COURTS: JUDGE'S BONDS CUT METH CASELOAD

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Many methamphetamine makers in Stoddard County respect Associate Circuit Judge Joe Satterfield more than his colleagues.

Satterfield has set some of the highest bonds in methamphetamine cases.

"I haven't had many supporters among judges," Satterfield said. "Some have even ridiculed me."

Satterfield doesn't care. Ultimately, he said, his cash-only bonds hovering around $100,000 have reduced meth cases in his county.

The common wisdom among judges is that bonds only exist to motivate people to come to court. Associate Circuit Judge Scott Thomsen of Bollinger County shares this view.

"The purpose of a bond is not to punish," Thomsen said. "We have a constitution in this state. People should be given a presumption to bond out."

Satterfield disagrees. He thinks community safety is the priority, and that state statutes and the Missouri constitution support that.

The judge points to the constitution's victim's bill of rights in Article I, section 32 that says "upon showing that a defendant poses a danger to a crime victim, the community, or any other person, the court may deny bail or may impose special conditions which the defendant and surety must guarantee."

The addictive effect of methamphetamine makes it nearly impossible for a maker or user of the drug to keep drug-free while out on bond, the judge said, and adding that certain chemicals used to manufacture meth make it a constant fire hazard.

"Meth is so addictive, it takes over people's lives so much that they can't help themselves," Satterfield said.

Too much meth

When Satterfield first came to Stoddard County in 1995, the meth monster was beginning to grow.

"The meth situation started engulfing us down here," he said. "I was handling cases, setting low bonds and seeing the same people back in front of me the next week for doing the same thing."

So Satterfield has mostly done away with the surety bonds backed by bail bondsmen or the typical 10 percent required by offenders.

Now he largely operates a cash-only courtroom when it comes to bonds. People who put up cash are usually not doing so without help, Satterfield said. This insures that someone with a personal stake in the offender's behavior is going to attempt to keep the individual in line with the law.

"If people put up cash, there's usually a friend or a relative or someone that is watching close," he said. "In short, people are going to protect their money."

Despite the high amounts, some people can pay $100,000 cash bonds, the judge said. Most will bring a cashier's check. He recalls one person who brought in a suitcase filled with currency.

Satterfield's methamphetamine bonds range from $25,000 to $200,000. He said there's no magic number.

Judges' differing views

Associate Judge Dan Crawford of Dunklin County rarely asks for cash bonds. The economic situation of a person needs to be considered, he said, and cash bonds tend to discriminate against the poor.

Setting a bond requires looking at several circumstances surrounding a person who is charged with a crime, Crawford said. Bonds are less if a person lives close by, has a job, and has relatives residing locally.

Cape Girardeau County tends to be liberal in the bonds that are set, said Gary Kamp, associate circuit judge.

"If someone is a first-time drug offender and we know it, it's usually $2,500," Kamp said, but if a person has a prior drug charge, a $25,000 bond is typical.

Kamp seeks as much background information as he can get on an offender to set an appropriate bond. He asks the Missouri Board of Probation and Parole for about 20 bond screens, or background checks, on offenders each week.

A first-time drug possession charge in Bollinger County generally merits a $5,000 bond, Thomsen said.

"The biggest issue in setting a bond is risk of flight," Thomsen said.

Crossing county lines

Ultimately, judges in and around Stoddard County maintain the state constitution guides them. They say they just differ on interpretations of the law.

Both Thomsen and Crawford state that meth cases in their own counties are declining.

In Cape Girardeau County, cases seem to be increasing, said William Syler, presiding judge for the 32nd Judicial Circuit.

Satterfield stresses his own results, pointing to a jail population cut from an average of more than 60 five years ago to about 30 now.

High cash bonds aren't keeping more people in jail, he said, they are keeping methamphetamine out of Stoddard County.

Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper Aaron Harrison agrees, saying he has seen a flight of meth makers and users from Stoddard County to other counties.

"I see it because they tell me," Harrison said. "They can't afford the high bond prices there. It cuts into what they can pay for legal defense."

Stoddard County meth cooks have tried to get around the problem by going elsewhere. Many meth cooks are going to Butler and Cape Girardeau counties, Harrison said.

The high cash bonds in Stoddard County may clear methamphetamine out locally, but the same quantities are probably still being made, Syler said.

"It might run people across the border, but it doesn't solve the problem," he said. "It's like if mother doesn't let you have a popsicle, you go ask dad."