With a crucial vote on renovations to the Merrimack County Jail approaching, officials appear to have reached a compromise on the design of visiting areas. Defense lawyers had complained the original floor plan would make it harder for them to represent their clients. NHPR?s Trish Anderton reports.
AS A PUBLIC DEFENDER IN CONCORD, DONNA BROWN SPENDS A LOT OF TIME MEETING WITH CLIENTS AWAITING TRIAL IN THE MERRIMACK COUNTY JAIL. CURRENTLY THOSE MEETINGS HAPPEN IN A SMALL ROOM WITH A TABLE WHERE BROWN AND AN INMATE CAN SITAND REVIEW THE CASE FILE TOGETHER. UNDER THE PROPOSED NEW FLOOR PLAN, BROWN WOULD HAVE HAD TO TALK WITH INMATES THROUGH A PLEXIGLASS BARRIER IN A SMALL BOOTH. IT MAY SEEM LIKE A SMALL DIFFERENCE, BUT BROWN SAYS WHEN PAPERWORK IS INVOLVED, IT?S A CRUCIAL ONE.
001 134. Sometimes we have stacks of discovery that are hundreds of pages and to sit with someone sliding it thru a slot one piece of paper at a time, not being able to go through it page by page and explain it, would be very difficult.
MIKE IACOPINO OF THE NEW HAMPSHIRE ASSOCIATION OF CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS AGREES. IACOPINO SAYS MANY OF HIS CLIENTS ARE POORLY EDUCATED. THEY NEED HELP READING AND UNDERSTANDING THE EVIDENCE IN THEIR CASES. EVEN MORE IMPORTANT, HE SAYS, THEY NEED TO DEVELOP A SENSE OF CONNECTION WITH THEIR LAWYER ? A SENSE OF TRUST.
12 110 If you?re on other side of glasss, you?re just another person on other side of glass. Its difficult to build a bond of trust, especially if you?ve been appointed to the case, and not just be some government lawyer.
THOSE ARGUMENTS APPEAR TO HAVE HIT HOME WITH COUNTY OFFICIALS. THEY?VE SPOKEN WITH THEIR CONSULTANTS ABOUT ADDING WORKSPACE FOR LAWYERS TO MEET WITH CLIENTS. SPEAKING ON THE PHONE EARLIER TODAY, DONNA BROWN SAID SHE?S SEEN A DESCRIPTION OF TWO POSSIBLE KINDS OF VISITING AREAS, AND SHE?S PLEASED.
25 32 they look similar to what some of the other jails have in terms of either having a designated central area or within each unit of the jail a visiting area and I think that would work.
COUNTY OFFICIALS ARE ALSO PLEASED. CAROLE ANDERSON IS THE SUPERINTENDENT OF THE MERRIMACK COUNTY JAIL. SHE SAYS THE RENOVATION IS TOO IMPORTANT TO GET HUNG UP OVER VISITING AREAS.
22 120 I don?t want it to get sidetracked. It?s a design thing and we can fix it
ANDERSON SAYS THE 1983 BUILDING IS OVERCROWDED. SHE WORRIES CONDITIONS INSIDE ARE SO POOR, THE COUNTY COULD BE VULNERABLE TO A LAWSUIT.
26 107 it was built for 72 people and weve housed as many as 202. // its time we stepped up, gave the prisoners more room, the staff more room, and enabled ourselves to run more programs and operate the jail more efficiently.
COUNTY OFFICIALS SAY IT?S UNCLEAR HOW THE CHANGES WILL AFFECT THE COST OF RENOVATING AND RUNNING THE JAIL. THE COUNTY DELEGATION WILL HOLD A PUBLIC HEARING ON THE PLAN THURSDAY. THEY?LL VOTE ON THE 27-MILLION DOLLAR BOND ISSUE THE SAME DAY. FOR NHPR NEWS I?M
