SANTA ANA, Calif. — Orange County Superior Court Judge Eric Scarbrough denied a deputy public defender’s request for nonmonetary bail Tuesday, setting a combined $3,000 bail for an unhoused man facing two criminal cases after he allegedly violated a protective order imposed as a condition of his earlier release.
The decision came during an Oct. 27 hearing at the Central Justice Center, two weeks after Scarbrough granted the accused release on his own recognizance, subject to a protective order that he allegedly violated.
At the previous hearing on Oct. 13, Scarbrough justified releasing the accused on his own recognizance by citing the California Supreme Court’s April 30 decision in In re Kowalczyk, which addressed constitutional limitations on monetary bail.
The majority opinion stated, “Courts cannot use artificially high or objectively unattainable bail as an end run to effectuate pretrial detention where such detention is not authorized under [the California Constitution].”
However, when the accused appeared in custody for arraignment on Oct. 27 following an alleged Oct. 24 protective order violation, Scarbrough expressed concern that the previous conditions of release had failed to prevent further alleged misconduct.
“It doesn’t seem like that [the protective order] had any effect or deterrence,” Scarbrough told the court.
The original misdemeanor charges of battery and brandishing a weapon stemmed from an incident in which the accused allegedly “yanked the phone” from his mother’s hand and “raised a metal object at her” outside her home, according to Deputy District Attorney Madeline Bennett at the earlier arraignment.
During that hearing, the accused acknowledged a protective order requiring him to have no contact with his mother, including at her residence, workplace or vehicle.
Eleven days after his release, the accused allegedly violated the order by returning to his mother’s residence, “throwing items at the windows” and making “threats to kill everyone,” Deputy District Attorney Melanie McCorkle told the court.
Scarbrough asked whether the accused’s mother had been present during the alleged violation. McCorkle informed the court that she was not home at the time and that the accused’s sister had called the police.
Citing “threats to the safety” of the victim and her family, the prosecution requested $10,000 bail.
Deputy Public Defender Olivia Glaiser opposed monetary bail, explaining that the accused had been unhoused for three to four years and had been unable to maintain employment because of his housing instability.
He “has no money; he rides his bike to court,” Glaiser told the court.
Glaiser also noted that the Public Defender’s Office had successfully connected the accused with his assigned deputy public defender, Catherine Gardner.
She proposed nonmonetary release conditions requiring the accused to remain in contact with the Public Defender’s Office throughout his court proceedings.
Scarbrough responded that the court’s primary concern was not whether the accused posed a “flight risk,” but rather the “safety of the victim and the safety of the public at large.”
“You put the court in a quandary here,” Scarbrough told the accused, reminding him of their previous hearings and the protective order he had agreed to follow.
“It appears that [protective order] didn’t have an effect in keeping you away,” the judge added.
Scarbrough ultimately imposed $2,000 bail in the original misdemeanor case and $1,000 in the protective order violation case, bringing the total to $3,000.
“I’m loath to do it, sir,” Scarbrough told the accused.
At Glaiser’s request, the court scheduled a bail review hearing for Nov. 6.
The cases are also scheduled for further pretrial proceedings on Nov. 6, with trial set for Nov. 17.
To comment please go to one of these social media platforms:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DavisVanguard
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/peoples-vanguard-of-davis-inc/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davisvanguard/
X: https://x.com/davisvanguard
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/vanguardnewsgroup.bsky.social
Subscribe to the Vanguard News letters. To make a tax-deductible donation, please visit davisvanguard.org/donate or give directly through ActBlue. Your support will ensure that the vital work of the Vanguard continues.
