St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department deputies deal with the court system on a daily basis and there are some distinct differences in their duties compared with others in law enforcement.

“It’s a unique situation because of the two jails and two courthouses,” Sheriff’s Department Captain Billy Murray said. “Each action by the court requires us to do something different.”

Deputies play a critical role in the daily operations of the court system. They provide physical security in the courtroom, transport inmates to and from court and drug rehab facilities and assist during court with docket information along with their daily patrol duties.

“You’ve got to have open lines of communication. A lot of people see the court but not the behind-the-scenes operations. We may have 20 inmates that have to go to court in one day,” Murray explained.

Murray oversees the southern division of the county and he speaks with the sheriff in the mornings to coordinate daily details.

The Patrol Division is made up of 44 full time, sworn deputies who provide police services to the unincorporated areas of the county’s 640 square miles. The shifts of the Patrol Division are divided up into a day and night shift. The day shift is further divided into Northern (Ashville) and Southern (Pell City) Divisions. The day shift has primary responsibility for civil processes, subpoenas and warrants service.

To better understand the daily operations of the department and its deputies, the News-Aegis rode with Deputy Matt Coupland during a portion of his day shift.

8:15

Coupland checks his department mailbox which contains a variety papers he must serve and a list of people recently arrested. That list can be used to cross check against people supposed to appear in court.

From there he shows the Central Dispatch room, the “central nervous system” of the entire law enforcement operation in the county. There are at least four operators already busy. “There is just a tremendous call volume,” Captain Murray said earlier that morning.

Walking outside to his vehicle, Coupland further explains the deputy’s role in court. A deputy generally is not on hand for small claims court, but if it involves any possible danger or criminals, they are present. “Most of the time there is one of us but we can have two depending on the situation,” he says.

8:30

In a secured hallway behind several courtrooms in the Pell City courthouse there are several holding cells. One is about the size of a small walk in closet and the other is a larger room with a metal toilet on one side and benches that run along the other three walls. The males and females are generally separated with the men in the larger cell and the females in the smaller cell.

Circuit Judge Charles Robinson is in Ashville this morning handling cases but initially was thought to be in Pell City. “You always have to check where everyone is on Monday morning,” Coupland says. “They’ll change it over the weekend. You can always find out in the clerk’s office though.”

8:40

Circuit Judge Jim Hill is in the Pell City courthouse on this particular morning handling non-jury civil cases. Hill is a Mississippi State University alumnus. In the hallway, before the day’s proceedings, Hill talks to several others about the tough loss to LSU last weekend. “It’s a work in progress,” he says of first year coach Dan Mullen’s team.

8:50

On the way to Ashville Coupland opens a map and shows the different areas each deputy is responsible for throughout county. These are the general areas that they patrol and serve papers on during their “paper routes.”

There are warrants, subpoenas and civil processes among other types of notices that must be delivered to the person listed or someone who lives in the home. Coupland says that as long as they live in the home and appear to be at least 12 years old, deputies can leave the papers with them. “Generally if they’re old enough to be home alone they can handle it,” he says.

If no one is home Coupland will leave his card and a note asking the person to call him along with the reason. If the person comes to the door but will not accept the papers, he is able to simply leave them and tell the person they have been served.

Coupland tells a funny story about pulling up to a man’s house to serve him papers. The man is standing in the yard and Coupland asks if he is the person listed. The man tells him no. “He told me he was just a friend that came to visit and the guy I’m looking for was not home, but he had a little smirk on his face when he was talking to me,” Coupland says. “He got into a van and I decided to run his tag. It was the guy I was looking for.” Coupland asked to see his ID and the guy finally admitted he was the person in question. These types of situations are commonplace for deputies trying to do their job. Coupland says people commonly peek out of their windows and blinds before deciding that the news being delivered cannot be good.

He says sometimes in nasty divorce cases, one party will send the divorce papers to the other party’s place of business, possibly to embarrass them.

9:20

Due to the courthouse renovations in Ashville, District Judge Robert Minor is holding civil court in the Ashville City Hall. Minor is not in the courtroom yet, so Coupland talks to Deputy Donnie Howell who directs us to the former Butternut Antique store on the town square where Judge Robinson is holding court.

9:45

Walking in the Butternut courtroom Coupland sees a man he knows waiting for court and they exchange greetings. “I’ve chased that guy so many times,” he says later. “One time he jumped out of the car when it was still moving. There was so much dust flying around I didn’t see him jump and when I got to the car he was gone.”

Inside, a handful of people wait for Robinson to call them forward. There are two deputies present when we arrive. One is working the docket while the other stands beside each person as they speak with Robinson. There is no metal detector in the room. Coupland explains that anyone could come in and start trouble so the deputy stands very close to each person as Robinson hands out his ruling or decision. The deputy working the docket is responsible for keeping a log of what the judge rules and when the inmate has to be back in court. One copy goes to the jail and the other goes to the court sergeant.

There is only one inmate on today’s docket. Robinson rules that the repeat offender be arrested and as soon as he says it the deputy has already placed handcuffs on him before he has time to react. “We couldn’t do it without them,” Robinson says of the deputies.

[Part 2 Next Week]