THE JAMES A. MUSICK EAST COMPOUND WILL BE CLOSED IN AN EFFORT TO SAVE ORANGE COUNTY AN ESTIMATED $1 MILLION ANNUALLY

According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department website, the James A. Musick Facility is a one hundred acre minimum security facility known as “The Farm.” The facility is located in an unincorporated area of the county near the cities of Irvine and Lake Forest. The facility was originally opened in 1963 and was named in honor of James A. Musick, who was the Sheriff of Orange County from 1947 to 1975. Originally the facility held a maximum of 200 male minimum-security inmates and was referred to as the “County Industrial Farm” or the “Honor Farm.” The inmates housed at the facility are considered to be a low security risk and most are in jail for crimes such as driving under the influence, minor drug possession, burglary, failure to pay child support, and or prostitution. Inmates who have committed violent crimes, sex crimes or mayhem are not eligible for transfer to the facility. The compound currently houses minimum security inmates with 256 beds.

Sheriff Sandra Hutchens recently announced that the East Compound of the James A. Musick Facility will close. If the inmate population allows the compound to remain closed, the savings is estimated to be more than $1 million annually. According to the Press Release, there will be no early releases due to the closure and most of the inmates will be assigned to other sections of the Musick Facility. About 40 inmates will be transferred to either the Orange County Sheriff’s Central Jail or the Theo Lacy Facility.

According to the Press Release, jail staff assigned to the East Compound will be transferred to other duties in an effort to reduce overtimes costs. Maintenance and repairs will continue to be done to the East Compound while it is closed.

The James A. Musick Facility offered educational programs that enabled inmates to receive a G.E.D. while still being incarcerated. Training in agricultural skills was offered as part of the plan and balanced agricultural program. Special emphasis was placed on the production of vegetables and eggs which were used within the department’s Food Services Unit.

New Courtroom Opening at Orange County Central Jail Complex

According to a Press Advisory from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and the Orange County Superior Court, Sheriff Sandra Hutchens and Assistant Presiding Judge Thomas Borris will meet with the press to introduce the County’s newest courtroom that is actually located within the Orange County Central Jail Complex.  According to the Press Advisory, in-custody misdemeanor and felony arraignments and misdemeanor probation violation hearings for the Central Justice Center—Santa Ana and the Harbor Justice Center—Newport Beach facilities will be heard at the new courtroom.  The new courtroom will be named CJ-1 and will begin hearing cases starting Wednesday, October 28, 2009.  The courtroom will be open Monday-through-Friday from 10:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. and the court proceedings will be shown on video monitors in a designated public viewing area due to security and space limitations.

The location of the courtroom CJ-1 is: Orange County Central Jail Complex—Intake Release Center, 550 S. Flower Street, Santa Ana, California 92701.  The entrance is located on West Sixth Street across from the Santa Ana Stadium.

Orange County Sheriff’s Investigator Charged With Filing False Police Reports

According to news reports, Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) Investigator, Janet Virginia Strong, has been charged with filing false reports. She is being charged with six misdemeanor counts of filing a false reports as a peace officer and faces a sentence ranging from probation to up to six years in jail if convicted.

Investigator Strong is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday, September 28, 2009, in the Orange County Superior Court-Central Justice Center in Santa Ana, California.

According to an Orange County Court News Release, beginning August 1, 2009, traffic violators in Orange County who qualify for traffic school will have the option of attending any DMV-approved classroom traffic school or any court-approved online traffic school.  This is a change from the prior requirement in Orange County that all traffic school programs be classroom style traffic school programs offered only at Orange County Court locations.

To effectuate this change, the Orange County Courts have entered into an agreement with California Traffic Safety Institute (CTSI), a non-profit organization, to oversee the various traffic school programs and assist in the preparation of certificates of completion that are entered into court records.  According to the Orange County Court News Release, CTSI will maintain and monitor a list of approved traffic schools.  Traffic violators will select any school from the approved list and then enroll with and pay the instructional fee directly to the school.  Statutory traffic school fees and court fines will continue to be paid directly to the Court.

