ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. — In Department Four of the Newport Beach Harbor Justice Center, Judge Matthew Anderson pressed forward with enforcement of a court order despite extensive explanations about a man’s cognitive limitations and lack of assistance in meeting its requirements.
Deputy Public Defender Randolph Collins explained that his client suffers from a cognitive injury that prevents him from driving, that he does not own a vehicle and that he is on anti-seizure medications, all of which significantly impair his cognitive functioning.
The accused was sentenced on Sept. 11, 2025, to three years of informal probation, 60 days in jail, eight hours of community service, a probation-approved batterers treatment program and $250 in restitution. The accused pleaded guilty to one count of corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant and one count of assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury stemming from an incident in May 2024, and he had two prior hearings at the end of October regarding proof of enrollment in the batterers treatment program.
The accused is unemployed and, although he applied for disability and other forms of government assistance, those requests were denied. He lives with his elderly mother and has no official form of assistance.
Judge Anderson acknowledged those circumstances but urged the accused’s attorney to move more quickly, suggesting the process was already too drawn out, given that the first proof-of-enrollment hearing took place in October 2025.
Judge Matthew Anderson granted Collins’ request to extend the proof-of-enrollment deadline by 30 days, at which point the accused must demonstrate enrollment in the court-ordered treatment program. Anderson also stated that the defense or the accused could present an alternative program for the court to decide whether to accept.
Collins explained that most treatment program options in Riverside County, where the accused lives, are offered online, creating a significant barrier to enrollment. Defense counsel again emphasized that the accused “really doesn’t have any assistance.”
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