WOODLAND, Calif. — A bench warrant was issued for a Black man’s arrest after he failed to appear in court in June, despite receiving a corrected court notice directing him to appear in July instead. The accused argued the court deliberately misled him because of his race.
The accused was charged with driving with a suspended license, a misdemeanor, in March 2026. In April, a complaint was filed, and he received a letter directing him to appear in court on June 24, 2026, at 9 a.m. in Department 2.
Soon afterward, he received a second letter correcting the earlier notice and stating that he instead needed to appear in court on July 14, 2026, at 9 a.m. in Department 1.
A bench warrant was issued for his arrest after he failed to appear for the June court date, even though he had received the corrected notice. The Yolo County court calendar reflects that the correction was issued the same day as the original notice.
The defense alleged the incident was not a miscommunication but a deliberate effort to have him arrested because of his race.
Judge Danette Brown said she did not have statistics indicating whether this occurs more frequently to Black people than to people of other races.
A 2020 report by the Prison Policy Initiative states that the arrest rate for Black Americans was 4,223 per 100,000 people, compared with 2,092 per 100,000 people for white Americans.
The bench warrant was recalled, and the accused pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The accused is scheduled to appear in court again Aug. 25 for a pretrial conference.
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