DUBLIN, Calif. — An Alameda County Superior Court judge on Thursday delayed ruling in a probation violation hearing after attorneys for the defense and prosecution disagreed over whether the California Supreme Court’s recent In re Kowalczyk decision barred the court from imposing bail on an accused person who lacked the ability to pay following a new nonviolent misdemeanor arrest.
Judge Diane S. Meier oversaw the brief disagreement between Deputy Public Defender Sara Star and Deputy District Attorney Mohsin Aldabashi. The hearing concerned an alleged misdemeanor, nonviolent offense committed by the accused while out on recognizance for a felony charge. The core of the defense’s argument revolved around the accused’s ability to pay any bail.
Although the accused’s ability to pay was in question, Aldabashi argued that the accused was already out on their own recognizance for several other charges and, despite the most recent offense being nonviolent, needed some form of posted bail.
However, Star pointed out that the accused may not be able to pay any bail the state might impose because they lacked the financial ability to do so. Star supported her argument by informing the court that the accused is unstably housed, living locally and willing to participate in a program such as Drug Court. In addition, Star reminded the court of the recent decision in In re Kowalczyk, decided by the California Supreme Court.
In summary, In re Kowalczyk was a decision issued in April of this year regarding an accused person’s ability to actually pay the bail set by the state. According to the decision, the California Supreme Court “recognized the reality in California that many criminal defendants who might otherwise be entitled to pretrial release” were being denied release “solely because the arrestee lacked the resources to post bail.” The court further declared that “courts may not condition release on posting bail unless they consider an arrestee’s ability to pay.”
Because the accused’s new offense was nonviolent and they were unable to pay any amount of bail requested by the state, Star argued that they should not be held. However, despite the defense’s arguments, Judge Meier appeared persuaded by both the defense and the prosecution.
Judge Meier decided to break for the afternoon and return to the matter at a later point. Cases like these are likely to become more prevalent as the consequences of In re Kowalczyk continue to ripple throughout California in the coming years.
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