California Traffic Safety Institute (CTSI)

209 E Avenue K-8, Suite 210

Lancaster, California 93535

Telephone: 661-940-1907

 

Website: www.ctsi-courtnetwork.org

Anti-Drunk Driving Awards Ceremonies & Officer Manipulation of Field Sobriety Test Evaluations

In light of an article in the Orange County Register regarding the recent awards ceremony sponsored by the Orange County Chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the story of two Chicago police officers who were caught misrepresenting DUI suspects’ performance on field sobriety tests comes to mind.  Like many of the Orange County law enforcement officers listed below, Officer Parker and Officer Haleas, both Chicago police officers, received awards for having more DUI arrests than almost any other officer in the Chicago area from a local anti-drunk driving organization: the Schaumburg-based Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists.

As nearly any DUI defense lawyer will tell you, there are two major reasons why police officers might cut corners or even lie to boost their DUI arrest numbers: First, they stand to profit from the resulting overtime for going to court on the cases, and second, there are numerous accolades and awards to be had.

While the practice of misrepresenting a DUI suspect’s performance on the field sobriety tests is not necessarily uncommon, finding actual proof of the misrepresentation is.  This is particularly so when many prosecutors and judges look the other way and excuse the discrepancies as being something that just cannot be seen from the angle of the video camera in the patrol vehicle.  In this case though, the proof came by way of same type of video camera found in most patrol vehicles across Orange County.

According to the article in the Chicago Sun Times, when prosecutors viewed the video of Officer Joe D. Parker’s July 2008 sobriety test of Raymond L. Bell, they realized that the video did not comport with what the officer wrote in his police report.  After reviewing the evidence, the prosecutors decided to dismiss the driving under the influence (DUI) charges against Mr. Bell.

According to the article in the Chicago Sun Times, Officer Parker wrote in his police report that Mr. Bell lost his balance and used his arms to steady himself during the field sobriety tests.  The patrol video from Officer Parker’s patrol unit, however, showed a different story.  Officer Parker’s patrol video, which was obtained and viewed by the Chicago Sun Times, showed that when Officer Parker activated his overhead lights to pull Bell over, Bell immediately slowed down but continued to drive for about 40 seconds until he was able to safely exit at the first off-ramp; however, Officer Parker wrote in his arrest report that: “Due to speed, operator refused to stop.”

Officer Parker also wrote in his arrest report that Bell‘s eyes were bloodshot and that he had a strong odor of alcohol when he stepped out of the car.  He further stated that Bell “staggered” and that his gait was “unsteady” as he was exiting his vehicle, all of which was contradicted by the patrol video.

Officer Parker first had Mr. Bell perform the Walk-and-Turn test, in which he had to put one foot on a line, with his arms at his sides, then take nine steps heel-to-toe, turn and walk back with nine more steps.  The patrol video showed Mr. Bell appearing to be perfectly balanced while he performed the sobriety test.  According to Officer Parker’s arrest report, though, Bell performed the test unsatisfactorily.

Officer Parker next had Mr. Bell perform the One-Leg Stand test, in which he would need to raise one foot about six inches off the ground and count to 30.  Mr. Bell initially put his foot down when Officer Parker told him to keep looking at his foot, but thereafter, Mr. Bell stood almost still with his foot off the ground as he counted past 30.  In his report, though, Officer Parker marked Mr. Bell down for lowering his foot and also for hopping, using his arms for balance, and swaying.  None of which was supported by the patrol video.

After the field sobriety tests, Bell requested to take a Breathalyzer, but Officer Parker said that he did not have the device in his patrol vehicle, and thus could not administer the test.  Later, Bell refused to take the test at the station.

According to the Chicago Sun Times, dozens of DUI arrests by Officer Parker are currently under review.  A review of Officer Haleas’s arrests for similar types of misconduct has already led to 156 cases being dismissed.  According to the Chicago Sun Times, Officer Parker could not be reached for comment.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has an Orange County Chapter that also provides awards ceremonies for local law enforcement officers who have accumulated mass numbers of DUI arrests.  According to the Orange County Register, at the most recent Orange County awards ceremony, about 350 uniformed Orange County law enforcement officers dined as 24 of their fellow officers were given the 2009 Century Award for making 100 or more arrests for suspicion of driving under the influence during 2008.  Additionally, a dozen prosecutors received the 2009 Diligent Prosecution Award for their work in DUI convictions and drunk driving deaths.

