By Alana Bleimann
ALAMEDA COUNTY – County public defenders here this week insisted their clients should be released from jail because of the current COVID-19 threat, but Alameda County Superior Court Judge Delia Trevino denied their requests.
COVID-19 continues to infect thousands of people across the state of California. In fact, as of this week, California collected nearly one million cases.
And because social distancing is next to impossible in jails and prisons, in-custody defendants are at a much greater risk of contracting and spreading the virus.
Because of this threat, defense lawyers continue to use COVID-19 as a reason for courts—noting that misdemeanors and even felonies should not be a death sentence—to release their clients early or to lower their bail to a reasonable amount that can be paid.
Defendants Neal Howard, Eugene Kittell and John Debord have special circumstances—such as age, history of nonviolent offenses, or no past failures to appear—that qualify them for OR (zero bail) or lower bail, their lawyers argued.
Assistant Public Defender Richard Foxall represented defendant Howard and claimed that his poor health during a global pandemic is enough to release him on his own recognizance and the virus is an overall 
“imminent risk to his health.”
Howard allegedly broke into a car and smashed the windows, destroying the exterior, with “burglary tools.”
Prosecutor Josefa James requested a $10,000 bail because of “the continued criminality” of Howard and 12 former failures to appear.
Judge Trevino denied the request for OR and set bail at $10,000, disregarding the defendant’s poor health. Further proceedings are set for January of next year.
Assistant Public Defender Miyuki Sakoh represented defendant Kittell, who is 65 years old and is at high risk of COVID-19, saying he should be released because “the peaking COVID cases are concerning” and the judge should “consider giving him [Kittell] one more opportunity.”
The underlying case is from 1982 and there is no history of failures to appear, thus Sakoh argued Kittell should be released on his OR.
On the other hand, prosecutor Ashley Carvolth argued that the defendant did in fact fail to appear for five different cases in the past and his bail should be set at $125,000.
“Given that he was provided an opportunity and did not follow through,” Judge Trevino stated, “OR is denied” and the preliminary hearing will be set for late January of next year.
Assistant Public Defender Andrea Brown represented Debord who stole a bike—since returned—in the ’80s, is 70 and at prime risk of dying from the virus.
PD Brown argued that “COVID is dangerous” especially to her client and that his criminal history “is from the ’70s and ‘80s so he should be released” on OR.
“He does not have respect for rules or any kind of order,” prosecutor Mary Amad claimed in response, noting 43 failures to appear over the years by Debord.
Taking each argument into consideration, Judge Trevino stated that “the misdemeanor events appear to be 61 [cases]” and 43 failures to appear and that it’s “really hard to disregard those numbers.”
OR was not granted and a stay-away order was given. Matters are continued to late December of this year for consideration of pre-trial services release and plea.
Alana Bleimann is a junior at the University of San Francisco majoring in Sociology with a minor in Criminal Justice Studies. She is from Raleigh, North Carolina.
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