The Grand Jury met from January-April and submitted the following report. They recommended increasing the salaries of correctional officers and also addressing some of the crime classifications.
We, the grand jury seated with Foreperson Jimmy Anderson for the period January through April 2024, would like to commend all the Hamilton County and city of Chattanooga officials and officers that participate in the grand jury process and commit to the professionalism and importance of the grand jury function in our criminal justice system. Having now served as grand jurors, we appreciate the importance of this role and its contribution as a check and balance of the various components of the justice system.
When we were first called to service, it was important for the pool of potential grand jurors to hear court officials discuss the role of the grand jury and the importance of this type of service prior to becoming grand jurors. We appreciated it and consider this dissemination of information to have been important in inspiring us in our service. Hearing from each of the criminal court judges – Judge Steelman, Judge Patterson and Judge Dunn – as well as District Attorney Coty Wamp, was also valuable to our understanding of the system. We greatly appreciated the time they took to talk to us and answer our questions. It is clear they understand the importance of their roles, and of ours.
We were pleased to hear of the recent positive progress in the county court system whereby assistant district attorneys remain the prosecuting attorney for a particular case throughout both Sessions Court and Criminal Court to prevent defendants from shopping the courts for a more favorable prosecutor. This has the effect of resolving matters in a timelier manner and putting less strain on the criminal justice system.
We have all been honored to serve and would like to submit the following comments and suggestions from the perspective of the grand jury gleaned from our visits to the Hamilton County Jail, the Juvenile Justice Court and Detention Center, and our service within the Hamilton County Courthouse.
1. We recommend the salaries of the correctional officers at the juvenile detention facility be increased so they are paid competitive wages. These officers are serving an important function with the youth in our society and occasionally face dangerous situations. We recommend market research be conducted to arrive at a fair and competitive wage.
2. It came to our attention during service that some of the crime classifications may need to be re-addressed soon with respect to the dissemination of misdemeanors and felonies and sentencing structures. This was particularly apparent in the case of domestic assault misdemeanors. We are concerned that some assaults that should rise to the level of felonies are not being adequately recognized. We recommend the Tennessee Sentencing Commission be reinstated and improved through the involvement of members of the justice system, including past members of grand juries, who can offer a necessary perspective on categories of crime and sentencing guidelines.
3. Regarding weapons that are legal versus illegal in Tennessee, this grand jury recommends the Tennessee legislature review the list of authorized weapons to allow those that could be used in defending a criminal act adequately but are not necessarily lethal. For example, a woman walking to her car cannot wear brass knuckles to defend herself against an attack, but she can use a gun. This poses a concern for some people (due to their faith or otherwise) who do not want to use deadly force against another person but want to keep adequate hold on their defense weapon of choice. We would recommend that in looking at such weapons, legal authorization for use against another person only be allowed for defensive purposes.
4. One thing we came to learn was the importance of the evidence presented by the arresting officer that was provided to the grand jury. It is important for the grand jury to hear evidence that the crime charged was committed, but also that the person charged was linked to the crime in the evidence. It would be especially helpful to the grand jury if an officer in charge of presenting the cases of many officers would become familiar with the reports before presentment so that any gaps in the report can be addressed prior to coming to the grand jury. This is particularly important as grand jurors typically do not have the background in the criminal justice system that the officers have and cannot infer information from a report beyond what is presented.
5. Since the Hamilton County Court is now wholly housed at the Silverdale site, there is no adequate holding facility closer to the courthouse for officers to hold charged defendants awaiting booking or arraignment. We recommend the county look at a facility closer to the courthouse that could be used for this purpose.
6. It was heartening to see and hear of the positive developments in rehabilitation of offenders through the drug court in Hamilton County, the mental health program, and the vocational training provided at the county jail. We recommend more resources be put into these programs as they have been shown to help reduce recidivism rates.
7. We recommend more money be available to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for testing resources, and that a study be done on how to increase efficiencies and turnaround times for all forms of testing involved in alleged crimes.
8. We have heard first-hand the poor results of privately-run detention facilities. For this reason and in support of the troubled youth in Tennessee in hopes of their rehabilitation, we strongly urge the Tennessee legislature to not allow juvenile detention facilities to be privately run, and to expand the number of publicly run juvenile facilities available in Tennessee to adequately address youth incarceration.
9. In the Hamilton County Jail, it concerned this grand jury that so many defendants are put in one room with so many other defendants for eating, sleeping, living on a 24/7 basis. If there is a way to separate the inmates more to not entangle so many together, we believe this would lead to better results in terms of issues at the jail, injuries and reduced recidivism.
10. Given the continued backlog of cases, it might be useful to have one more criminal court judge.
11. With respect to the grand jury specifically, we recommend that the pay for grand jurors be raised above $13 per day. While some of us were fortunate enough to be able to donate this stipend to the Victims Compensation Fund, others of us were disadvantaged financially by grand jury service. Understanding that gas and lunch are often needed on days in service, a raise in the daily stipend would be helpful for future grand jurors.
12. Finally, the grand jury room is cold and can be uncomfortable as a result. We recommend addressing this issue for the comfort of all who use it
Again, we appreciate the opportunity to serve the community and the court system with our service. As temporary grand jurors, we were consistently impressed and appreciate the leadership of Foreperson Jimmy Anderson, who brought thoughtful insight and experience to our proceedings. We are thankful for all the people who serve this community day in and day out in the relentless pursuit of justice. We were impressed with the humanity shown by those in the system in whose hands it is most important. While the justice system may be as imperfect as the humans it touches, here in Hamilton County, Tennessee, the majority of those we met want to make it better with their contributions.
Grand Jury heard 350 total cases, 50 presentments, three no bills and 262 true bills.