By Serene Chang
SACRAMENTO, CA – Some good things and not-so-good things—for defendants—happened in Judge Patrick Marlette’s Sacramento County Superior courtroom Monday.
In Case No. 1, Crystal Sandling was previously sentenced by the court to sign up for a work project in San Francisco, but her sign-up date fell through when COVID-19 shutdowns began.
Assistant Public Defender Samantha Ting explained that Sandling “did everything she was supposed to do” and repeatedly went to San Francisco to sign up.
However, San Francisco home detention continued to state that they were not accepting people from out of the county and Sandling should come back another time.
After many efforts to sign-up in San Francisco, Sandling traveled to Sacramento County as a “last attempt” where they told her she had missed her date and must go to the court for a re-referral.
“Man, this is like one of those movies where someone’s just had it. She needs to go John Wick on us because the government keeps screwing up,” exclaimed Judge Marlette.
Ting added that Sandling is a single mother of a two-year-old son and works full time. Due to bureaucratic inefficiencies, Sandling may have to commute to Sacramento County, despite her requests for home detention to take place in her home city of San Francisco.
Judge Marlette granted Sandling’s re-referral, asking if Sandling could sign up in Sacramento County within the next five days.
Sandling requested more time to sign up because this hearing was the first she was made aware of having to travel to Sacramento to sign up. Sandling said that she still needs to make arrangements with her son.
Marlette pushed the sign-up date back to July 23, but informed Sandling of the consequences of not signing up by then: Sandling would have to turn herself into custody by Aug. 27 at the main jail.
“If you hit the runaround again, you write down my name,” Marlette said. “If they’re giving you trouble, tell them they should call Judge Marlette. Actually tell them they should call Sam Ting and she’ll call me and we’ll get it taken care of.”
In Case No. 2, Judge Marlette sentenced defendant Eddie Anderson for a low term of 16 months in state prison on child pornography charges.
Judge Marlette went over the conditions of the negotiated plea agreement, which allowed for Anderson to serve in state prison on a low term while also denying him probation.
Deputy District Attorney Bruce Cheng reminded the court that Anderson would have to agree to forfeit his child pornography items as part of the plea agreement.
“You agree we’re going to find those devices that Mr. Cheng mentioned and order them confiscated and disposed of as provided by law,” Marlette said to the defendant.
Anderson will be registered as a sex offender for life and is ordered to pay a $300 restitution fine and $40 court construction fee.
Serene Chang is a sophomore at UC Berkeley studying History, Journalism, and Human Rights. She is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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