On a day in which a portion of the meeting was dedicated to hearing about the state of the judicial system, Halifax County commissioners heard comments beyond the judges and the district attorney Monday.

Public defender

District 7 Chief Public Defender Tonza D. Ruffin told the board, “Our work is essential to upholding the constitutional right to counsel and promoting fairness in the justice system.”

She said in many parts of the state, particularly in rural areas, “There are simply not enough attorneys available to take on these critical cases. These areas are often referred to as legal deserts because of the severe shortage of acceptable legal services.”

District 7 is considered one of those deserts.

“Our mission in the District 7 Public Defender's Office is simple — to deliver client-centered zealous advocacy with compassion.”

What that means, she said, “Is approaching each case with empathy … and providing a strong, dedicated defense. We take time to understand our clients’ story, circumstances, their needs and we work tirelessly to protect their rights and ensure their voices are heard.”

Ruffin said the office embraces a collaborative approach that looks beyond the court system. “We understand that many of clients face challenges that contribute to their involvement in the criminal justice system. That’s why we work to connect them with local resources such as mental healthcare, substance abuse treatment, housing support and employment services that can help to address some of those underlying issues.”

By partnering with community providers and focusing on long-term stability, Ruffin said, “We aim to not only defend cases but to reduce recidivism and support meaningful lasting change in our clients’ lives and in the communities.”

The office has 10 of its 12 attorney positions filled and “we’re supported by a strong team that includes three legal assistants, one administrative assistant, an investigator, and a mitigation specialist-social worker. It’s a dedicated group of professionals who bring different strengths to the table and together we’re working hard to build a solid foundation for the office — one that values teamwork, service and integrity.”

Ruffin said that in addition to representing people, “We hope to play a role in restoring trust to the justice system and giving our community the fair and effective representation it deserves.”

Sheriff comments

Halifax County Sheriff Tyree Davis, speaking after Chief District Court Judge Teresa Robinson Freeman’s presentation on eCourts, told the board, “We have had meetings on top of meetings trying to get this train on track.”

One of the problems that is being addressed is the people who have been sitting in jail longer than they would be if they had been found guilty. 

The first time it came to his attention was when he was walking through the jail and an inmate told him they had been charged with second-degree trespassing and had been in jail since October when they were admitted eight months prior. 

Davis checked the charges and found the inmate was truthful. “They should not, based on how long they would have got if they were found guilty, still be in our jail. They had not gone through the court process yet.”

From there Davis reached out to the DA’s office and got the case in front of an assistant DA even though their court date was a month away. “We were able to work with that person and get them out of our jail.”

Jail Administrator Matt Brown was assigned to go around to all of the inmates and ask them who wants to go to court and plead guilty to their charges or who has been incarcerated for an extended amount of time — more time than what they would have received for their charges.

“We met with the DA’s office and the DA assigned an ADA to address those charges and we were able to filter those people in and out.”

Brown emails all the attorneys every day with the name of inmates so they can come and speak to them. “We opened up a system where attorneys can have 24-7 access to their clients that are in our jail.”

The jail now has tablets for the inmates where they can take anger management classes, parenting classes, GED classes and even play games. “One thing we reached out to this company for was every Sunday each inmate gets 15 minutes of free time to make calls with these tablets. The problem was they were asking our jail staff to go and call their attorney and the jail staff would have to stop what they were doing to go and call an attorney. When you have 150 inmates as soon as one asks to call their attorney the other one asks you to go call their attorney.

“We’re working with our court system, our DAs and the clerks. They’re like family — they’re aggravating sometimes — but the system is working or going in the right direction. We’re working out the kinks.”

Jail administrator

Brown told the board, “The thing that sticks out to me is when we started this jail court in November we had double (the 85-inmate capacity). At the end of November, 22 of those inmates had been released.”

The jail court program, Brown said, has opened up a line of communication between the inmates and attorneys. “It has improved so much over the last four or five months that it has relieved a lot of tension, a lot of stress. I don’t think we’ve had a stronger relationship with the county itself and the judicial system when it comes to the jail.”

Defense attorney and county manager

Roanoke Rapids defense attorney Geoffrey told the board crediting Davis and Brown, “I've been practicing here for 16, 17 years and our jail works better today than it ever has.”

County Manager Dia Denton said, “This is the most collaborative group I’ve ever worked with … I would be remiss if I did not point out the effort of our IT staff and operations staff. They’re the ones down there making sure your stuff works every day and IT has worked a lot with the clerk's office getting ready for eCourts.”

As far as the third floor construction work at the courthouse on Ferrell Lane, Denton said, each floor has 18,000 square feet and the third floor is 18,000 square feet of unused space.

“With the help of the North Carolina General Assembly, particularly Michael Wray at the time, we were given two grants.”

One was for $450,000 for planning to upfit the third floor and the second one was for $8.25 million for construction. “We’ve been working with that, we’ve had meetings with all the folks that have offices down there and we have also employed the services of a construction manager (from a) risk firm.”

Because the building is occupied there will be a lot of work done at night and on weekends to limit disruptions, she said.

The county has essentially $8.7 million to work with on the project which will move the DAs and judges to the third floor, add two stairways and an additional elevator shaft. “What we’re not able to do is upfit an additional courtroom on the third floor. We have to remove that until I get additional funding. It will add storage.”

The county has earned over $262,000 in interest which should cover the balance of the project as it currently stands, Denton said.