Judge orders Fulton County to fix jail problems

ATLANTA - In an effort to relieve overcrowding and other problems at the Fulton County Jail, a federal judge has ordered the county to provide lawyers within 72 hours of arrest to indigent defendants held on misdemeanor charges. <br> <br> U.S. District Court Judge Marvin Shoob also mandated Friday that the county authorize enough funding for new public defenders and support staff to comply with caseload limits set by the Georgia Supreme Court. <br> <br> He ordered Fulton officials to release anyone who has been jailed longer than the maximum sentence for the offense with which the prisoner is charged. <br> <br> ``It is obvious that the criminal justice system in Fulton County is rife with errors, waste and delay, all of which have a significant impact on conditions at the Fulton County Jail,&#39;&#39; Shoob said. <br> <br> He gave the county until Sept. 30 to meet most of his requirements. <br> <br> The ruling came in a lawsuit filed three years ago by HIV-positive defendants who said overcrowding and poor medical conditions endangered their lives. <br> <br> Shoob said those prisoners ``are more vulnerable than most to the dangers of overcrowding and lack of proper medical care&#39;&#39; at the jail. <br> <br> Stephen Bright, the lawyer representing the HIV-positive inmates, said it was ``unfortunate that it took the intervention of a federal court to accomplish this.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> ``But the system in Fulton County is so fragmented and so poorly coordinated I don&#39;t think it could be accomplished any other way,&#39;&#39; Bright said. <br> <br> Shoob heard testimony that some people accused of minor offenses such as trespass and public drunkenness spent weeks in jail before even getting to court. Sometimes, by the time of their first court hearing, they had spent more time in jail than they would under any sentence they might receive. <br> <br> In his order, the judge said ``a large majority&#39;&#39; of people charged with misdemeanors in Fulton County spend at least two weeks in jail before being provided with a lawyer. The problem is made worse, he said, when a suspect is arrested in one of the county&#39;s nine municipalities and held in city jail before being transferred to the county jail.

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