Published: December 27, 2008 10:30 pm      

Compromise reached over video arraignment access

SOMERSET — Borough police have reached a compromise over public access to video arraignments in the newly renovated Public Safety Building.

Safety concerns for the public and officers have prompted police Chief Randy Cox to deny outsider access to the cramped room available to departments countywide for video arraignments and computerized booking of suspects.

Instead, Cox said a video feed showing both the on-call judge and suspect will be available in the station’s main lobby starting in early January.

“If I had a larger room where I could establish a gallery, I wouldn’t have a problem,” Cox said.

“It’s all based on the size of the room. There’s simply not enough room to have visitors.

“As you know, this is an arrest that’s still in progress. There are accused criminals in there.

“Some of them represent varying degrees of danger.

“It would be irresponsible to inject citizens into that atmosphere, or to jeopardize the safety of the officers.”

It is a compromise that should be emulated in other communities across the state, where access to video arraignments has become a significant issue, an attorney for the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association said.

“I would hope similar logic prevails across the state,” said Melissa Melewsky, media law counsel for the newspaper association.

“There’s been problems, but there’s been no one solution.”

Though the video court proceedings are open to the public, reporters, family members or others rarely attend the arraignments. High-profile cases are the exception.

Before the county began using video arraignments earlier this year, officers would have to drive to the on-call district judge’s office.

In some cases, that involved driving from Windber or Conemaugh Township to Confluence or Meyersdale in the south, an hour-long excursion that took officers off patrols.

With video technology, the arraignments now are done through a connection between the police stations and judge’s homes or offices.

Melewsky said one option can be ruled out immediately: Going to a judge’s house at 2 or 3 in the morning.

“That’s just not reasonable,” she said.

But she said problems have arisen on the other end, where police stations and prisons across Pennsylvania are barring reporters and the public from witnessing the arraignments.

District Judge Susan Mankamyer of Boswell said the five magistrates in the county agree that the proceedings are open to the public.

She said reporters denied access by police can call 911 and have the judges hold the arraignments in their offices.

Somerset Borough, she added, would not be allowed to continue denying access.

“If Somerset wants to drive to Windber or Confluence or Boswell to do an arraignment, they’ll keep with that policy,” she said before Cox revealed he will have the video feed installed in the lobby.