SAN FRANCISCO — An accused who had appeared at multiple scheduled court hearings was nevertheless arrested on an outstanding bench warrant because of what the defense described as an administrative oversight, prompting Deputy Public Defender Daniel Meyer to seek her release Monday before Judge Matthew S. Kahn in San Francisco Superior Court.
On July 6 in Department 11 of the San Francisco Superior Court, Meyer argued for the accused’s release, explaining she was arrested on an outstanding bench warrant that remained active because of an administrative oversight, despite appearing at all of her recent court dates.
During a bench warrant recall hearing, Meyer explained that the accused had two pending cases, both of which were affected by bench warrant issues. Meyer described the circumstances as an “unfortunate situation,” stating that the accused had missed a court appearance on Nov. 10 while staying at a “nursing facility in Vallejo.”
Meyer told the court the accused later contacted him from the facility and appeared in court on Dec. 19, despite residing outside San Francisco and living in a nursing facility. However, Meyer explained that only one of the two cases had its bench warrant recalled at that appearance, leaving one bench warrant outstanding.
The accused went on to attend two court dates in the new year and believed she was in full compliance with the court’s orders.
Meyer noted that “his calendar” reflected the Nov. 10 hearing but did not include a court date for the second case. As a result, the court did not acknowledge the second case when the accused consistently appeared in court, and the bench warrant remained outstanding without administrative awareness of the issue.
According to Meyer, because of the oversight, the accused was arrested on the outstanding warrant the previous Thursday. Meyer argued that the accused was “confused” by the arrest because she believed she was complying with the court’s requirements by continuing to appear at subsequent hearings.
According to the accused, she did not want to go with the arresting officers, and her “arm was broken” by the arresting officers as well. The altercation led to her staying in the hospital over the Fourth of July weekend.
The accused “has a meeting today with permanent housing,” Meyer said. She had to miss the meeting because she was being held in custody, despite her various court appearances. For the past year, the accused has lived in a nursing home in Vallejo; however, she had recently been attempting to secure long-term housing.
Meyer requested that the accused be released on her own recognizance without Assertive Case Management. Deputy District Attorney Austin Weiss said, “The people request ACM” because of the “multiple cases” and “previous bench warrants.”
Judge Kahn released the accused on her own recognizance and set a pre-hearing conference for Aug. 13.
By Camila Alonso, Jocelyn Portillo, Shanai Farley, Micah Janeway, Alec Roderick, Carmen Miranda and Sarah Naser
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