If you are correct, then they do things a whole lot different in NJ than most other jurisdictions. I’ve been to many a national judges conference and I’ve never heard of it before.
The court is the place where it is determined under oath whether the person’s financial status qualifies them for a public defender. No one in a jail house has the authority to do that.
Its been fun everyone. I’ve got to get into court for an in-custody felon who wants his “first appearance.” Seriously.
Cheers
Correct. So if the defendant doesn't qualify for a public defender, the attorney does not get appointed and he will presumably bill the defendant for the expenses already incurred - since the court certainly won't pay them.
Police lock up wrong woman
She was stuck behind bars for 10 days
OCALA - When a Marion County Sheriff's deputy parked in the driveway on July 27, Amy Jean Sellers walked out with an embarrassed smile on her face. Her parents were out of town and she was doing some work around the house for them.
She had her ID in her hand.
"I thought I had accidentally set off the alarm. My parents have all these codes for everything," said Sellers, 22. "Of course, I approached him with a smile on my face, saying, 'Oh, officer, it's OK. It's my parents' house. I'm their daughter.'ʢ
Her boyfriend was on his way to pick her up. They were going to have dinner.
Instead, Sellers' smile turned to tears when the deputy told her he was arresting her for not showing up to work gang camp.
She explained it wasn't possible. She had served her time in 2003 for misdemeanor driving under the influence and then violating probation because she drove with a suspended license.
Still, she was taken to the Marion County Jail. And she remained there for 10 days until, finally, this case of mistaken identity was resolved.
Sellers' father, Craig, cracked the case. He went to the courthouse, checked out the court file and determined that another Amy Sellers - one whose middle name was different than his daughter's - should have been arrested.
Law officers eventually deduced what happened and arranged for Amy J. Sellers to get out of jail Sunday. As of late Monday, Amy M. Sellers - the woman who was supposed to be arrested in the first place - was not in custody.
"I was powerless," Amy J. Sellers said of her time behind bars. "I sent requests to get some paperwork. I asked to go to the law library. I asked to see the judge so he could straighten this out. But they told me I couldn't see a judge or go to first appearance."
FORM AND (MAL)FUNCTION
On Oct. 20, 2006, County Judge John Futch issued a warrant for Amy Sellers, age 28. She was accused of violating probation by failing to report to work gang camp. She was convicted in 2006 of driving with a suspended license.
Marion County Sheriff's Cpl. Alesia Chisholm submitted the violation information for Amy Sellers.
The form that Chisholm filled out did not include a middle initial for the defendant. The Sheriff's Office form also had no areas with date of birth information, race, sex or Social Security number information to make it more specific.
Chisholm filled out the violation of probation form with the correct court file number. But a review of the court file shows the form is the only sheet of paper that doesn't reflect "M" as the defendant's middle initial.
After the judge signed the warrant, it was turned over to the Sheriff's Office warrants division. An officer looked up the name on the computer and printed out the warrant sheet.
The warrant sheet shows an Amy Sellers was to be arrested. Again, there was no middle initial. The address information, date of birth and description reflected that of Amy Jean Sellers.
It turns out the warrant clerk entered the information for the first Amy Sellers that popped up in the system.
"Unfortunately for us, we had two Amy Sellers and we had the wrong one," said Capt. Jimmy Pogue, the Sheriff's Office public information officer.
INITIAL REACTION: FORMS NEED IMPROVING
Capt. John Vowinkel, head of the warrants division, said it wasn't the first time the agency has arrested the wrong person. But he said it mostly happens with men, especially fathers and sons who share the same name but are juniors and seniors.
Since October, the violation of probation forms have changed. A line for race, date of birth and Social Security number have been added. Sheriff's officials said Monday evening that the form is going to change again to reflect the defendant's address. The law enforcement agency is also conducting a review to determine what improvements can be made to the system.
Both Sellers women have their fingerprints on file at the jail, but officials didn't see that they had the wrong person because the warrant form reflected Amy Jean Sellers, which matched their fingerprint database.
Pogue said his agency is sorry for the confusion, but said sometimes mistakes are bound to happen.
"We're hoping that citizens understand that when you serve almost 9,000 warrants a year, we're bound to make mistakes. We don't want to arrest the wrong person. But we're human, too. We make mistakes," Pogue said.
Sellers understands. She's upset, but at the same time relieved. It could have been worse.
"I'm glad this happened to me, who has a strong support network who stuck by me and looked up the case and got it figured out. But what if I was a 30-year-old single mother who lost her kids [to the Department of Children and Families] and lost her job 'cause of this?"