Grand jury courtrooms across the Commonwealth have been seeing substantially higher case loads than ever before, in large part due to the increasing amount of drug-related felonies.
To address this growing problem, Attorney General Jack Conway introduced the Rocket Docket grant program, which was funded through comprehensive heroin legislation and passed during the 2015 General Assembly. Rocket Docket allows a county to reduce the number of cases a grand jury hears by offering those that are being tried for non-violent, low-level, drug-related felonies the option to waive their right to a grand jury. This is done in exchange for a plea bargain that typically involves little jail time and mandatory drug treatment.
Counties may apply for the state-awarded grant to implement Rocket Docket in their circuit courtrooms. Daviess County took advantage of this grant three years ago and has seen dramatic improvement in the grand jury case load, according to Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Kristin Whitney.
According to Whitney, Daviess County circuit courts have historically seen grand jury cases two days out of the month but have been forced to add a third day. Whitney says the grand jury will indict over 100 people each month.
“At first that was shockingly high, but now it’s the norm,” Whitney said. “Some months it’s as high as 130.”
But, Whitney says, the increased cases have been in non-violent crimes and are almost always related to drug use. Whitney’s position in the Commonwealth attorney’s office is to run Rocket Docket, a post she just accepted on Nov. 1.
Whitney identifies potential Rocket Docket cases, where no violent crimes have been committed but involved drugs. She will then become involved in those qualifying felony cases early, long before they are set to appear before the grandy jury. Whitney will consult with arresting officers, victims and the defendant. She uses that information to make the best possible plea bargain.
“It’s a give and take,” Whitney said. “They are waiving their constitutional right to a grand jury. They deserve something good in return and that something is a good offer to get them out of jail and into treatment.”
According to Whitney, Daviess County ranks seventh in the state in the most cases diverted through Rocket Docket.
“My goal is to get that higher,” Whitney said.
In her first month, Whitney was able to divert 52 cases, something she hopes she can replicate every month. She says this will ease the burden of the grand jury members who give up a lot of time to serve, will save taxpayers money in housing felons at the Daviess County Detention Center and will help a person addicted to drugs get the treatment he needs.
Whitney came to the Commonwealth attorney’s office after working 10 years in the public defender’s office, where she managed 800 cases a year, a vast majority of which she said were drug-related.
“When this position opened up, I felt that it was a natural fit to make the switch to prosecution,” Whitney said.
While her position is grant funded through the state, Whitney believes the success Rocket Docket has seen in Daviess County will be enough to include the program in the Commonwealth attorney’s budget should funding dry up.
