Ledger-Dispatch

By Bethany A. Monk (bmonk@ledger-dispatch.com) =

The Amador County Grand Jury recently = released=20 its 2008 report, which included critical findings for the county = jail,=20 conservator's office and Mule Creek State Prison.

Photo by: Raheem = Hosseini

Sheriff's Bailiff Fred Walker scans = items at the=20 security check point at the Amador Superior Court, where, = according the=20 recently released 2007-08 Grand Jury Report, there is not enough = space to=20 accommodate the court's current and future needs.

Photo by: Bethany A.=20 Monk
The Amador Superior Court's built-in = security=20 systems wouldn't be able to stop someone from escaping or, possibly, = creating a=20 dangerous hostage situation at an area school, according to the county's = recently released grand jury report.

Right across the street from = the=20 courthouse, located in Jackson, sit both Jackson Preschool and Argonaut = High=20 School, which together house about 500 minors, posing the question: How = safe are=20 these and other students in the county?

The 2007-08 Amador County = Grand=20 Jury Report, released last month, includes studies and findings related = to=20 several issues, including the courthouse's location, its safety and = security=20 standards, as well as comprehensive reports and recommendations for = other county=20 entities like Health & Human Services, Planning & Environment, = Criminal=20 Justice Detention & Facilities and Education.

The potential = for=20 disaster at a local school is just one of the several findings in one of = the=20 many categories in the 38-page report.

The grand jury, directed = by the=20 state Constitution, is part of the judicial branch and acts as a "civil=20 watchdog" by researching and answering citizen complaints, according to = the=20 report. The jury is made up of 18 Amador residents and investigates city = and=20 county government and special districts to make sure county residents = are being=20 served adequately. Jury members review and evaluate procedures, methods = and=20 systems "to determine if more efficient and economical programs might be = employed." Following that research, the grand jury issues a final report = that=20 lays out its recommendations.

A recurring theme throughout three = of the=20 entities - the county courthouse, Mule Creek State Prison and the county = conservator's office - is that of space, or lack thereof, and the need = for=20 expanded facilities.

Amador Superior Court

After = research=20 and interviews with several people, including former county schools=20 Superintendent Mike Carey, local school administrators and several = members of=20 law enforcement, the grand jury issued a list of eight findings and four = recommendations regarding the courthouse.

The findings conclude = that the=20 Begovich Building is too small for the court's current and future needs = and=20 states that "It would be more advantageous to relocate the courthouse = closer to=20 the County Detention Facility and District Attorney's = Offices."

Amador=20 Superior Court Executive Officer Hugh Swift agrees. "We need a larger = facility,"=20 he told the Ledger Dispatch last week. "The court has obviously grown as = population has grown," added Swift, who began working at the court as a = research=20 attorney in 1999. In October 2004, he began his new role as executive=20 officer.

On June 25, 2007, the court moved from its location at = 108 Court=20 St. near downtown Jackson to its current location in the former Begovich = Building on Argonaut Lane. There were plans, Swift said, for the = courthouse to=20 be built at the site of where the hospital was on 810 Court St. "But the = county=20 board of supervisors voted otherwise," he said. Instead, the county = voted to=20 build the County Administration Building in that location.

"We're = expecting more population growth and more casinos. We're not expecting = prison=20 population (in the county) to decrease. We certainly agree that the = court needs=20 a larger facility," he said. The court doesn't technically have to = respond to=20 the report, but Swift said it plans to.

There are only three = courtrooms=20 in the courthouse, Swift explained, adding that it would be highly = conducive to=20 have another one. Only two of the rooms have seating available for a = jury.=20 Recently, a trial in process had to go into recess when the courtroom in = use was=20 needed for other business. "It can cause an inconvenience," Swift said. = "We=20 average about 30 jury trials a year, which is a fairly high number for a = two-judge court."

The county currently owns the courthouse = building on=20 Argonaut Lane, but within the next couple of months, it will transfer = ownership=20 to the state of California, Swift said.

The grand jury report = also=20 concludes that the courthouse's current location poses "a significant = risk" to=20 the nearly 500 children in the area - at both Argonaut High School and = Jackson=20 Preschool - and has significantly increased intruder incidents at both=20 schools.

"Incidents at the Courthouse are a catalyst for = lockdowns=20 occurring at the High School and other adjacent campuses, interrupting = the=20 learning process," the report states in its findings section. "Our = school's=20 environment should be a safe and secure place for learning, not one that = is=20 fraught with potential violence."

Moving the courthouse to "a = more=20 appropriately zoned location" farther from schools and a residential=20 neighborhood" would help reduce the chance for a potential catastrophic = event at=20 county schools,the report says.

Swift said he's never witnessed a = shooting incident the courthouse or at a local school since he's worked = at the=20 courthouse, but has been aware of other types of incidents in the=20 courtrooms.

Although the courthouse needs more space, the new = location is=20 better than the old location, Swift said. "The building is definitely an = improvement over what we had," Swift said. "It's more secure, more = comfortable.=20 It's a better working environment and is more accessible to the=20 public."

Mule Creek State Prison

Space is also an = issue for=20 Mule Creek State Prison. Located in the city of Ione, the prison is a = "sensitive=20 needs" facility, meaning many of its inmates are post-gang involved and = unable=20 to live among the general prison population, the report = states.

About 500=20 inmates are enhanced outpatient inmates, meaning they are dealing with = more=20 mental health issues than other inmates. The facility was designed for = 1,700=20 inmates when it opened in 1987 and now houses more than = 3,600.

Members of=20 the grand jury reviewed and toured the prison on Jan. 11. They also = conducted=20 interviews with the prison's warden, public information officer and the = budget=20 analyst.

Overcrowding is and has been a problem for the prison - = its=20 gymnasiums have been converted to inmate housing with dormitory-like = units "with=20 no privacy for inmates and limited security for staff and inmates." The = medical=20 wing, mostly the pharmacy area, is overcrowded as well; however, plans = are in=20 the works to help eradicate this area.

Conservator's=20 Office

Employees in this office are "overextended" and are = working in=20 a tight working environment, according to the grand jury.

The = Amador=20 County Public Conservator/Guardian's job is to protect and manage = people's=20 assets for groups including senior citizens, children or disabled adults = who may=20 not be able to take care of themselves or have no family. The office = provides=20 services for both voluntary and court-ordered clients under directions = of the=20 district attorney's office and Amador County Superior Court=20 supervision.

After extensive research - including interviews = with=20 the district attorney, chief deputy public administrator, DA = investigators and=20 others - jury members found that the staff is stretched thin and lacks = adequate=20 work space, causing some staff to "share very small offices." The = elderly=20 population in the county is increasing and, with limited staff, office = personnel=20 are overextended.

Calls to the office were not returned before=20 deadline.

For more information regarding the grand jury report, = call=20 223-2574 or visit = www.amadorcourt.org/grandjury/2007-2008-FinalReport.pdf to=20 access the complete report.

Bethany A. = Monk