The Daily Agenda: Changing the system from within

Tucson's city court is getting a new presiding judge ... One group is hoping that means big changes … Go vote!

Tucson City Court will be getting a new top judge in 2024 in the wake of accusations against the current presiding magistrate about violations of defendants’ rights.

And while many people think of city court as the place where traffic or motor vehicle violations are handled, it actually plays a role in almost every criminal case that ends up in Pima County Superior or Consolidated Justice courts.

That’s because city court judges (called magistrates) are responsible for setting conditions of release for everyone booked into the Pima County jail. They decide who will be held in jail and who gets to go free while they wait for trial or a plea deal.

Tucson’s city court magistrates have come under increasing scrutiny in recent years for their decisions surrounding cash bail and other issues, with the current presiding judge withdrawing his name for consideration of reappointment after claims that he violated defendants’ rights.

Presiding Magistrate Antonio Riojas Jr. implemented a policy in response to a staffing shortage in the public defender’s office to not provide legal counsel to mostly DUI defendants during arraignments.

Riojas Jr. has held the position for the past two decades, so a leadership change will likely mean a shift in the way city court operates.

One group is banking on just that and has plans to ask the new person in charge to take proactive steps to make sure the right people are being jailed while awaiting trial and that people aren’t being held simply because they can’t afford to pay bail.

The NAACP’s Tucson branch presented several suggestions specific to Tucson City Court during a community forum last month, including:

1. City court magistrates should ask about a person’s ability to pay bail before imposing it.

2. The court should provide training to city court magistrates on the availability of conditions and resources to support pretrial release, such as electronic monitoring and court appearance reminders.

3. The courts and sheriff should work together to gather and report data about detention, bail and racial and ethnic disparities within both.

4. A joint recommendation by prosecutors, defenders, pretrial officers and peer navigators for conditions of release specific to unhoused individuals and people suffering from mental illness and substance use disorders.

But if they’re going to ask the city court judges to cut down on their use of cash bail and jail fewer people, there has to be support services in place, which the NAACP has planned for.

The group has also issued four general suggestions to support what they hope will be the magistrates’ change in course.

1. Create more social service interventions that include evidence-based best practices that can help people before, during and after they’re arrested.

2. Stop using cash bail as a way to keep unsheltered individuals arrested for misdemeanors or drug possession off the streets.

3. Increase accessibility to social services for everyone who is arrested and make sure that these services are available both outside and in jail.

4. Increase coordination between criminal justice, mental and behavioral health care providers and social service agencies.

Data has shown, and both of Pima County’s law enforcement leaders have said, that the community can’t arrest its way out of problems like drug abuse, homelessness and poverty, so it makes sense that the NAACP would encourage local leaders to address the root causes of these issues.

These efforts are already happening to some degree, with the Tucson Police Department offering treatment to people with substance use issues before arresting them.

But fentanyl has created a new challenge and made the offer less appealing, according to Police Chief Chad Kasmar, who said fewer people are now opting for treatment, fearing withdrawal.

Kasmar said collaboration between government entities is the key to creating lasting solutions to these complex problems, pointing to the city’s Community Safety Health and Wellness program as an example.

The program works with community members experiencing behavioral health crises and homelessness, offering assistance with housing, mental health or substance use support and more.

“It’s not a perfect program, but it’s the best program we’ve come up with,” Kasmar said.

The community also needs more programs for youths and services and support for families to help break cycles of violence and poverty, he said.

“The system isn’t giving us the output that we want,” Kasmar said. “If we don’t evaluate why this is not working and invest, we’re only going to have the same outcomes.”

But if people are choosing jail over treatment, does it really matter if Pima County widens the safety net?

It absolutely does, according to Desiree Voshefsky of Community Medical Services, which provides substance use support and other healthcare services.

While a person may not choose treatment the first, second or even 10th time, if they’re treated with dignity and kindness, they’re more likely to eventually come back, she said.

And when support services are made available, like opioid reversing medications and clean needles, a person is five times more likely to stop using on their own, according to Voshefsky.

“Meet them where they’re at, but don’t leave them there,” she said.

The application period for city court’s new presiding magistrate closes Sunday after Thanksgiving, with the selection committee reviewing materials and interviewing candidates in December. The mayor and council are tentatively set to appoint a replacement in early January.

Make this Tuesday super: The City of Tucson is holding its election today, where three city council members and the mayor are up for re-election, not to mention propositions to raise their salaries and a lot of school district bond and override questions. Vail has its vote on whether to incorporate. If you have any questions about how to vote, check out the Pima County Recorders’ website. 

We’re all former Star reporters now: Our sister newsletter, the Arizona Agenda, snagged reporter Nicole Ludden away from the Arizona Daily Star, where she covered Tucson politics and government for the past two years. Every new subscription they bring in this week will go directly into boosting her base salary. 

It’s totally safe, Tucson checked: The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality wants to hear from you about its plan to turn wastewater from your toilet into drinking water from your tap, per Capitol scribe Howie Fischer. You have 30 days to comment on the idea. Officials say it’s safe and delicious and you should stop being so picky because all water is recycled. Meanwhile, Tucson’s big new water plan for the future details all sorts of new water protections, including protecting existing drinking water supplies, but it doesn’t say anything about how it will address the area’s dwindling riparian areas, the Daily Star’s Tony Davis reports.

All the Dem dudes come to Tucson: U.S. Senate candidate Ruben Gallego’s path to victory runs right through Tucson, he told KGUN’s Adam Klepp. Former President Bill Clinton stopped into Tucson on Friday to fundraise for his one-time child speechwriter, Democrat Andrei Cheny, who is running for Congress against David Scheikert in a Phoenix-based district. 

Rest in peace: The City of Nogales is trying to identify the people buried under unmarked graves, sending an employe to the Nogales Cemetery to chat up family members during the Mexican Dia de los Muertos holiday, per the Nogales International’s Daisy Zavala Magaña. Some of the graves date back to the 1800s. 

“We don’t know everyone that’s here and we want to make sure that we give everybody the respect they deserve,” Renee Travers, the city’s Parks and Recreation director, said. “They were someone’s loved ones.”

Trains, bridges and automobiles: Marana wants to hear from residents about a project that would seek to alleviate train delays at the I-10 and Cortaro Road interchange and bridge the community east and west of the interstate, per KOLD. The city is holding a forum tomorrow at 6 p.m. at Leman Academy, even though groundbreaking is still at least five years out, KOLD’s Jack Cooper reports. And if you want to nerd out on the Cortaro Road project, Marana has a whole podcast episode dedicated to it. 

94: The high temperature in Tucson on Sunday, which tied the record set in 2020.