An order issued by Circuit Court Judge Forrest &uot;Al&uot; Johnson Friday may help prevent some grand jury indictments from slipping through the cracks.

Johnson ruled to make more than 60 old indictments that had not been served inactive. The indictments can still be served, but they won’t be on his active docket.

Johnson also ruled that the sheriff and police chief will get a list during each court term of who’s been indicted and what their status is — a move that could help speed the process of serving indictments.

More than 300 Adams County jury indictments, some as old as 1997, have not been served, slowing down the court process and sometimes causing charges to be dismissed against defendants for lack of a speedy trail.

Johnson said he makes similar rulings to make indictments inactive yearly.

District Attorney Ronnie Harper said the sometimes slow process of serving indictments can hurt the trial process.

&uot;Not serving the indictments is a problem for us because it generates a problem with (having) a speedy trial,&uot; said District Attorney Ronnie Harper.

Harper said his office opposed rulings by Johnson and Judge Lillian Blackmon Sanders that make indictments inactive, but he still understands them.

&uot;I certainly can’t complain about the judges rulings in light of the chronological facts,&uot; Harper said.

Although serving indictments is the responsibility of the sheriff’s department, Adams County Sheriff Tommy Ferrell said often it is difficult to locate the defendants.

&uot;Some people are never located,&uot; Ferrell said. &uot;If it was a perfect system we would never let them go in the first place.&uot;

Some people indicted have never been arrested, so they are never assigned a bond — which Johnson said makes it harder to find them.

And sometimes if people have left the county it may not be in the best interest find them — especially if they are in jail somewhere else, Ferrell said. &uot;It’s not economically feasible always to get somebody,&uot; he said. &uot;If you’re locked up somewhere else, you’re not doing our citizens here any harm.&uot;