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So many Guilford County offenders were called in for alleged probation violations last week that a courtroom with 268 seats couldn't hold them all.

More than 500 cases appeared on the docket, an unusually high number even in a county with close to 6,200 men and women on probation.

The session offered a look at a system portrayed as broken, where each probation officer is assigned to supervise scores of cases, and failures sometimes draw statewide attention and provoke public outrage.

Notable was last year's murder of UNC-Chapel Hill student Eve Carson. The suspects should have been in custody for previous probation violations.

Some courthouse insiders, including the senior resident Superior Court judge, Catherine Eagles, saw last week's crowded docket as a reaction to the Carson murder. Probation officers have gotten stricter about violations.

The man who runs the Division of Community Corrections district office in Greensboro, however, says not so.

"It has nothing to do with the Eve Carson case," Max Gerald said. "We're following the same policies. They haven't changed."

A system under pressure

Few disagree, however, that the system is under enormous pressure. Gerald has only about 100 probation officers to manage that case load of 6,200. A single attorney in the Public Defender's Office could represent more than 20 defendants just for probation violations last week.

Superior Court Judge Stuart Albright, presiding over probation violation court, didn't have time to consider the larger picture. Instead, he approached his assignment with the mind-set of an offensive lineman. His goal for each case was "moving the ball forward," the former center for Duke University's football team said midweek. That meant plugging away all day, every day.

The task was tedious and required attention to detail. The hundreds who showed up Monday had to check in, either with a prosecutor or defense attorney -- then sit and wait, if a seat was available. Some lined the aisles or milled around in the hallway.

Probation violation is treated the same as any other offense, meaning the defendant is entitled to due process. Those without attorneys, and who couldn't afford one, were assigned to the Public Defender's Office and given a continuance.

Go directly to jail

As the week wore on, Albright often took a hard line. In one case, he rejected a probation officer's recommendation to continue probation, instead activating a sentence for a man convicted of drug-dealing who had failed three drug screenings. He sent the jail an average of seven new prisoners a day, a spokeswoman said. Most of those were destined for Department of Correction custody. Finding themselves locked up might have been a surprise to some.

"A lot of people come to court saying, 'Can I have another chance?', not realizing probation was their second chance," Brenton Boyce, an assistant public defender, said.

At the same time, some are "set up to fail," he added -- for example, being required to pay "astronomical court costs and fines" when they can barely support themselves. Missing scheduled payments is a probation violation.

One attorney, huddling with a client in a hallway Monday, tried to convey the urgency of making payments before his case came up: "Hock everything you can," she advised.

Probation is a viable alternative to prison because it's less expensive and affords offenders a chance to do better, often with the help of community resources. But it's conditional, and violations must have consequences.

Public safety comes first

Probation officers use discretion, Gerald said: "Our No. 1 job is public safety, and we believe in that." His office doesn't want to drag nonviolent offenders into court for minor violations, he said. Otherwise, there might be 5,000 on the docket instead of 500.

Yet, circumstances are changing. Gerald began his career in probation and parole in 1992. Offenders now frequently are put on probation for crimes that would have gotten them prison time then, he said. Some simply won't comply with the requirements and end up going to prison anyway.

They should. In the meantime, unfortunately, they tax the resources of police, court personnel, probation officers and public defenders.

Greensboro attorney Don Vaughan was in court representing clients last week. Elected to the state Senate in November, he'll take office this month. "I've got my marching orders," he said, indicating it will be a priority to fix the probation system.

It needs resources, but it also has to make sure offenders understand when they've reached their last chance to stay out of jail.