Judges Assail Release Plan at Crowded County Jail

Orange County’s Municipal Court judges asked Sheriff Brad Gates Thursday to stop the “wholesale” release of people arrested on misdemeanor charges, even though such a move may lead to further jail overcrowding.

The judges assert that Gates’ 11-month-old practice is illegal in many cases and has resulted in a substantial increase in the number of misdemeanor defendants who fail to appear in court on their due date.

Gates was forced to begin a wholesale release of misdemeanor inmates--with just a citation telling them when to appear in court--to stay within a federal court order placing a population cap on the main men’s jail in Santa Ana. U.S. District Judge William P. Gray’s current cap is 1,291 inmates on the jail’s housing floors.

Thursday afternoon, Gates told The Times that he agreed with the judges that he was “breaking the law every day” with some releases. But Gates said that until he gets more jail beds in the county, he has no choice but to continue to “cite and release” those arrested in misdemeanor cases.

“I know it’s a terrible situation when I have to violate a state law to observe a federal court order,” Gates said. “I’m also bothered that a lot of people I’m releasing should be in jail. But right now there is nothing I can do.”

Last April, Gates began releasing only the most minor misdemeanor cases brought to the jail by police agencies in the county. But as the jail population kept creeping upward, he had to change his standards. By November, he had broadened the policy to include the release of defendants who had court-ordered warrants for their arrest.

Authority Overstepped

Central Municipal Judge Gary P. Ryan wrote in a letter to Gates that it is in these cases that Gates has overstepped the authority given him under state law.

Ryan added that while the judges sympathize with Gates’ overcrowding problems, the release of these misdemeanor arrestees “is unacceptable.”

“Our judges believe that before a crisis arises with respect to defendants appearing in our courts, a halt must be put to the present practice.”

The judges suggest that the answer may have to be more jail facilities.

“We realize there is insufficient space in the Orange County Jail to house all those criminal defendants who should be in jail,” Ryan stated. “We are simply stating jail overcrowding may require you to obtain additional facilities as are necessary to avoid releasing persons you are under court order to hold.”

Judge Ryan said in his letter that he was speaking on behalf of other presiding Municipal Court judges in the county. They had recently met to discuss the problem, he said.

Gates has asked the Board of Supervisors for an immediate increase of 300 maximum-security beds, plus 300 more minimum-security beds. While county officials have been studying Gates’ request for months, the board has so far not acted on it.

Gates said he will continue to cite and release all misdemeanor inmates until he gets more bed space. A new intake and release facility in Santa Ana that is under construction just west of the main jail will provide 380 beds. It is supposed to be ready in June. Gates said he would likely reevaluate the release of misdemeanor defendants then. But he doubted that the new facility would be enough to solve the problem.

‘It’s a Revolving Door’

Gates added that he sympathized with the judges’ position.

“It’s a revolving door,” he said. “A person fails to appear in court, a bench warrant is issued, so the police pick him up and bring him to my jail. I give him a new citation and send him home. Many of these people are not going home just to watch TV, you know. They’re returning to criminal activities. The word is out that it’s OK in Orange County.”

The American Civil Liberties Union, which filed the lawsuit forcing a reduction in the jail’s population, has applauded Gates’ decision to release misdemeanor defendants. ACLU attorney Richard P. Herman was critical of the judges and called their recommendation “lunacy.”

“The judges have been out to undermine the cite-and-release program at the jail from the beginning,” Herman said. “We’re talking primarily about people being arrested who should not ever have to be in jail before appearing in court.”

Judge Ryan said fewer and fewer of those people are going to court.

Statistics are not readily available, Ryan said, but he noted that judges who deal with misdemeanor cases in the county’s five Municipal Courts have reported a “significant” increase in the number of bench warrants they have to issue for failure to appear.

“Usually failures to appear run about 10%,” Ryan said. “I can’t say how much higher than that it is now, but it’s getting high enough that judges are complaining about it.”

In February alone, Ryan said, figures show that about 600 people were released from the Orange County Jail under Gates’ new misdemeanor policy.

Ryan said another problem is the occasional duplication of bench warrants because of Gates’ policy. For example, when someone fails to appear, a new bench warrant is issued. That bench warrant comes back to the court as a new complaint. In some cases, Ryan said, the defendant has already cleared his original problem, but the court system hasn’t caught up with that, and the person is ordered arrested again.

“We have had some cases of improper arrests because of it,” Ryan said.

A major problem for the judges is they believe that state law doesn’t give Gates the right to cite and release in cases where the judges have already ordered an arrest. Those warrants are either bench warrants, where a defendant failed to appear in court or follow a court order, or are issued on request from police or prosecutors.