UM Law Professor Anthony V. Alfieri was quoted in the following Miami Herald article about a proposal to change Broward County’s pretrial release program. Professor Alfieri directs the Law School's Center for Ethics & Public Service.


THE MIAMI HERALD
January 27, 2009

Broward considers changing pretrial release program
A proposal that would alter Broward's pretrial release and benefit the county's bail bond companies will be debated at a public hearing Tuesday.

By Dan Christensen and Todd Wright


Lobbyist Ron Book's satisfied clients on the Broward Commission had just voted unanimously to renew his $50,000 contract to lobby for the county in Tallahassee in 2009.

An hour later, in a meeting room down the hall, the lobbyist began lobbying his clients, the commission.

Book's other client at County Hall that October day was the Broward County Bail Bonds Association, which strongly supports a proposed new law that would alter the county's pretrial release program and financially benefit the companies. The Broward Sheriff's Office, which administers the program, does not support the change. Nor does the Public Defender's Office, which represents many defendants involved, or the State Attorney's Office.

After a year of lobbying, Book can't name anyone else -- beyond his clients and some members of the county commission -- who truly support the ordinance.

''Who wants this ordinance? I don't think it's any secret that others think there's no reason to have an ordinance,'' Book said in an interview.

Yet the program shift appears to carry solid political support, with only Commissioner Kristin Jacobs publicly expressing doubts, and Book striking a ''compromise'' he believes will pass.

The proposal, up for public hearing at 2 p.m. Tuesday, would restrict inmate access to the release program, and force the nonindigent who use it to post a bond. In short, the ordinance would narrow the number of defendants who can get out, benefiting some three dozen Broward bonds businesses by mandating more defendants post bond.

Pretrial detention is the county's most costly program -- devouring 25 percent of every tax dollar levied, county records say. The system now in place is meant to curb those costs by allowing some defendants to be free pending trial. BSO's pretrial program screens inmates and recommends those deemed to be lower risk for release under certain conditions, like drug testing or electronic monitoring.

The new ordinance, among other changes, would restrict defendants charged with dangerous crimes, as defined by state law, and the nonindigent from entering the program without posting a bond. No offenders could use the program more than once a year, and new limits would be placed on anyone who gets kicked out of the program or fails to appear in court.

JUDGES RULE

Judges would retain authority to order any offender into the program.

How many inmates would be excluded should the ordinance pass is unclear, but BSO estimated an earlier version would have cut 800. The pretrial program receives about 8 percent of all inmates who are released.

Book has lobbied Broward's nine commissioners relentlessly. His chief argument: dangerous criminals should not get ''free passes out of jail.'' He also said Broward's program is far costlier than Miami-Dade's.

Yet others say the change is not needed.

''There is no need for this ordinance,'' said BSO's '' said BSO pretrial services division chief Kristina Gulick, who negotiated a ''compromise'' ordinance with Book for fear commissioners would pass the original, more restrictive version. ``This is a business issue. The bond industry is scared because they think the program hurts their business.''

Howard Finkelstein, the Broward public defender, said: ``I believe this ordinance is unnecessary, politically motivated and unconstitutional.''

The pretrial release program costs $7.60 a day per inmate, and the yearly cost to taxpayers is $6 million. County officials say that's a bargain because 2,200 people who would otherwise be in jail are not -- delaying the need for a sixth county lockup that would cost $60 million to build, and $30 million a year to operate.

''If the ordinance is adopted, fewer offenders may be ordered into the program, thereby increasing the jail population, which costs approximately $90 a day,'' says a county analysis.

In 2006, the population at the five county jails routinely climbed over capacity, sometimes with as many as 300 people without a bed.

BED CAPACITY

Last January, commissioners approved a $2.7 million expansion of the pretrial program. That, and other changes to the system, now have the jail population hovering around 90 percent of its 5,620 bed capacity.

County staff said the bond industry feared the expansion would cut into its business.

John Paul Donovan, 24, is typical of those who have used the program. The part-time Publix employee was in court recently on an initial appearance following a DUI arrest.

Donovan, faced with a $1,000 bond, told the judge he didn't have the money.

''I am going to assign him to pretrial release,'' said Judge John Hurley after peppering Donovan with questions about his background. ``Good luck to you, sir.''

He was one of a handful of inmates let out that day under the program that provides judges with an alternative way to get low-risk inmates out of the system.

Commissioner John Rodstrom is among those indicating support for the new law. He said the county might actually want to scrap the pretrial program, allow jail overcrowding and pay any fines a federal judge might impose for violating a court-imposed population cap.

Book tried to get a similar ordinance passed in Miami-Dade, but did not succeed.

He is a frequent contributor to Broward commission campaigns, with recent donations totaling $13,000 from him, his companies and family to Mayor Stacy Ritter, Commissioners Ilene Lieberman, Rodstrom, Lois Wexler, Josephus Eggelletion and Sue Gunzberger. Gunzberger listed the Aventura lobbyist as a member of the host committee for her campaign kickoff fundraiser Dec. 3.

''I don't think who I support and who I don't support has anything to do with this issue,'' Book said.

Besides the bondsmen and the county itself, Book is registered to lobby the commission on behalf of 17 other private clients. He is allowed to do so because Broward's lobbying rules recognize the potential for conflict-of-interest in such dual representation -- but only when the Legislature is in session.

Thus, it's legal for Book to lobby his clients on the commission when the Legislature is not in session.

''The simultaneous representation of private and public interests runs a high risk of suggesting to the public that the ultimate decision will not benefit the public,'' said Anthony Alfieri, the director of the University of Miami law school's Center for Ethics and Public Service.

posted 30-January-2009