SAN FRANCISCO - Several large counties are refusing to comply with new COVID-19 rules issued by judicial leaders requiring them to set $0 bail for defendants arrested for misdemeanors and lower-level felonies, according to a statewide association of public defenders and criminal defense counsel.
“Under the offenses these defendants have been charged with, they are entitled to be released,” said Oscar Bobrow, president of the California Public Defenders Association (CPDA).“But the Sheriffs and District Attorneys on the ground in these counties are fighting it because they don’t grasp the magnitude of this virus and are putting politics above public safety.”
The Judicial Council (JC), led by Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, adopted the change on April 6 during an emergency meeting in an attempt to reduce the spread of COVID-19 infection among the jail population.
But the new rules aren't sitting well with larger counties such as San Diego, Riverside and Sacramento, according to Bobrow.
“Those local courts are not all following the rules,” Bobrow told the Northern California Record. “District attorneys, Sheriffs and Judges in the local courts are trying to improperly stop the imposition of the bail schedule and, in refusing to follow the Judicial Council rules, they are creating a potential COVID-19 health catastrophe for all of us.”
Although Gov. Gavin Newsom ceded power his over the judicial system to JC Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye, he also ordered the early release of nonviolent inmates who are scheduled for parole within the next two months.
“We may need the governor to convene a special legislative session to write an emergency law so that these counties will follow the Judicial Council’s new rules,” Bobrow said in an interview on Wednesday.
When contacted for comment, JC Public Affairs Analyst Blaine Corren said he could not speculate whether the Council will approve any further emergency measures.
“The Council is considering input from all parties, including public defenders,” Corren told the Northern California Record.