At the Orange County Mothers Against Drunk Driving Awards Ceremony, Officers with more than 100 arrests for suspicion of driving under the influence received a Century Award.  Motorcycle officer Tai Huynh of the Huntington Beach Police Department received the quadruple Century Award for making 445 DUI arrests in one year.  It is noteworthy to point out, though, that the awards were given out for arrests for suspicion of driving under the influence, not convictions. 

What follows is a list from the Orange County Register article of the recipients of the 2009 Century Awards, including the recipients of the Double, Triple and Quadruple Century Awards.  With most officers working only three-to-four days per week, and only 365 days in a year minus vacation time, some officers appear to have averaged more than four arrests per shift.

 

2009 Century Award Recipients

The following officers were honored for making 100 or more arrests:

Officer Weston Hadley

Santa Ana Police Department

101 arrests

Officer Kevin Plog

Orange Police Department

101 arrests

Officer Allen Rieckhof

Costa Mesa Police Department

102 arrests

Deputy Peter Mach

Orange County Sheriff‘s Department

Stanton Police Services

103 arrests

Officer Brad Miller

Newport Beach Police Department

103 arrests

Officer Chris Wren

Fullerton Police Department

104 arrests

Sgt. Dale Shields

Huntington Beach Police Department

105 arrests

Officer Jeff McCann

Costa Mesa Police Department

105 arrests

Officer Scott Dibble

Costa Mesa Police Department

106 arrests

Officer Erik Rosado

Costa Mesa Police Department

107 arrests

Officer Rick Cummings

Costa Mesa Police Department

108 arrests

Officer Tony Reitz

Costa Mesa Police Department

109 arrests

Officer Kenny Edgar

Fullerton Police Department

111 arrests

Officer Eric Little

Newport Beach Police Department

112 arrests

Patrol Officer Wade Wilson

Huntington Beach Police Department

125 arrests

Patrol Officer Roman Altenbach

Huntington Beach Police Department

135 arrests

Patrol Officer Doug Demetre

Huntington Beach Police Department

141 arrests

Officer James Rice

Buena Park Police Department

142 arrests

Motor Officer Mark Van Meter

Huntington Beach Police Department

142 arrests

Corporal Mark Bell

Santa Ana Police Department

153 arrests

 

Double Century, 200 or more arrests

Officer Michael Kuplast

Santa Ana Police Department

202 arrests

 

Triple Century, 300 or more arrests

Officer Kirk Salmon

Orange Police Department

307 arrests

Officer Justin McGowan

Orange Police Department

314 arrests

 

Quadruple Century, 400 or more arrests

Motor Officer Tai Huynh

Huntington Beach Police Department

445 arrests

 

For Orange County Register Article:

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/driving-drunk-award-2333526-officers-received

 

For Chicago Sun Time Article:

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/1470350,CST-NWS-duivideo11.article#

 

Packaging of Misdemeanor Cases Effective December 1, 2008

The County of Orange has implemented a misdemeanor packaging of cases effective December 1, 2008.  This will involve a packaging of all of a defendant’s active misdemeanor and infraction cases filed in the County.  Under this initiative, all active informal/formal misdemeanor probation cases, open unadjudicated misdemeanor matters, terminal disposition cases with outstanding sentence terms, and infraction matters will be packaged with open misdemeanor cases at the Orange County Superior Court in which the defendant is next appearing for arraignment.  This means that even if a defendant has open cases in other courts throughout the County, they will all be transferred to the location of the newest offense to serve as companion cases to the new case.  Thus, all the matters will be addressed by the new court.

The County advises that “the goal of the packaging plan is to manage a person through the system rather than a case, a ‘one stop shop’ approach to resolving cases.  The benefits of case packaging are to provide an opportunity to adjudicate all of a defendant’s cases at a single appearance, reduce the movement of defendants, including in-custodies, from courthouse to courthouse, and to use resources more efficiently.”