NORWICH - The arraignment process for individuals picked up by police in Chenango County may be overhauled in the coming months as legal officials pursue a streamlined central arraignment program.

Chenango is one of the few counties in New York’s Sixth Judicial Court District without a centralized arraignment program (CAP) which sets specific times, often in 12 hour intervals, for arraignments. Advocates reason that having a CAP would create a more organized, more predictable arraignment process throughout the county.

“We’re working now on putting a plan together and figuring out where the kinks may be,” said Chenango County Public Defender Zachary Wentworth.

As it works now, a typical arraignment process in Chenango County starts with a court’s phone call to the public defender's office. An attorney is sent to that court, wherever it may be in the county, during whatever time the call is made. In some cases, this means an attorney might drive across the county for an arraignment during early morning hours, then drive to another court for an arraignment a few hours later. And in some cases, it may mean an attorney isn’t available at all.

The current arraignment process has also shown challenges for arresting officers who must stay with an arrested individual until arraignment. If a judge isn’t available, then the process takes longer, consequently keeping that officer from patrol duties.

Chenango County Public Defender Zachary Wentworth has held meetings with the sixth judicial district and other stakeholders for months in the effort to establish a local CAP program. If successful, he says it would provide more flexibility to the current system because attorneys would know when and where an arraignment takes place.

“The idea is that if police pick someone up on an offense that needs an arraignment instead of being given an appearance ticket, they would be arrested, processed and taken to a centralized booking area,” he explained. “In most other counties, that booking area is the correctional facility.”

He added that a CAP would also give more flexibility for judges. “Courts would know they have coverage from a judge because they would have a schedule,” he said. “It would probably get more judges involved, too, if they know they don't have to be tied down all day but instead have set times where they would be there.”

In spite of the perks, a proposed CAP in Chenango County beckons unanswered questions. If the county correctional facility becomes the central arraignment location, then physical modifications would be needed to satisfy judicial space requirements - something local officials still aren’t certain would be covered by funds through the unified court system. Add to that the issue of staffing and the uncertainty of having to hire additional corrections officers to watch individuals who are waiting for an arraignment.

Concerns were brought before the county’s Safety and Rules Committee earlier this week. 

“There are some things to work out,” said County Board Chairman George Seneck, noting the financial impact that changes could have on the county budget. “It’s going to be tough. Our jail, the physical facility, was not set up to easily accommodate this.”

Seneck and Wentworth both said they aim to have a draft CAP proposal in the coming weeks. Their next step would be seeking available funds from the court system to make any needed modifications at the correctional facility.

Nevertheless, the plan is getting county support.

“We can't have our patrol tied up babysitting people, which has happened, while they wait for an arraignment,” said Seneck.