Supreme Court Gives Judges Weekend Duty

The Los Angeles County Courthouse is not ordinarily open for business on weekends. But on Sunday, there was a new sign tacked to the door of Division 8A. “Probable Cause Determinations, Clerk’s Office,” it read. “Hours: Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays. 10:00-5:00.”

Inside, eight Municipal Court judges were at work in a large conference room sifting through arrest reports. They had been hastily called upon to give up part of their weekend so that Los Angeles could comply with a ruling handed down last Monday by the U.S. Supreme Court.

According to the ruling, people who are picked up by police without a warrant are entitled to have a judge review their case within 48 hours to determine if there was “probable cause” for the arrest. If a judge rules that the arrest was not justified, the prisoner must be released.

The decision means that California authorities may no longer hold arrested people in jail over weekends and holidays because the courthouse is closed. It took effect immediately, throwing judicial officials and police agencies into something of a tizzy.

In communities from Alhambra to Santa Monica, judges quickly arranged to serve weekend duty while police officers learned to fill out new “probable cause declarations.” Alhambra Sgt. Don Craton said: “We are just trying to put out the old prairie fires.”

An Alhambra Municipal Court judge went in for special duty for an hour Saturday and Sunday, but did not have to conduct any probable cause reviews, Craton said.

That was hardly the case in Los Angeles, where about 750 reviews were conducted over the weekend.

Sgt. Bill Heim, watch commander of the Los Angeles detective division, said officers were scrambling to put together the necessary paperwork and send it to detectives at Parker Center, who then hand-delivered the papers to the courthouse for judges to examine.

“It goes without saying that we’re already short here with people on the street, and now we have policemen running around like newspaper boys, delivering things,” Heim said. “I suspect by next week, when this shakes out, they’ll come up with a better plan.”

In addition to the eight judges, six clerks were on hand to help process cases. While the judges examined cases in batches of 10, the clerks faxed copies of their decisions to the Police Department so that officers would know whether a suspect should be released.

The clerks are getting paid overtime. The judges, who for now are rotating the weekend shifts, are not compensated for the extra hours.

Municipal Judge Lloyd M. Nash, who gave up an invitation to the Dodgers game to volunteer for weekend duty, said: “It just shows you the power of the United States Supreme Court and how it affects everybody, even down to the Municipal Court in Los Angeles.”