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PORTSMOUTH — The Portsmouth sheriff and the city will wait awhile longer for a judge’s final ruling over the fate of the city’s jail — specifically whether the sheriff will be required to send inmates to the Hampton Roads Regional Jail.
Following an hours-long hearing Tuesday in Circuit Court, Judge Johnny Morrison took the case under advisement so he could review transcripts, exhibits and court documents before issuing a final decision. The two sides are due back in court Sept. 1.
In the meantime, Morrison said the postponement would give the city an opportunity to approach the regional jail’s board to try to renegotiate its service agreement for fewer beds at that facility. Morrison said he was not ordering the city to do so, but he asked attorneys representing the city to notify him in writing if city leaders choose not to approach the board.
Last month, Morrison initially ruled that Sheriff Michael Moore must honor the city’s contract with the regional jail and send inmates to the facility. But he delayed his ruling until both sides could put on additional evidence at Tuesday’s hearing.
Portsmouth and four other cities have a contract to house inmates at the regional jail. Portsmouth pays for 250 beds whether or not it fills them. Moore stopped sending inmates there in early 2019, citing a Department of Justice investigation that found unsafe conditions.
As of Tuesday, there were only 20 Portsmouth inmates being housed at the regional jail, according to testimony.
The city and sheriff have been embroiled in a legal battle for nearly a year, since city building officials condemned the jail and four other buildings in the Civic Center Complex without notice in July. The city pointed to three reports completed by firms last year that found deficiencies in the complex.
Moore opposed the closure and asked a judge to block the condemnation and force the city to either repair or replace the facility.
The case involves several separate legal matters, and the judge has already made several rulings. Morrison ruled earlier this year that the city cannot condemn or close the city facility and has to repair it.
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At Tuesday’s hearing, Moore’s lawyers argued the sheriff isn’t a party to the contract between the city and the regional jail and therefore isn’t bound by it. The sheriff is a constitutional officer — elected by the people — and the city cannot tell him what to do in his duties, which includes the care and transfer of inmates, Jon Babineau and state Sen. Tommy Norment argued.
Moore has repeatedly said the regional jail was intended as an overflow facility, and the city should try to renegotiate its service agreement for fewer beds as it no longer needs that many.
James Cales, an attorney hired to represent Portsmouth, said the city has a legal right to enter into a contract and is obligated under its service agreement with the regional jail to send 250 inmates there. The city is losing money on unfilled beds, he said. Under the law, the sheriff is not the keeper of the jail when there is a regional jail authority, Cales said, and the city has the power to decide where its inmates are housed.
He also said the December 2018 Department of Justice report on the regional jail is not meant to be used as evidence in court.
State Sen. Louise Lucas testified Tuesday that in the 1990s, the legislative intent of regional jails was that they serve as overflow facilities to address overcrowding. It was never intended for the Hampton Roads Regional Jail to be the city’s jail, she said.
Later in the hearing, the judge indicated that “overflow” is not mentioned in the written service agreement between the regional jail and its five member cities.
Margaret Matray, 757-222-5216, margaret.matray@pilotonline.com