By Meredith Kelly
WOODLAND, Calif. — During a review hearing Thursday in Yolo County Superior Court, Judge Stephen L. Mock revoked an unhoused woman’s supervised own recognizance (SOR) release, despite arguments from the defense that her housing status should not be grounds for revocation.
The woman is facing two felony charges: assault with a deadly weapon and assault by force likely to produce great bodily injury. The request to revoke her supervised release was filed on July 14.
According to the defense, the revocation request followed a missed court date. The woman, who is unhoused, could not be located in time for her scheduled appearance but reportedly appeared in court the following day.
District Public Defender Martha Sequeira said the missed appearance was due to either a communication or transportation error.
Probation Officer Gauthier stated a bed had been made available to the woman at Walter’s House, but probation was unable to inform her due to a lack of contact. He cited the difficulty in reaching someone living a “homeless lifestyle” as the reason behind the revocation request.
Sequeira objected, arguing that being unhoused is not a legal or valid basis for revoking SOR. She maintained that homelessness does not represent a change in circumstance that would justify revocation.
The public defender also emphasized that the woman’s charges did not make her ineligible for release and that she posed neither a flight risk nor a public safety threat. She argued that the missed court date was being unfairly used as evidence of changed circumstances, even though the woman never left the county.
Sequeira further argued that penalizing the accused for being unhoused was unjust and reiterated that the woman’s missed court appearance was not her fault, especially since the court was aware of her housing situation at the time of release.
Judge Mock denied the request to reinstate SOR. When the woman attempted to speak with her attorney during the hearing, Judge Mock interjected, stating, “Ma’am I’ve got all kinds of other cases to deal with.” As she tried to speak again, he shouted, “Ma’am, sit down.”
Judge Mock set bail at $10,000. A pre-hearing conference is scheduled for July 31.
