PARIS — Some inmates at the Oxford County Jail may soon be appearing before a judge via video.

The jail is installing a video conferencing system in its multipurpose room and equipment should arrive during the week of June 21. Capt. Ernest Martin, the jail administrator, said the jail is planning to do trial runs of the system in July.

“It’ll definitely have some cost-saving ramifications, but not to the extent that I had originally hoped,” Martin said.

He said the equipment cost about $10,700, and the state is currently negotiating a contract price for transmission lines. The system comes with a one-time purchase of the transmission line plus a monthly maintenance fee, but that cost may be paid by the state corrections department. Martin said the jail budgeted $13,000 for video conferencing costs this year.

If a judge is available in the nearby South Paris District Court, inmates will still make appearances there. Inmates must appear before a judge within two days of their arrest if they cannot make bail, and the jail can often meet this requirement in Paris since a judge is in the district court two to three times per week. In some cases, the jail needs to take prisoners to the Lewiston District Court or other available venues to meet this requirement.

Martin said there have been times where the jail has several prisoners who need to make appearances on Monday following weekend arrests. A judge makes Monday appearances in the South Paris District Court only on the first Monday of the month.

Martin said that while the appearances can sometimes wait until Tuesday, video arraignments might help reduce the jail population and remove inmates with mental or health problems if the arraignments can be held earlier.

“We would prefer to do it at the first opportunity,” he said.

Martin said the video arraignments will cut down on transportation costs by allowing court appearances to occur remotely rather than in person at a more distant district court. The jail currently provides transportation from other jails for inmates named in civil complaints such as divorce and protection from abuse order hearings, and Martin said these hearings should be able to occur via video conferencing. The system might also be used for inmates who are considered dangerous.

Martin said the original vision of the system would have allowed more extensive court appearances to further cut down on transportation costs. However, the video conferencing will focus mainly on the bail and civil hearings.

“There’s going to be a lot of instances where the judges want that inmate in their court,” he said.

The system may also be used to allow local court-appointed defense lawyers to speak with their clients without traveling to the Androscoggin County Jail, where inmates who cannot make bail within three days are held. That arrangement has come about  since the Oxford County Jail became a 72-hour holding facility. Martin said this would represent another savings, as the court-appointed lawyers charge travel expenses to the state.

Video conferencing is available in district courts across the state, but only in a handful of jails. Martin said the state is planning to equip each jail with the equipment to allow remote conferencing when necessary.

A recording of a judge explaining the inmates’ rights will be shown before any video conferencing takes place. Due to security concerns, an inmate’s family will not be allowed in the jail during any video conferencing but may observe the proceedings in the court where the judge is sitting.

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