LIVINGSTON COUNTY — The felony arraignment location in Livingston County will now move from the local court to the Livingston County Jail to ensure legal representation for those accused of crimes.
The agreement between local police agencies and the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office will allow all local and state police agencies operating within Livingston County to use the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office Central Booking to hold arrestees while awaiting arraignment.
The agreement will be in effect starting June 4 and will be in place until further notice.
Previously felony arrangements were handled at the local court or the nearest court with a judge available, and then if warranted the arrestee would be transported to the Livingston County Jail.
The terms and conditions of the agreement are as follows:
- All arrestees in the custody of the police will be accepted into the Livingston County’s Sheriff’s Office Central Booking during time that various local courts are not in normal session.
- There will be a judge on-call for arraignments to be made at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. every day of the year.
“This is a mandate. This whole concept ensures that defendants have representation when charged with a majority of felonies,” said Livingston County Sheriff Thomas Dougherty. “The justice system has to be fair and people have to have representation.”
Sheriff Dougherty stated that the arraignments will be made in the visitor’s area of the jail and the public defenders office will handle having legal representation present. Locally elected judges will operate on a rotating schedule.
The Village of Geneseo Police Department is going to have additional staffing to cover the new process, including having a sergeant on duty and plans to administer a Sergeant’s exam at the next earliest opportunity
UPDATE: Misdemeanors can also eligible for Livingston County Sheriff’s Central Booking.
Additional reporting by Josh Williams and Tim Henry