judges are LIBERALS and tell Sherrifs to let people OUT of jail.

[Doctor Raoul]

And I guess David Steward believes that "his" inmates - repeat traffic offenders, are more important to jail than rapists and murderers..... Not that I disagree that they need to serve their time. But priorities, please!

The Judge could make them spemd their days at the jail working for the Sherrif. Make it 8 am to 8 pm. Effectively it's almost the same as jail. Or some other municipal public works project.

[KoRn]

Why in the hell are they trying to throw traffic offenders in jail anyway?

[navysealdad]

Little Rock Police Administration is corrupt.

[B.O. Plenty]

Its a "crack down" don't you know. Seat belts...clickit or tickets, 40 in a 30....haneous criminals, every one. krap, there was a teacher right here in Dallas that went to jail for a seat belt violation and they forgot about her...for 3 days she was in the tank! I hope that our little limp wristed sheriff will pay for this one.

This world is going nuts, my man...and there seems to be nothing that we can do about it.

The only traffic criminals that should go to jail, and stay there are drunk drivers.(IMO, of course)

[TheBattman]

Where are the teeth in any traffic law? Usually in the fine imposed.

But I read consistently in our local paper (over here just to the east in Lonoke County) of lots of people who are caught speeding or in other traffic violations, who have suspended licenses for DWI or simply from getting their license yanked for too many violations.

These folks continue to drive and violate the law even after umpteen tickets and fines (and some haven't paid the fines either).

Again, the only chance a law has to have any positive influence is if it has some "bite" to it.

As far as I know, people are not being sentenced to jail simply for driving 50 in a 40. But they are sentenced to jail when they have driven 80 in a 55 for the 7th time in the last year, fail to appear, drive on suspended license, or have an offense record that would make most bad drivers blush.

[B.O. Plenty]

See...this is why I love FreeRepublic...there is always someone who can and will temper the statements. I wasn't even thinking about people who are serial traffic criminals. Of course these people should have a little more pressure applied....and I do realize that a lot of real criminals get caught in a "routine" traffic stop...for no brake lights, etc.

Thanks for the reason.

[HAL9000]

Judge Vic Fleming wrote a book with Hillary Clinton, so he deserves to be treated with contempt.

[HAL9000]

Plenty of Little Rock traffic judges have been sent to prison themselves.

[longtermmemmory]

The law does not require the doing of a useless thing (generally).

This is a turf war. The judge forgets he has no enforcement power outside his little fiefdom in the courtroom.

Judges need to be careful lest someone pays attention to the man behind the curtain.

[KoRn]

"The only traffic criminals that should go to jail, and stay there are drunk drivers.(IMO, of course)"

I agree, at least until they sober up.

[freepatriot32]

Libertarian ping.To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here

[William Tell]

longtermmemmory said: "The judge forgets he has no enforcement power outside his little fiefdom in the courtroom. "

Well, the judge has no power to order the immediate creation of jail facilities, that is true.

However, I would not underestimate the amount of power held by judges. As long as higher courts will back them up, and as long as the chief executive, whether Governor or President, will support the judge, then the power is quite considerable.

There have been courts that have taken over entire public agencies after the agencies have been found to be in flagrant violation of law. Even the voters have a hard time prying loose the hold of a court in such cases.

[Doctor Raoul]

What about the Sherrif's Department?

[Libloather]

Pulaski County Sheriff Found in Contempt of Court

Does the sheriff go to - ummmmm - jail?

[elkfersupper]

When nearly everything is illegal, you need a lot of jails.

An estimated two million individuals are incarcerated in our country today and the inmate population growth continues to rise between 3 and 5 percent annually.