Ulster County Public Defender Liz Corrado acknowledged this week that a system for assigning defense attorneys to cover after-hours arraignments had come close to collapse amid a shortage of lawyers and low pay for the ones they can find. But, Corrado said, that the situation has since stabilized while a more permanent fix — in the form of a countywide night court — is imminent.

Corrados remarks come after Rosendale Police Chief and Ulster County Police Chiefs Association Chair Scott Schaffrick wrote a social media post claiming that the inability of the county Public Defender’s Office to cover after-hours arraignments, coupled with the refusal of some town court judges to turn out for the hearings, is draining police resources and compromising public safety.

Schaffrick made his remarks after an April 27 incident when police were forced to release a domestic violence suspect with no bail and without an order of protection barring him from contact with the victim because six town justices failed to answer the phone when called to preside over his arraignment.

“It’s a major safety concern all around,” said Schaffrick. “It affects the general public, and it affects other members of law enforcement.

Arraignment is a defendant’s first step in the criminal justice system. At the hearing, the defendant is asked to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. If they’re charged with a bail-eligible offense, judges will hear arguments on whether bail should be imposed, or the defendant remanded without bail. Arraignments also give judges the opportunity to issue an order of protection compelling the defendant to steer clear of victims or witnesses on pain of being charged with criminal contempt.

In the case of lower-level crimes or crimes that are not bail-eligible, police may opt to release the defendant with an appearance ticket to return to court for arraignment at a later date during regular business hours. But for more serious offenses, when issues like bail and protective orders are in play, police will seek an after-hours arraignment. The Ulster County District Attorney’s Office maintains a prosecutor on call at all times, while bureau chiefs and other senior staff will turn out after hours for especially serious matters. But there is no requirement for the prosecution to be present at arraignment and ADAs may make bail recommendations by phone. However, a provision in the 2020 bail reform law requires defendants to have an attorney present at arraignment. And no legal hearing can take place without a judge.

But in recent months, both public defenders and town court justices have failed to appear for arraignments. Kingston and some other jurisdictions’ secure lockups allow cops to hold suspects overnight pending arraignment. But in Rosendale and other communities, officers must remain with the suspect, making them unavailable for other duties until the hearing takes place.

Schaffrick said that on a number of recent occasions, his officers had been forced to spend up to 10 hours guarding suspects awaiting arraignment incurring overtime and taking them off the street.

“The criminal justice system in Ulster County cannot be held hostage nor can we in good faith allow it to continue to happen,” Schaffrick wrote in his social media post.

Corrado acknowledged that the effort to field assistant public defenders for after-hours arraignments had come close to collapse in recent months — a situation she said was the result of the office being short five attorneys and the lack of adequate compensation for those who volunteered to remain on call. The stipend for 24-hour on-call assignment, Corrado said, is just $190 per week.

“Being on call is a big ask; You can’t go anywhere, you can’t do anything, you can’t have a cocktail with dinner, you could get called away from your kid’s ballgame,” said Corrado. “And people aren’t going to do it if the compensation is not there.”

Following a March roundtable meeting between law enforcement, the Public Defender’s and DA’s offices and the state Office of Court Administration, which oversees town and village court judges, it was decided to divide the county into quadrants with judges and public defenders assigned to take turns on call for a handful of towns. The county also opened after-hours arraignments to private-practice lawyers who take on indigent defense on a per-case basis through the county’s assigned counsel program. But the system failed to increase turnout.

Corrado acknowledged that she could have made on-call rotations mandatory, but it’s likely she would lose staff.

“If I just made this mandatory without addressing the compensation, I would lose lawyers and competition for attorneys is fierce,” said Corrado. “I’ve been advertising a job for six months and I got one applicant.”

Instead, earlier Corrado went to county lawmakers and secured additional funding, enough to pay a single attorney to remain available for after-hours arraignments countywide. But Corrado said the arrangement was temporary while the county prepares to open its “Consolidated Arraignment Part” or CAP Court.

The court, which has been in the planning and approval stage for several years, will be based at the Ulster County Law Enforcement Center. The court will operate from 8:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m., seven days a week. Staffed with a judge and a public defender, the court will be available for police agencies to bring suspects in for arraignment. With the exception of the Town of Ulster, all 20 of Ulster County’s towns and the City of Kingston had signed onto the CAP Court. Corrado said that the CAP Court has been built, staffed and received approvals from the state. It’s likely be ready to begin operations sometime in June.

“Once that’s in place all of this goes away,” said Corrado. “We’ll have the judge, we’ll have the attorneys and we’ll be able to get these arraignments done.”