Hamilton County Jail Administrator Maj. Charmaine McGuffey said the overcrowding problem at the jail hasn’t changed, and neither has the formula that is used to decide who stays and who is let out.

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Convicted Juvenile Judge Tracie Hunter is scheduled to report for jail just after Christmas, but administrators at the justice center can’t guarantee how long she’ll stay there.“I want to make the public aware and everyone aware that this jail is full," Hamilton County Jail Administrator Maj. Charmaine McGuffey said. "We’ve been full for a number of years. And we’ve been making these hard difficult decisions all along. Tracie Hunter is going to be no different in the decision-making process.”Watch this storyMcGuffey said the overcrowding problem at the jail hasn’t changed, and neither has the formula that is used to decide who stays and who is let out.First-time, nonviolent offenders like Hunter are most likely to be released.“People who have lower-level violations, who have sentences for lower-level violations, those are the people we’re going to look at if we have to send someone out the door,” McGuffey said.Adding to the complications is that Hunter will be kept separate from the rest of the population. The plan requires more space and more manpower, which is already spread thin.Officials said an early release is not inevitable. It all depends on how many other people come into the jail at the same time.Jail officials said overcrowding is a bigger problem for women than for men because there are fewer spaces for them. It’s also a bigger problem during the holidays.However, the problem may never arise. Hunter is expected to ask for a stay of her sentence before she is scheduled to turn herself in at the jail on Dec. 29.“My best guess is that the court of appeals grants the stay in this case,” said Jason Phillabaum, who is not working on the case but is a former prosecutor. "Only because if they don’t grant a stay she could serve all of her 6 months before they hear her appeal."Hunter’s supporters said that if there is no change in the plan to send her to jail, they will show up at the Hamilton County Courthouse on Friday to reveal what they plan to do.More than a half-dozen pastors met Tuesday to discuss the strategy, but did not say if they plan a boycott, a protest or any other action.