Slow grand jury proceedings could be one reason for case hang-ups in county criminal courts, according to one local official. 

Phyllis Aluko, chief public defender for the Shelby County Public Defender’s Office, suggested at the Shelby County Commission’s public safety meeting Thursday that because local grand juries are not hearing cases quickly enough, it is causing issues getting to trial.

“It is, in my opinion a travesty but it works to increase the number of cases handled by plea,” she said.

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She noted that most cases are disposed of through plea deals, but said that one reason for that could be because of how long it takes for cases to be heard by a grand jury.

Because cases can take so long, especially if a grand jury does not hear them for a significant amount of time, defendants often opt for a plea deal rather than continue to stay in custody, Aluko said. 

Two local grand juries meet weekly to hear cases, according to the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office. 

One meets on Tuesdays and one meets on Thursdays, hearing “dozens” of cases during their sessions, according to the office.

Indictments are handed down to the Shelby County Criminal Court Clerk’s Office at the end of each session and are then processed and assigned to different courtrooms. The juries return more than 10,000 indictments a year, according to the office. 

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Aluko noted that in some jurisdictions, laws require the release of a defendant if a grand jury does not hear their case in two weeks. 

Cases aren’t necessarily dropped at the point, she said, but the defendant is released from custody while the case proceeds.

She advocated for a similar law to be implemented in Tennessee. 

At the local level, she said that some might suggest that more grand jurors are needed to hear cases quicker.

Solving that issue would fall to the County Commission, she said. 

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Commissioner Mick Wright pushed more discussion on the issue, saying that those accused of crimes deserve a speedy trial.

“It seems to me that both sides of the legal system would want a speedy conclusion to these trials,” he said. 

Lack of dates on juvenile summons also causing problems 

Ernest Brooks, associate deputy district attorney and senior policy advisor for the district attorney’s office, also spoke Thursday about things he would like improved at the Shelby County Juvenile Court.

Brooks said one issue the court has been dealing with is that juvenile summonses don’t include dates for kids to show up to court. 

Kids make contact with the court for delinquency matters through one of three ways, Brooks said. 

They are either detained and held until they have a detention hearing or receive a summons. They also can be detained but get released on an appearance bond without a detention hearing, Brooks said. 

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Brooks called the summons method the least restrictive but also the most problematic.

There are currently 87 kids detained in the juvenile detention center, Brooks said. There are 76 kids out of custody and wearing ankle monitors, he said. 

When kids receive a summons for alleged delinquent activity, it does not include a date when they need to show up to court, such as a traffic citation might for an adult, Brooks said. 

Because of that, Brooks said probation officers must petition kids to court on a specific date. 

“That could be months after that citation is issued. Generally, it is months,” he said. 

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In the meantime, he said kids could commit more delinquent acts, be detained, or receive more citations.

Commissioner Charlie Caswell asked why the summonses don’t have dates and who is responsible for changing that practice. 

Brooks deferred to local law enforcement, given that they are writing the summons. 

But he reiterated that the summons lacking dates is challenging for the office. 

“Imagine getting that petition four months later after a child is involved in a sexual assault or anything or whatever,” he said. 

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He said that the district attorney’s office is working to get children who are summoned to the court in quickly before they reach a probation officer for a petition. 

Brooks also said he is fighting to have children that come in contact with the court assessed on the “front end instead of the back end.” But he said he has received pushback. 

Bobby White, chief public policy officer for the Greater Memphis Chamber, who was also present Thursday, asked Brooks for specifics on what needs to change at the court so that he knows where to place efforts around support and advocacy for that change. 

Brooks said that children with issues like ADHD or those who have gone through traumatic events aren’t discovered until they are actually adjudicated.

He said he is developing a “juvenile wish list” that includes screening kids earlier and prioritizing mental health issues.