Silicon Valley De-Bug, Civil Rights Corps sent an exhaustive complaint to the presiding judge alleging that commissioners are not applying the Humphrey decision in deciding bail at criminal arraign…
REDWOOD CITY — A pair of civil rights organizations have told the San Mateo County Superior Court that its criminal arraignments are routinely ignoring a California Supreme Court mandate to grant more defendants affordable bail and pretrial release.
Under the ruling, pretrial detention is reserved for people who are deemed a substantial public safety threat or flight risk, or have demonstrated that jailing is the only way to ensure they appear in court. The ruling also ordered that judges conduct individualized assessments of defendants and not solely rely on the courts’ pre-established cash bail schedules.
“If I was a justice on the California Supreme Court, I would feel both alarmed and disrespected by what is happening,” said Lara Bazelon, a professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law who co-signed the complaint. “This law is being disrespected by the lower court judges who are required to apply it.”
De-Bug and Civil Rights Corps submitted transcripts from 26 arraignment hearings and summarized several dozen more they say prove their allegations. The transcripts focus on court commissioners Ernst Halperin, Cristina Mazzei and Hugo Borja; commissioners carry out limited judicial duties under supervision of the court.
Having to wait for a subsequent court hearing, as opposed to the prospect of affordable bail or release at arraignment, can entail a matter of days. De-Bug organizers assert any unnecessary jail stay can destabilize indigent defendants and their families.Crime and Public Safety |Judge refuses to toss lawsuit over 1¼ miles of Richmond railroad alleged to be at risk for derailments
“There’s a risk factor of being in custody, where they don’t have the medical care for some people who have different types of illnesses that are not properly met in the jail,” Best said.“With the levels with which we’re seeing judges flat out refuse to comply with binding constitutional law, it’s not just about integrity,” White said. “It’s a crisis of legitimacy.
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