NCJ Number
161650
Date Published
1995
Length
139 pages
Annotation
Descriptions of 1995 model county programs designed to keep the public safe include two sections on court administration programs and criminal justice programs.
Abstract
Featured programs on court administration include a Homeless Calendar Project. In San Diego County, county courts had thousands of outstanding cases and warrants on defendants who were homeless and without means to take care of their legal problems. Consequently, the courts were overburdened with cases that could stay on file for at least 5 years. Court officials designed a court calendar specifically for homeless defendants. A project pertinent to court administration in Los Angeles County focused on the management of juries. A task force offered recommendations designed to increase the pool of qualified and willing jurors, improve the efficiency of the summoning process, enhance the physical facilities and amenities available to jurors, reduce the length of jury service, improve the treatment of jurors, raise juror compensation and expense reimbursement, and encourage employers to compensate employees while on jury duty. A court-administration program in Maricopa County, Ariz., is designed to help marginally indigent defendants contribute to the cost of their defense. Short summaries are provided for 18 other programs designed to enhance court administration. The section on criminal justice programs features 12 programs. They encompass a citizens' crime alert program on cable television; a program to establish a "cashless" jail environment; three programs to address domestic violence; and programs that address technical probation violations, youth at risk, environmental crimes, co-defendant prosecutions for juvenile/adult cases, auto theft, training for rental managers regarding the handling of drug problems in their facilities, and workers' compensation fraud. Short summaries are provided for 65 programs pertinent to criminal justice. The format for featured programs addresses background, response, and program cost.