WOODLAND, Calif. — A Yolo County Superior Court judge pushed a preliminary hearing forward Thursday morning despite concerns about whether the accused could be adequately represented by an attorney unfamiliar with the case, stating that because the matter had been reset nine times, it needed to be dealt with.
The accused has remained in custody with bail set at $10,000 while the matter has been repeatedly passed, according to court records. The accused is facing two DUI-related charges and several driving-related offenses from March 24, 2025.
Defense attorney Robert Darrohn began by apologizing for the absence of the accused’s attorney, who was currently battling health concerns.
After the defense began going into some detail regarding the health concerns, Judge Daniel Maguire insisted that those details were unnecessary and that if the original attorney was unable to represent the accused, then the public defender’s office needed to find someone within its department who was able to.
Darrohn then replied that he was unsure whether anyone other than the original attorney knew the details of the case, stating that even he “didn’t know much about the case.”
This raised concerns about how the accused could be adequately represented by counsel who was unfamiliar with the details of the case.
Defense counsel also raised questions about a domestic violence-related matter and whether it had been reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor.
After some back-and-forth between the prosecution and defense, Deputy District Attorney Stephen Ribet stated that the domestic violence-related matter was officially a felony but called a sidebar to clear up confusion among counsel.
After the sidebar, Judge Maguire expressed that there were understandable circumstances that resulted in the accused’s original counsel being absent. However, as the case had been continued more than nine times, the matter “needed to move forward now.”
Upon reviewing court records, the delays in the matter were due to a variety of reasons. Marking the beginning of the delays were two failures to appear for arraignment in June 2025.
Following the failures to appear were the reassignment of the case after a judicial disqualification, defense motions and multiple defense-requested continuances.
This all came to a head on July 16, when the trial-setting conference was continued by the defense and the deputy district attorney “for possible resolution” on Aug. 13, after which the judge explicitly stated that this would be the final continuance allowed by the defense.
Judge Maguire expressed understanding that the case was brand new to Darrohn and asked him to do his best to represent the accused. He further explained that if someone else in the department could represent the accused more properly, then that attorney could appear to represent the accused at the hearing.
Judge Maguire gave the defense three hours to prepare, despite Darrohn having stated that he did not know much about the case.
Judge Maguire stated that “if counsel expresses they are unable to represent [the accused] properly, then that could be handled.”
He urged counsel to make “diligent efforts to represent and prepare properly” and set the preliminary hearing for 45 minutes with another judge in a neighboring department later that day. Darrohn was seen speaking with the accused as Judge Maguire brought the hearing to a close.
According to the evening court docket, the accused was not represented by Darrohn but by defense attorney Robert Carroll.
Furthermore, Judge Catherine Rayhill set the matter for a 10th time for Oct. 8 at 9 a.m., allowing the defense additional time to prepare for representation.
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