Kaitlin Lembo is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media Greene County is moving forward with its plan to centralize arraignments. Windham Town Justice Stephen Canfield announced at a meeting last week, in December, Jewett has submitted a proposal to hold its arraignments in Catskill courts. The proposal is part of the county’s plan to have public defenders present at all arraignments, Greene County District Attorney Joseph Stanzione said. “This is a new process to make arraignments more convenient and accessible,” he said, adding that centralized arraignments are meant to be a simplified process. Under the plan, the county would be required to have a public defender available at each and every arraignment, and the cost of finding a public defender for those who income qualify would be the responsibility of the state. Informally, county officials are proposing the arraignment centers in Greene County would be Cairo, the village of Coxsackie and the towns of Athens and Catskill. There is no timeframe proposed for when the new plan will be implemented, Stanzione said. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.