Section 801.51a - County jail population exceeding 95% of jail's rated design capacity; actions by county sheriff; maximum value of outstanding bonds; duration; applicability of subsections (1) to
COUNTY JAIL OVERCROWDING STATE OF EMERGENCY (EXCERPT)
Act 325 of 1982
801.51a County jail population exceeding 95% of jail's rated design capacity; actions by county sheriff; maximum value of outstanding bonds; duration; applicability of subsections (1) to (3).
Sec. 1a.
(1) In a county other than a county described in subsection (4), the sheriff of that county shall take the following actions on the fifth consecutive day on which the general population of the county jail exceeds 95% of the jail's rated design capacity:
(a) The sheriff shall review the outstanding bonds for each prisoner. If the total of a prisoner's outstanding bonds does not exceed a maximum value determined as provided in subsection (2), the sheriff, subject to the approval of the chief circuit judge in that county, shall modify each outstanding bond for that prisoner to a personal recognizance bond in that same amount, issue to the prisoner a receipt similar to an interim bond receipt, and send a copy of the receipt to the court that set the bond.
(b) The following prisoners, except for any prisoner that the chief circuit judge in that county believes would present a threat to the public safety if released, shall be released immediately:
(i) Any sentenced prisoner who has served 85% or more of his or her sentence, unless he or she is serving a sentence for a violent or assaultive offense, sex offense, prison or jail escape offense, weapons offense, drunk driving offense, or a controlled substance offense except possession of less than 25 grams of a controlled substance.
(ii) Any prisoner detained in the county jail for a civil contempt adjudication for failure to pay child support who has no other charges pending against him or her.
(2) The maximum value of outstanding bonds, for purposes of subsection (1)(a), shall be determined by a majority vote of the following individuals, as applicable:
(a) In a single-county or multicounty judicial district, the chief circuit judge for the judicial circuit that includes that county, the chief district judge for that district, and the sheriff of the county.
(b) In a county containing 2 or more judicial districts, the chief circuit judge for the judicial circuit that includes that county, the chief probate judge for that county, the sheriff of the county, and 2 district judges chosen by the chief district judges sitting in that county.
(3) A determination made under subsection (2) remains in effect for 1 year after the date on which that determination was made.
(4) Subsections (1) to (3) do not apply to either of the following:
(a) A county for which a county jail management plan has been approved under section 9a.
(b) A county having a population greater than 650,000 as of the most recent federal decennial census that, on the effective date of this section, has implemented a written jail management plan in which the basis of the plan is jail bed allocation. The exception provided by this subsection applies only as long as that plan remains in effect.
History: Add. 2007, Act 140, Eff. Feb. 11, 2008
Popular Name: Jail Overcrowding Emergency Powers Act