‘Rocket Docket’ concept being implemented in Circuit Court

At some point nearly everyone has fast-forwarded through a long movie in order to get to the end to see what happens.

Now Whitley County court officials are experimenting with a similar concept called the "rocket docket" that they hope will dramatically reduce the time it takes to resolve some circuit court criminal cases.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Allen Trimble said that the state legislature appropriated about $1.2 million during the last legislative session to establish a "rocket docket" program.

"They hope it will do two things. The first is to help alleviate some of the court’s large docket. The second is to try to resolve drug cases, which probation will likely be the result anyway, so people will not linger in jail for four months before they were tried and then get credit for time served," Trimble said Monday.

"We probably had seven or eight cases today that we disposed of with this ‘rocket docket’ program."

Trimble said the 34th Judicial Circuit, which comprises Whitley and McCreary counties, was one of about 30 circuits that received a one-year grant to take part in the program.

The grant enabled Trimble’s office to hire two part-time attorneys, who will handle "rocket docket" cases.

Barbara Carnes will handle the cases in Whitley County and Graham Trimble, Trimble’s son, will handle the cases in McCreary County.

How it works

Felony criminal cases reach circuit court through one of two means.

The most common is that the victim or the investigating officer presents evidence to a grand jury, which then decides if it is more likely than not that the accused person committed a crime.

If nine out of 12 grand jurors agree, then the grand jury hands down an indictment, which is a formal allegation of criminal wrongdoing against a defendant.

After someone is indicted, they are arraigned, typically enter a not guilty plea and a process ensues where they are given hearing dates and a trial date. Most of the time these cases end up being resolved several months or sometimes years later via a plea agreement or plea bargain.

The plea agreement usually involves the defendant pleading guilty to a less serious offense in exchange for prosecutors recommending a sentence less than the maximum sentence they could have received if they had been convicted during a trial. Often any prison time the defendant receives will be probated for a period of time, which means they won’t have to serve any more time behind bars if they abide by their probation conditions and stay out of trouble while on probation.

What the "rocket docket" does is bring a felony charge against the defendant utilizing a process called an "information," which is similar to an indictment.

An "information" involves the defendant, defense attorney and prosecuting attorney agreeing upon the charge that the defendant will be charged with in circuit court in addition to a recommended sentence for that crime.

"Then it goes directly to circuit court for entry of a plea on those terms," Trimble noted.

As part of the "rocket docket" process, a small bond is usually set for the defendant, which enables them to get out of jail between the time they enter their guilty plea and the time they are formally sentenced.

It often takes one to three months between the time someone pleads guilty and is sentenced in felony cases because the Kentucky Department of Probation and Parole must first complete a pre-sentence investigation in all felony cases.

"That is one of the incentives that they have for resolving it quickly," Trimble added.

Saving counties money

When a defendant is held in jail prior to trial on a felony charge, the county jail is responsible for the cost of housing that inmate and paying for things, such as medicine and food for the inmate.

Even after someone is convicted of a felony offense the county is still on the hook for the cost of housing the inmate in jail in felony cases until final sentencing takes place.

Only after a defendant has their final sentencing in a felony case, do they become a state inmate, which means the Kentucky Department of Corrections is then responsible for the costs of housing the inmate.

In the case of the defendants charged via the "rocket docket" Monday, Trimble said that many of them probably would have spent about four months in jail prior to their cases being resolved through the old system, which county taxpayers would have funded.

"One of the real inequities in all this is the time that they serve in the county jail before they are sentenced, the county has to pay for. After they are sentenced the state has to pay for it," Trimble added.

"In a lot of the minor cases what we end up doing is the county pays for the cost of the incarceration and not the state. We would like to shift that burden to the state rather than have the county and fiscal courts have to pay it. It is going to save the fiscal court a lot of money."

Trimble said that the resolution of the cases will be essentially the same whether a defendant is charged through a typical indictment or through an "information" and the "rocket docket" process.

Program starts

The "rocket docket" program started Sept. 1 and Monday was the first day that any of those cases were brought to circuit court.
According to circuit court records those charged via an information through the "rocket docket" program, since Sept. 1 include:

• Clifford Middleton, 31 – possession of methamphetamine precursors. On Aug. 30, Middleton allegedly possessed drug products with the intent to use those products as a precursor to manufacture methamphetamine.

• Bobby Ray Strunk – possession of methamphetamine precursors. On Sept. 21, Strunk allegedly possessed a combination of drug products containing ephedrine or salts of ephedrine with the intent to use said products as a precursor to manufacture methamphetamine.

• Jason Goodman – first-degree criminal mischief and theft by unlawful taking over $500 but less than $10,000. On June 30, Goodman allegedly intentionally caused over $1,000 worth of damage to another’s property and took property of another.

• Michael Young – first-degree criminal mischief. On Sept. 21, Young allegedly intentionally and wantonly damaged or destroyed property belonging to Circle-K in Corbin causing over $1,000 in damage.

• Gregory Davis – first-degree possession of a controlled substance. On July 12, Davis allegedly knowingly and unlawfully possessed methamphetamine.

• Sondra Tess Wilson, 31 – first-degree promoting contraband and third-degree assault. On Oct. 2, she allegedly knowingly introduced dangerous contraband into the Whitley County Detention Center and bit and caused physical injury to a deputy jailer at the detention center.

• Jennifer Frazier, 36 – first-degree possession of a controlled substance and endangering the welfare of a minor. On Oct. 2, Frazier allegedly possessed a quantity of methamphetamine and allowed a two-year-old in her care to be exposed to drugs and drug paraphernalia.

• Erica Bowlin, 36 – first-degree possession of a controlled substance. On Sept. 18, she allegedly possessed a quantity of methamphetamine.

• Aleshia Saylor, 29, was charged in three different informations, and is facing charges of first-degree possession of a controlled substance, first-degree promoting contraband and first-degree possession of a controlled substance. On Sept. 18, Saylor allegedly knowingly and unlawfully possessed a quantity of Oxycodone and allegedly knowingly introduced a dangerous contraband, Oxycodone, into a detention facility. On Aug. 5, she allegedly knowingly and unlawfully possessed Oxycodone.