FULLERTON, Calif. — Orange County Superior Court Judge Richard Zimmer issued a second no-contact protective order Friday against a man accused of battering his spouse, despite defense counsel’s argument that the first order had been modified in violation of the accused’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel.
The accused appeared in court for misdemeanor arraignments, facing three counts of misdemeanor battery, two counts of misdemeanor child abuse or endangerment, one count of driving under the influence with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08% or higher, one count of inflicting corporal injury on a spouse and one count of violating a court order.
The accused’s case was nearly delayed because his attorney was not present in the courtroom when the case was called, but she arrived after appearing in a different courtroom.
Deputy District Attorney Alexis Johnson informed Judge Zimmer that, at the accused’s previous hearing, Judge Nicholas Thompson had modified an existing peaceful-contact protective order into a no-contact protective order.
As Judge Zimmer prepared to issue a second no-contact protective order in the accused’s latest case, Public Defender Marissa Jáuregui argued that the modification of the first protective order violated her client’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel.
Jáuregui noted that the judge and counsel were both aware that she was also working on a trial in a separate courtroom when the decision was made to modify the protective order.
Jáuregui acknowledged that another public defender from her office had been called but highlighted that neither she nor the other defender had been notified of the planned modification, despite the customary five-day courtesy notice typically provided to counsel.
Jáuregui argued that this could constitute a violation of her client’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel.
Judge Zimmer has previously been quoted as saying he frequently sees individuals return to court for violating protective orders and has stated that he takes such violations “very seriously.”
Judge Zimmer acknowledged Jáuregui’s objections but issued the no-contact order and set bail at $50,000, the same amount the accused had posted earlier in the week.
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