Jail Rounds

Yesterday was taken up with making the rounds of jails--Jasper, Marion, and Warren County jails. Some counties, you know, have built new jails because we want to put more people in them and a few counties, so far, have refused to spend the money to do it; Warren County being one who retains their old jail on the third floor of their courthouse. You would think that would facilitate the movement of prisoners from jail to courtroom--having them in the same building. The opposite has occurred. My experience is that it takes more time to have a prisoner transported from jail to courtroom in Warren County than any other county with which I have experience. One factor to consider is the elevator must be the slowest on record. I think one can go to the top of 801 Grand and down quicker than arriving at the third floor jail in the Warren County Courthouse. I did not visit the Powshiek County jail nor the Polk County jail where I currently have defendants incarcerated. Five jails in one day is just too much jail time. Besides an attorney can not speak with his client in Powshiek without speaking through glass which I find objectionable and the topic of future blogs. Powshiek also put their county attorney's office in the jail building. I'm not sure of the motivation for this other than they were plainly cheap. The jail is also on the outskirts of Montezuma which means you can't walk to and from. For anyone contemplating a crime, you might consider the accomodations prior to committing it. Some jails are better than others. I have not been into the interior of the Warren County jail, nor can one see in as you can in some, but one can only assume that the accomodations are not what they are in the newer facilities such as Jasper County and Marion County. And I will add that the jail staffs in Jasper and Marion are helpful--they do not make it difficult to speak with your client. Consequently if you are contemplating stealing a car, or driving one without a license, or driving one while intoxicated, or liberating a stereo system from one; give some thought as to which county would be the best if caught. There are other factors to consider as well, but this would be a good place to begin your analysis of the best county in which to commit a crime.