Cuyahoga County inmates could be freed if not indicted within 30 days
Cleveland Plain Dealer
3/24/2008
Police departments and prosecutors in Cuyahoga County must complete their investigations in a more timely fashion, according to a new rule.
A new rule adopted by judges in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court will release any county inmate bound over to a grand jury but not indicted within 30 days.
That means that absent some fundamental change in the way police and prosecutors do business, dozens of inmates on any given day could be turned loose as a result of the criminal justice system’s inefficiency.
The rule, which takes effect April 14, is modeled after one used in Montgomery County for more than 20 years. It is a paradoxical approach to court reform intended to spur local police departments and prosecutors to complete investigations more quickly – or be forced to track down the defendant all over again.
Judge Janet Burnside, chairwoman of the court’s criminal rules committee, said the court set a 30-day deadline more than 15 years ago. But without penalty, it remained largely unenforceable – until now.
“It’s a hammer; it’s a sanction on the rest of this law enforcement system that we’re releasing these people without bond if they’re not indicted,” Burnside said. “Could they be indicted the very next day? Sure. But you’re going to have to issue an arrest warrant and bring them back in, because they won’t be sitting around, languishing in County Jail.”