An Open Letter to Hamilton County Commissioners:
I read Commissioner Graham's proposal that the county change from four full-time magistrates to one chief magistrate and part-time attorneys paid by the hour. Since Commissioner Boyd stated he "kind of likes it" and is bringing it to his committee, I wanted to share my thoughts on this with all of you.
Let me tell you a little about my job and professional dealings with the system, in order that you'll better understand my opinion. I don't believe I have ever written to you before; that should tell you how important I think this is. While my opinion is based on my job experience, I stress that I am speaking as a citizen, not as a representative of my employer. These opinions are personal and do not necessarily represent those of my employer or co-workers.
I work at the 9-1-1 Center. My job title is terminal agency coordinator; I am the person responsible for ensuring compliance with all aspects of Criminal Justice Information Systems data. It covers a lot of territory, and I won’t bore you with all of it. One responsibility, however, is supervising the people who make entries into the National Crime Information Center, also known as NCIC. While every file and every entry is important, one of the most important is the Protection Order file—this file documents restrictions on anyone who has been accused of hurting any family member, including child abuse. The majority of victims are women and children. Every bond has “Conditions of Release”; in a domestic violence case, those conditions are considered a Temporary Order of Protection. The Sheriff’s Records Division enters them into NCIC during business hours; the rest of time, they are entered by 9-1-1 Center personnel, because they are considered time-sensitive. When my staff is prioritizing their routine NCIC work, an Order of Protection entry comes second only to a missing child. (There are a couple of situations that could move it down the list a notch, but those are thankfully few and far between.)
Next month, I will celebrate my 21st anniversary working in police communications. Most people outside the law enforcement and criminal justice community have no idea how prevalent domestic violence is, across all socio-economic lines, and how quickly it can turn deadly. The majority of my first 12 years on the job was spent as a 9-1-1 dispatcher on midnight shift; I’ve handled my fair share of domestic violence calls, including several that ended with homicides. I could tell you multiple horror stories of “nice” people from “nice” families with shocking domestic violence episodes. Setting the bonds, and attaching the right conditions of release to them, is critical.
I work directly with the work product of the magistrates, and I have to say that it is my opinion that this is a terrible idea. It is, as the old saying goes, "Penny wise and pound foolish". In fact, it closely resembles the system Hamilton County used to have. The previous system was changed in 2007 specifically because there were too many problems caused by part-time magistrates. And it wasn't very long ago that the magistrates stopped being allowed private civil practice, because they are considered judges.
It is hard to shift to being a magistrate after being a defense attorney, and it is even harder to make that shift from a predominately civil practice. I have seen many new magistrates, all of them good attorneys, struggle with the learning curve. The workload there is tremendous, and the cost of mistakes can be human lives. It’s easy for a person who doesn’t work directly with them to think that “it’s just setting bonds and signing warrants—any licensed attorney can do that, and if they make a mistake, a General Sessions judge can quickly fix it.” These magistrates are on duty 24/7/365. If they make a mistake on a holiday weekend Friday night, it may be Tuesday before a General Session Court judge can fix it. That bond mistake just gave a person who shouldn’t be out on the streets a huge head start. A man who’s still angry at being arrested for assaulting his wife could kill her if released too soon. That warrant mistake could incur significant liability for the county. In today's litigious society, one warrant mistake could cost the county more than the annual magistrate budget.
Commissioner Graham also stated that, pay-wise, “the magistrates are on a level with magistrates in Juvenile Court, who have 10-times more responsibility”. I would respectfully disagree with the latter portion of this statement. The magistrates in Juvenile Court work business hours only, which means there are always other judges available for consultation. Additionally, Juvenile Court magistrates don't have set terms and have to reapply annually for their jobs. They are hired as regular employees by the Juvenile Court judge. They have some measure of job security. They are off nights, weekends, and holidays. They work in a real courtroom, not a glorified broom closet, never facing angry and intoxicated arrestees who spit and curse at them. They earn annual leave (17 days) and receive paid holidays; magistrates get 10 days leave per contract. Any unused leave is forfeited at the end of the contract, even if they renew. Very few attorneys are willing to work nights, weekends, and holidays; it is my opinion that the magistrates should be compensated for that alternative schedule. Juvenile Court magistrates also have time to deliberate and research the law before delivering a verdict, while Sessions Court magistrates have to make snap decisions and keep things moving. Those snap decisions involve taking people’s immediate freedom, which must be balanced with the level of risk they present to victim or public safety. Magistrates are also the first contact for police officers needing advice. They have to be able to quickly give a correct answer about what charge is or is not appropriate, given a set of circumstances. A wrong answer could lead to (among other things) a false arrest lawsuit.
