I am a judicial officer and I have concerns with regard to placing individuals in jail because they are unable to pay fines, and things of that nature in criminal cases. I am also concerned about keeping a person in jail when there are delays with constables bringing people to the courthouse. Are there any ethical issues?
Samuel C. Stretton.
There clearly are ethical issues. In today’s world, too many people are in jail because they don’t have monies to post bail or pay fines. That is not acceptable. If a person is in jail for a day or two because of problems in getting a prisoner transported to the judicial courtroom, that is no longer acceptable. This writer represented a district judge who ended up with a letter of counsel (which is like a reprimand) because of an individual who was picked up on the judge’s summary warrant, and also picked up on a Common Pleas Court domestic warrant. The judge did not bring the person over in a timely fashion after the domestic warrants were lifted. That person stayed in jail for several additional days. The judicial conduct board was concerned about that situation and did not want it to occur again in the future.
