Judges Press Case on Early Jail Releases Against Gates : Justice system: Local jurists ask state appeals court to find sheriff guilty of contempt. The county is paying legal expenses of both sides in the long battle.

Orange County Municipal Court judges, angry at early releases of prisoners to relieve jail overcrowding, asked a state appeals court Wednesday to find Sheriff Brad Gates guilty of contempt.

The judges’ motion, filed with the 4th District Court of Appeal, marks the latest development in a long-running and increasingly expensive legal battle, and it drew an immediate outcry from county officials.

“I can’t believe it,” County Administrative Officer Ernie Schneider said. “All I can say is that I’m continually amazed at the (Municipal) court’s ability to waste taxpayer money.”

But Philip D. Kohn, the lawyer representing the judges, said the expense is justified because the case addresses significant constitutional issues and deals with the illegal release of inmates by the sheriff. Gates and his deputies grant early releases to roughly 850 prisoners every week in order to save room for more serious offenders in the county’s overcrowded five-jail system.

Some of those releases have violated state law, which requires that violent offenders or suspects who give false identification to police, among others, be held.

“At stake in this case is whether the sheriff can unilaterally change sentences after a judge has pronounced them, or release prisoners he has been ordered by a judge to incarcerate,” Kohn said in a prepared statement.

Richard W. Stanford Jr., the presiding judge in Municipal Court in Santa Ana, found Gates guilty last April on 17 counts of contempt, but that conviction was overturned in September by Superior Court Judge Eileen T. Moore. Last month, Moore refused to reconsider her decision, prompting the Municipal Court judges to appeal.

The latest round in the legal battle probably will not be argued before the appellate court for at least six to nine months. Meanwhile, the county will continue to pick up the legal fees for both sides of the disagreement. So far, the bills have topped $35,000 for Kohn and his expenses. Kohn said he expects the appeal will cost roughly another $10,000.

In addition to those bills, the county is also paying for its own attorney’s time in handling the sheriff’s case. The value of that time has not been calculated, officials said, but the case has stretched over months.

“It’s very frustrating,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Gaddi H. Vasquez. “This is taxpayer money that is being used to argue an issue that has already been resolved by the courts.”

Supervisor Thomas F. Riley agreed, and subtly reminded Judge Stanford that the case could come up when the judge runs for reelection.

“These funds are desperately needed to provide services for law-abiding citizens,” Riley said. “I hope that the taxpayers remember this at the appropriate time and for the appropriate people.”

Kohn, however, said the money is insignificant compared to the supervisors’ own fumbling on the jail issue. In particular, Kohn noted that the supervisors voted in October to drop Gypsum Canyon near Anaheim from consideration as a future jail site.

“They’ve had 13 years to deal with this problem, and they put $7 million down the drain at Gypsum Canyon,” Kohn said. “This is a drop in the bucket.”

Kohn added that the judges believe the county has failed to do everything possible to relieve jail overcrowding, and he blamed the early releases on the supervisors’ inaction and Gates’ willingness to flaunt the law.

“The point has never been to jail the sheriff, but simply to force a stop to the illegal releases,” Kohn said. “This is because the citizens of Orange County do not want dangerous criminals or habitual drunk drivers released before they lawfully should be released.”

Gates was unavailable for comment Wednesday, but Undersheriff Raul Ramos said the department was “sorry the judges decided to do that (appeal).” He declined to comment further, since the issue is a subject of litigation.

Although Gates has conceded that he and his deputies release hundreds of prisoners prematurely, he argues that he should not be found guilty of contempt because he is doing everything he can to manage the overcrowded jail system: About 4,400 prisoners typically occupy cells built for 3,203.

A federal court order prevents Gates from overcrowding the Central Men’s Jail in Santa Ana. No similar order caps the population at other facilities, but county officials argue that intentionally pushing more prisoners into those jails would violate inmates’ constitutional rights and invite a federal lawsuit.