LOS ANGELES, Calif. — A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge exonerated a $200,000 bond and granted an accused woman release on her own recognizance Wednesday, despite the prosecution’s objection that the bond should remain in place because of the amount of money allegedly involved in the case.
Judge Louis T. Parise, Jr., granted the release during an arraignment and plea hearing involving a woman charged with four felony counts related to allegedly falsified insurance claims.
The alleged offenses occurred Sept. 23, 2023; Nov. 27, 2023; Jan. 19, 2024; and March 18, 2024.
Defense attorney Zachary McCready requested that the preliminary hearing be scheduled for Nov. 18.
Judge Parise granted the request after advising the accused of her right to a speedy preliminary hearing. The accused waived that right and agreed to the November date.
The judge then questioned why the accused had been required to post a $200,000 bond, describing the amount as unusual for a case involving allegations of insurance fraud.
Judge Parise asked Deputy District Attorney Nina Sophia Elisseou whether the prosecution would agree to exonerating the bond and allowing the accused to remain released on her own recognizance, or whether it wanted the existing bond maintained.
Elisseou requested that the bond remain in place.
McCready argued that the accused should instead be released on her own recognizance.
Judge Parise described the bond amount as “atypical” and asked Elisseou to explain the prosecution’s opposition to exonerating it.
Elisseou argued that the $200,000 bond reflected calculations based on the amount of money the accused allegedly obtained through fraudulent insurance claims.
The prosecutor also expressed concern that exonerating the bond could disadvantage the prosecution if additional issues arose in the case.
After considering the accused’s age, lack of prior criminal record and absence of any history of failing to appear in court, Judge Parise granted the defense’s request.
“Everyone is OR in these cases and she [the accused] is posted at $200,000, so I’m going to exonerate the bail,” Judge Parise stated.
The decision comes within the broader legal framework governing pretrial release in California, including the California Supreme Court’s ruling in In re Kowalczyk, which addresses constitutional requirements for bail and pretrial detention decisions.
According to the Civil Rights Corps, the ruling reinforces constitutional protections against pretrial detention based solely on a person’s inability to afford bail and requires courts to consider relevant circumstances when making detention decisions.
Judge Parise ultimately exonerated the $200,000 bond and authorized the accused to remain released on her own recognizance.
The case is scheduled to return to Department 32 on Nov. 18 for a preliminary hearing.
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