Sheriff Gates Guilty in Contempt Case

Orange County Sheriff Brad Gates was found guilty on 17 counts of contempt of court Friday, capping a trial in which seven local judges accused him of illegally releasing jail inmates early to hold down overcrowding in the county jails.

Municipal Judge Richard W. Stanford Jr. delivered the verdict and ordered Gates to cut down on the number of prisoners he turns loose. Instead of fining the sheriff or ordering him to jail, Stanford directed Gates to come up with a plan by June 21 showing what he would do to reduce the number of prisoners who are released early.

The judge then proceeded to deliver an hourlong “civics lesson” in which he praised Gates for his efforts on Measure J, the half-cent sales tax measure on the Tuesday ballot that would pay for new jails. And he lashed out at the County Board of Supervisors, accusing the members of failing to solve the jail overcrowding problem facing the county.

“When you and I do our jobs, then we’ll find out who isn’t doing their job because they’ve been shielded from their responsibility for 13 years,” Stanford told Gates.

The ruling and Stanford’s remarks, arriving on the eve of the hotly contested countywide vote, could serve as a boon to Measure J. Moreover, the decision could have far-reaching effects on the management of the county jail system by forcing the sheriff to revise his release policies, holding more prisoners in already-crowded facilities for longer periods of time.

Currently, the Sheriff’s Department routinely releases some inmates by lopping 10% off their sentences. Because of severe overcrowding in the county jails, Gates’ department was releasing many of them even three to five days before that.

Stanford, however, ordered that practice discontinued, a move that Gates said could force him to find space for another 100 to 150 inmates a day. The county’s five jails were built to hold 3,203 inmates, but typically house about 4,400.

In addition to ordering Gates to stop some early releases of sentenced inmates, the judge found that Gates willfully and illegally released 17 prisoners before trial, who were charged with violent crimes or other offenses that should have precluded their release.

“The judge obviously issued a very serious order,” Gates said. “It’s going to have a very serious impact on our facilities. His directive to me is to go out and find a jail.”