It’s the Law, Even if Strange : Ordinances: The city of Orange made a routine review of its municipal code and turned up some legal oddities.

At least now if you get caught telling fortunes without a license, you probably won’t have to appear in court.

The same goes for failing to take out the trash every week, or even being cited for public nudity.

Municipal Court in Santa Ana recently asked the city of Orange to review the bail amounts it has set for such misdemeanor crimes, which are spelled out in the city’s voluminous municipal code book.

The court periodically requests such reviews to ensure that bail amounts are fair, and are not so high that defendants feel they have to fight every charge in court, which could create a logjam in the justice system.

When Orange completed its review this month, most bail amounts remained unchanged. But city attorneys took the opportunity to modify their penalties, recommending that the court allow some offenders to forfeit their bail money instead of appearing in court.

For example, public nudity, accumulation of trash and fortune-telling without a business license previously would have required the accused to tell it to the judge--in person.

But with the revisions, which still have to be approved by the court, first-time offenders will be able to post bail and forgo a court appearance altogether.

“This is more than an exercise in expediency,” said Orange Assistant City Atty. Stan Soo-Hoo. “The court is trying to make the process more efficient.”

But most of these lesser-known misdemeanors, which carry bail amounts from $50 to $150, are rarely enforced, Orange authorities concede. They can recall occasional nudity citations, but none for neglecting to take out the trash every week.

“I’ve never seen a (trash) ticket,” said Soo-Hoo, who supervised Orange’s bail review. “I don’t know if there’s a practical way to measure one week’s worth of garbage. Usually these kinds of laws are made with the public’s health and safety in mind.”

The city’s bail review process, however, brought to light a host of other legal oddities buried in its 715-page municipal code.

Orange apparently has little faith in domesticating some creatures of “a wild nature.” Anyone caught making pets out of piranhas, walking catfish, or nonpoisonous snakes over six feet long will have to part with $55, according to the new bail schedule.

And those humans wild enough to expose their private parts to public view are also out of luck, and will have to surrender $150 to the county court if cited. Children ages 10 and under, and thespians performing in live theater, however, can run around naked if they like, according to the code.

Perhaps one of the most peculiar rules appears in Section 17.78.160 of the city’s Municipal Code. According to this section, residents with balloons exceeding 30 inches in diameter have technically run afoul of the law, and will have to post bail of $50.

The city’s balloon restriction surprised even Municipal Court veteran Pierre Poudevigne.

“There are local ordinances of all extremities,” said the administrative services assistant, who has been with the court for 29 years. “But in my tenure here, I haven’t seen too many odd ones like a 30-inch balloon” ordinance.

But Orange authorities say the law serves a useful purpose.

“The idea is consistent with our sign ordinance,” said police Lt. Ed Tunstall. “It’s to prevent one business from getting an advantage over another.”

Though it has been nearly a decade since Orange last revised its bail schedule, the city recommended few increased bail amounts to the court. But officials did seek higher bail amounts on several offenses related to the sale and public consumption of alcohol. The largest hike came for drinking in public, which shot up from $50 to $150.

And under the old bail schedules, people caught relieving themselves in public faced costs of $100. Now it’s $150.

But the city lowered some of its bail amounts, too. Bail for improperly soliciting for charitable or religious purposes or failing to post a business tax certificate tumbled from $150 to $70.

“We looked at the bail schedule for consistency,” Soo-Hoo said. “We didn’t want a minor offense to have a higher bail than a more serious one.”