BELTON - It’s not a get out of jail free card, but it does speed up the process.

For the past three years, Bell County has allowed prisoners charged with most misdemeanors to expedite their release from jail by waiving their right to appear before a magistrate.

“You can waive the right to be silent. You can waive the right to have an attorney, so we think you can waive the right to a magistrate,” said Bell County Attorney Rick Miller.

In Texas, when people are arrested and placed in jail, they are required by law to appear before a magistrate before potentially being released.

The magistrate, usually a justice of the peace, advises the people of their rights, explains the charges and sets bail amounts that must be paid.

In Bell County, the waiving of a magistrate is seen as a tool to help alleviate jail overcrowding. The results have pleased county officials and others who work in the criminal justice system.

“To an attorney who wants to get his client out of jail, this is a good thing,” said Jim Hewitt, a defense attorney with an office in Belton. “I can’t tell you how many times I have waited on a magistrate, especially on weekends.”

The way the waiver works is an inmate is presented with a form that explains the charge against them and outlines the rights of the accused.

“It’s not a plea of any kind,” said John Butry, a sergeant at Bell County Jail. “They’re not admitting guilt of any kind by going this route.”

The accuseds then agree to waive their rights to appear before a magistrate to have bond set. By waiving the right to a magistrate, the people agree to a predetermined bond amount of $2,500 for class A misdemeanors or $1,500 for class B misdemeanors.

The waiver has been effective at keeping low-level offenders out of jail overnight, especially people who are booked in the afternoon or evening after a justice of the peace has made his rounds for the day.

“We’re not having to house them overnight,” Butry said. “It enables them to get out quicker.”

Some prisoners are not offered the waiver because of public safety concerns. Those charged with family violence or assault would not be eligible for the waiver.

Butry said each day between five and 10 people waive their right to appear before a magistrate.

Bell County officials are unsure if such a waiver is being used in other counties in the state.

Mark Osler, a professor at Baylor Law School, said he has heard of arraignments being waived, but never the right to appear before a magistrate.

In 1991, Texas Attorney General Dan Morales ruled that justices of the peace should determine bail on a case-by-case basis and not set it according to a pre-determined schedule.

Miller said Bell County’s policy grew out of this ruling, which does not address waiving the right to appearing before a magistrate.

“It’s a tool,” Miller said. “They’ll (the accuseds) still get their day in court and we’ll still deal with them.”

In addition to the magistrate waiver, Miller said he sends an attorney to the jail once a week to offer plea agreements to those who are willing to waive their right to an attorney.

“They can get on the docket that week and get out of jail sooner,” he said. “These are people who were unable to make a bond.”

With an estimated 850 to 1,000 inmates circulating through the jail each month, Miller said such proactive measures have helped taxpayers and inmates.

“It holds down some of the jail population,” he said. “If we had not done things like this, I don’t think we could have held off as long as we did without building the new jail.”