Court decision endangers inmates, public defenders say

Oakland - Speedy trial rights for defendants have been drastically restricted because of the coronavirus after state court officials approved delays in scheduling court cases.

Alameda County Public Defender Brendon Woods said Monday that his clients are suffering.

"You're talking poor clients, you're talking predominantly black and brown clients, are going to be stuck in jail for longer periods of time, as they deal with this crisis and emergency," Woods said.

On Saturday, the state Judicial Council adopted emergency measures it said would "flatten the curve" of the pandemic.

Arraignments are now within seven days, not two days after an arrest.

Hosea Askew, accused of a deadly road-rage shooting in Berkeley, wasn’t charged until four calendar days after being taken into custody.

Instead of 10 days for a preliminary hearing, it's now 30 days, and instead of a trial within 60 days for felonies, it's now 90 days. All jury trials have already been postponed for 60 days.

"Our clients have not been convicted of a crime yet," Wood said. "They have not been convicted. So we've got to work differently with regards to this crisis here. We've got to get those people out of custody."

Many counties have already released inmates.

"We have released over 500 individuals out of custody over the last two weeks," said Sgt. Ray Kelly of the Alameda County sheriff's office, referring to Santa Rita Jail in Dublin. 

Derick Almena, who is awaiting retrial in the deadly Ghost Ship warehouse fire in oakland, is not among them. On Monday, Judge Trina Thompson Stanley rejected his motion to be released because of coronavirus fears. The decision, his attorneys said, was "disgraceful" and amounted to "pre-conviction penalty."

So far, no inmates nor deputies have contracted the virus in Alameda County.But a nurse has. Thesheriff’s office says it is focused on keeping the coronavirus out of the jail.

"It’s the people that come into the facility, the workers, our employees, that come in from the outside world into the facility, that we worry about them bringing in the virus," Kelly said.

But San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju says jails are illness incubators.

"It's very, very difficult to maintain that social distancing in a jail facility," Raju said. "It's also impossible to keep your immune system up in the way you want to."

The court scheduling delays will remain in place for 90 days after the coronavirus emergency is lifted, to address any backlogs.