WOODLAND, CA – Because the prosecution wasn’t ready to proceed, and the judge didn’t want to reduce bail, the accused here found himself stuck in jail until another court appearance.
Public Defender Danielle Craig asked Judge Sonia Cortés in Yolo County Superior Court Tuesday morning to grant a motion to require a preliminary hearing in the afternoon.
But, Deputy District Attorney Jesse Richardson, substituting for another prosecutor, Aloysius Patchen, challenged the request.
DDA Richardson acknowledged DDA Patchen had not submitted a brief in response to the motion, but they would still need more time to effectively prepare for the preliminary hearing.
PD Craig argued the lack of preparation on the prosecution side shouldn’t delay the government to rule on the motion and hold a preliminary hearing.
However, DDA Richardson argued the accused would still fall under the acceptable time frames for their preliminary hearing and nowhere in law does it require the hearing to take place within 60 days.
Judge Cortés ordered the case to be recalled, and later, when the case was recalled, DDA Richardson stated the prosecution needed more time to prepare for the preliminary hearing, citing delays in obtaining AV footage, which both the public defender and the deputy district attorney had requested for review.
After hearing both arguments, the court decided to postpone the preliminary hearing rather than proceed in the afternoon.
Then, PD Craig requested the release of the accused, emphasizing that a recent law change in Yolo County had recategorized “what only would have been a misdemeanor two months ago… now a felony.”
PD Craig argued the accused did not pose a threat to the community and did not pose any flight risk, so the accused should be released from custody until the preliminary hearing.
PD Craig also requested the accused be released on minimum bail amount as the accused cannot pay the current bail amount since he does not hold a job because he is in jail.
DDA Richardson opposed the request of release, arguing the accused had been found trespassing and banging on a door at a hotel. DDA Richardson added the accused has prior strikes and history of domestic violence, therefore he should not be released from custody.
Judge Cortés argued that, while the court could reduce bail to $10,000 per count, there were no significant changes in circumstances to justify lowering bail any further..
Craig argued that the bail amount is still too high and it violates the accused’s rights under the Humphrey decision. The PD emphasized the accused’s lack of employment and inability to pay such a high bail amount.
Despite these factors, Judge Cortés set the matter for a future court date, denied the request for release, and decided that the accused would not be released on unsupervised OR and the bail amount will not be reduced further. Judge Cortés invited the defense to file a motion if it wants further bail reduction.
