Web cams put justice on fast track

Newsboy photo/Sharon Kerr MAGISTRATION BY WEB CAM, Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Freddie Miller can arraign a person who has been arrested from anywhere he can find an internet connection.

Justice in Jasper just went high tech when Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Freddie Miller used the internet for video arraignment of a suspect in county jail Monday, Aug. 20.

"This enables me to do a video arraignment from anywhere I have internet access," Miller said. "I can work from my office, my home, and be immediately available without having to drive to the jail."

Miller said Hardin County JP Kent Walker in Hardin County grabbed the national news' attention when he first set up such a system several years ago. The Texas Supreme Court looked into it and agreed it was the equivalent of closedcircuit television allowed by law.

Attorneys like it because the arraignment is recorded. Felony arraignments must be stored for 120 days, misdemeanors for 90.

Other than the internet connection, the arraignment proceeds just like any other. Law enforcement faxes the judge an affidavit for probable cause for the arrest, and after the judge reviews it, the defendant meets the judge face-to-face- by webcam.

The judge reads the charges, reads the defendant their rights, and sets bond.

The system costs about $600, but will quickly pay for itself. It saves the county paying mileage, which in the case of south county JPs can add up quickly.

And it saves in terms of getting defendants arraigned and out on bond without a having to spend a night in jail at the county's expense.

Miller hopes that all six justices of the peace will eventually adopt this system of magistration.