lin88jon
04-14-2003, 06:07 PM
Announcement
March 13, 2002
"Trips" to Court May Be a Short Haul for TDCJ Inmates
Huntsville - When Texas prison inmates are "hauled" back into court in the future, they may not be "hauled" any further than down the hall from their cell to the prison unit conference room.
The days of inmate trips-across-Texas to the courthouse may be gone, prison officials hope as they expand a new system to link prison units with state district courts though televideo technology. Cutting out inmate travel to courthouses will greatly reduce security risks and save significant costs on inmate transportation and escort officer time, officials with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice say.
TDCJ pioneered teleconference links with federal courts in 1997 with solid success. "This can be a tremendous benefit in both safety and money, " says prison operations director Ed Owens about two new state laws authorizing court-to-prison teleconferencing and in-court prison court sessions.
Inmates are frequently summoned by courts for a variety of reasons, including arraignments, depositions, pre-trial motions and as witnesses.
The numbers are large. Last year the prison system transported more than 2,000 inmates to court, drove almost 70,000 miles getting them there and use more than 12,000 man-hours of correctional officer time as escorts.
Owens said the diversion of manpower from units already short on correctional officers "simply reflects our abundance of caution for the potential risks involved in taking inmates outside the walls and into civilian settings."
The televideo system, authorized by the Legislature last year, has been installed in 10 prison units widely dispersed across Texas. These units can be linked to virtually any courthouse in the state.
TDCJ officials are also enthusiastic about the use of another new law passed by the Legislature to permit courts to hold hearings inside the prison units, a move officials hope will be especially effective for crimes committed inside prison by inmates, such as inmate assaults, where all participants in the case are already at the prison unit.
The teleconference system has already proven effective. Several Harris County district courts last year successfully used teleconferencing with Houston-area prisons.
TDCJ's first teleconferencing with federal courts in 1997 was coupled with a new law cracking down on frivolous lawsuits filed by inmates. Inmate law suits dropped by more than half since then.
TDCJ is assisting local courts in setting up televideo systems.
March 13, 2002
"Trips" to Court May Be a Short Haul for TDCJ Inmates
Huntsville - When Texas prison inmates are "hauled" back into court in the future, they may not be "hauled" any further than down the hall from their cell to the prison unit conference room.
The days of inmate trips-across-Texas to the courthouse may be gone, prison officials hope as they expand a new system to link prison units with state district courts though televideo technology. Cutting out inmate travel to courthouses will greatly reduce security risks and save significant costs on inmate transportation and escort officer time, officials with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice say.
TDCJ pioneered teleconference links with federal courts in 1997 with solid success. "This can be a tremendous benefit in both safety and money, " says prison operations director Ed Owens about two new state laws authorizing court-to-prison teleconferencing and in-court prison court sessions.
Inmates are frequently summoned by courts for a variety of reasons, including arraignments, depositions, pre-trial motions and as witnesses.
The numbers are large. Last year the prison system transported more than 2,000 inmates to court, drove almost 70,000 miles getting them there and use more than 12,000 man-hours of correctional officer time as escorts.
Owens said the diversion of manpower from units already short on correctional officers "simply reflects our abundance of caution for the potential risks involved in taking inmates outside the walls and into civilian settings."
The televideo system, authorized by the Legislature last year, has been installed in 10 prison units widely dispersed across Texas. These units can be linked to virtually any courthouse in the state.
TDCJ officials are also enthusiastic about the use of another new law passed by the Legislature to permit courts to hold hearings inside the prison units, a move officials hope will be especially effective for crimes committed inside prison by inmates, such as inmate assaults, where all participants in the case are already at the prison unit.
The teleconference system has already proven effective. Several Harris County district courts last year successfully used teleconferencing with Houston-area prisons.
TDCJ's first teleconferencing with federal courts in 1997 was coupled with a new law cracking down on frivolous lawsuits filed by inmates. Inmate law suits dropped by more than half since then.
TDCJ is assisting local courts in setting up televideo systems.