Today's Chattanoogan.com "Hamilton County Jail Daily Booking Report" shows 58 people arrested on 87 charges over approximately a 24-hour period. That means each magistrate, on average, dealt with 20 defendants in an 8-hour shift, in addition to signing warrants and handling associated paperwork. Three of those defendants were charged with domestic-violence offenses. Twenty-three were arrested on either outstanding warrants or probation violations; it is impossible to know how many of those involved domestic violence as well. The HCSO website shows that 59 were booked yesterday and 74 people have already been booked today. Every one of those is a potential mistake and a potential lawsuit.
I am absolutely not trying to influence the selection process in any way, but I will say—in the context of the steep learning curve I mentioned—that I looked up each of the new applicants for the magistrate position. I’m sure all are fine attorneys, but it is worth noting that two have practices that are civil and narrowly focused: one on divorce and the other on liability and worker’s compensation. A third has spent 17 of the past 19 years as a corporate attorney, predominantly supervising personal injury and human resources staff attorneys. One is in general practice; three are primarily criminal defense attorneys, including one from the Public Defender’s office.
Personally, I think the one-year terms are too short. I would propose keeping the four full-time magistrates, but extend their terms to at least two years—still staggered. (In fact, just two weeks ago, Commissioner Boyd's committee recommended the same thing!) I strongly urge all of you to seek a variety of opinions before acting on Commissioner Graham's proposal. Speak to the experts: General Pinkston, the local judiciary, Sheriff Hammond, Chief Roddy, Shawn Johnson, Criminal Court Clerk Vince Dean and his Chief of Staff, Brad Tucker. Mr. Tucker, a licensed attorney, formerly worked in police communications, so he has experience in all three areas that this covers. I would also encourage scheduling a visit to the magistrate office, after business hours, and see for yourself what a “typical” shift is like. I bet you’ll be surprised at what you see.
Last but by no means least, Commissioner Graham's math--to put it bluntly--doesn't add up. The article stated, "County Commissioner Joe Graham is proposing that the county hire only one fully-paid chief magistrate and use attorneys who serve by the hour for the rest of the schedule.
He said the county could save over $400,000 with that method.
Commissioner Graham said, when the pay increase is fully phased in, the four magistrates will get $92,000 each. With benefits, that will be $128,800. He said that brings a program cost of over $515,000. He said another spending item is some $12,000 in extra pay for the chief magistrate."
Here's the math: $128,800 (salary + benefits cost) x 4 magistrates = $515,200 + $12,000 for chief magistrate brings it to $527,200. Assuming the chief magistrate still makes the same ($140,800 in salary and benefits), subtracting that from $527,200 only leaves $386,400. Even if the hourly magistrates worked for free, which I doubt, that "proposed savings" isn't possible without cutting the chief magistrate's pay by almost $14,000. Ninety-two thousand dollars a year for the magistrates comes to just over $44 per hour. I find it hard to believe that anyone with a law degree would work nights, weekends and holidays for less than that, even as a second job. Which means that all we'll really save is the cost of benefits for three magistrates, a whopping $110,400. With the experience and continuity that we'd lose, I don't think it's worth it. I remember how the system was before; once, a man arrested on a minor traffic violation at 8 a.m. sat in the jail until 6 p.m., because there was no one to set his bond. That means the jail had to feed him two meals, and it increased the jail population for the time he was there. How many meals would it take to "eat up" that alleged savings? How is going from professional magistrates to amateurs a step up?
Commissioner Graham, I am your constituent, and I want to make my position clear: These magistrates earn every penny they are paid, and then some. I am strongly opposed to your proposal. This system was badly broken, it was fixed, and now you're trying to break it again. If you really want to change the program, there are ways to change it for the better. Put the magistrate program under the authority of someone who actually knows what the job entails and whether or not an attorney is capable of doing it. Let that person (or persons) be the one who interviews and selects the magistrates. Make the magistrates full-time county employees, rather than contract employees, and do away with the annual interview process--which is a waste of time and money. If they mess up, they can be fired and replaced. Doesn't that make more sense?
Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have, and I’m happy to answer them in any way I can.
Kim Kinsey
Red Bank