Attorneys concerned about Pre-Trial Program

flying everywhere.” and i’m rick cabrera. more on the abc- seven first alert and the winds we are tracking tonight in just a moment. new information tonight on a new system meant to cut jail expenses. abc-seven learned some are concerned it may violate your constitutional rights! we get the new information from abc-7’s darren hunt. rick/estela, it’s called the criminal justice coordination department. some el pasoans asked the county to not go through with a resolution designating it a new law enforcement agency, which they claim would target poor defendants. that didn’t stop commissioners court from approving the resolution by a 3-0 vote today. commissioners carlos leon and david stout were not in attendance. there was little discussion on the topic before it was approved and no one spoke in opposition during the meeting. however, a news release quotes a letter local attorney mario gonzalez sent to the council of judges, stating: “the poor and indigent would be required to disclose personal information in violation of their fifth amendment privileges in order to get a temporary release from jail.” commissioner vince perez and county judge veronica escobar didn’t feel concerns present a problem: “a judge can ultimately decid that any information gathered during the intake process is solely used for the purposes of setting a bond and pretrial release.” “we don’t agree at all and as w have all said over and over again, this is not a novelty and this is not something that is coming out of left field … and in fact it is something that has unanimous support from the commissioners court.” both escobar and perez say the system is modeled after others in the state and throughout the country. they believe they’re on solid ground. estela? abc-seven’s first alert coverage continues … … with the