Published: June 23, 2008 11:26 pm         

Court hearings turning high tech

Court officials say a new video conference system that allows inmates in the county jail to appear in court via video will save money and increase safety.

The $27,000 video system was installed in the east courtroom of Gar-field County Court House by Pioneer Telephone Coop-erative. It uses several cameras in the courtroom and one at Garfield County Detention Facility, along with a system of microphones, to allow judges to conduct hearings with inmates at the jail.

“The sheriff was interested and we were interested,” said District Judge Ronald Franklin of the video system. “We’d looked at this some time ago.”

Franklin said now retired District Judge John Michael had looked into getting a system installed at the courthouse, but at the time quality of the technology was not sufficient.

District Judge Dennis Hladik said he recently went to the Pawhuska Court House to see its video system. He said in January, he was at KNID Agrifest in Enid and Pioneer had a demonstration booth showing the video conference system.

“Judge Hladik became the catalyst that made it work,” Franklin said.

The three cameras in the courtroom show inmates at the jail simultaneous video of the judge, prosecution and defense counsel. A 32-inch monitor at the jail displays those images to inmates at the jail. Another camera, which can be controlled from the bench, shows the presiding judge an image from the jail.

The video and sound is transferred via an Internet-based “wireless bridge” that connects the courtroom with the detention facility and Enid Police Department.

Special District Judge Paul Woodward said he uses the video system for initial appearances for those charged with domestic abuse and also for his initial arraignment docket.

“It work pretty well,” Woodward said.

The system will save the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office money by not having to transport inmates to and from the jail, which is about a mile from the courthouse. By reducing the number of times an inmate is taken from the jail, the opportunity for contraband being smuggled in between trips also will be reduced.

“It saves trips plus it’s a safety factor,” said Sheriff Bill Winchester. “It will cut back on the contraband.

“I think it’s just a really good deal. There’s a lot of pluses to it.”

Hladik said he noticed another added benefit to the system.

“I had my criminal docket in here last month,” he said. “The thing I noticed is everyone seemed more calm.”

The funds for the system were requested from the administrative office of the courts, which oversees district courts across the state.

Judges made the request for funds March 7 and received a letter notifying them of the receipt of the funds March 21. On June 6, the first video arraignment was conducted using the new system.

Garfield County is considered a “surplus county,” Hladik said. The county courts produce more revenues than what is required to operate the courts and the judges requested the money for the system come from those funds.

Franklin, Hladik, Woodward, Associate District Judge Tom Newby, Special Dis-trict Judge Norman Grey and Court Clerk Margaret Jones each wrote letters to the chief justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court seeking the funds for the system.

The total cost of the system was $27,434, with $3,000 for installation and the rest of the money for equipment.

Jones said she was pleased with the judges’ forward thinking in obtaining the system for the courthouse.

“It is a privilege to have the opportunity to work with judges who have knowledge and vision to modernize our procedures saving time, effort while enhancing security for the citizens of Garfield County,” Jones said.