MADERA — From the desk of Madera County District Attorney Sally Moreno:
Madera County D.A. Sally Moreno
Here in Madera I will continue to work with local law enforcement agencies to keep Madera as safe as we can. But state officials aren’t making it easy…
As we continue to shelter in place to slow the spread of COVID-19, Governor Gavin Newsom directed the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court, Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye, to alter the bail schedule to release thousands of arrestees back onto our streets.
This bail schedule directly affects all 58 counties in the State of California overriding the bail schedule adopted and promulgated by our own local judges.
It does not take into account counties and jails that have zero cases of COVID-19, like here.
In addition to the untold number of people released from jail comes a new $0 bail for most new Felony and Misdemeanor offenses.
This new order makes it nearly impossible for law enforcement to arrest and hold people who have committed the following crimes: Child abuse and endangerment, trafficking of heroin and/or methamphetamine to our youth, physical or financial abuse of an elder adult, abuse of a dependent adult, human trafficking for labor, fraud, embezzlement of millions of dollars, obstructing or delaying a public health emergency worker, auto-theft, burglary, to name a few.
No legislature, nor citizen voted for this radical departure from the safe, just, and effective local control we have always exercised here in Madera.
Homeless and mentally ill inmates are also being released into the community virtually unsupervised.
Anyone arrested for a $0 bail crime will be immediately released without fear of incarceration for the time being.
To make matters worse, this order lasts not only the length of the emergency declaration, but will EXTEND another 90 days past the date our State reopens.
This is a continuation in the long line of laws in California that fails to place the proper emphasis on victims rights and Public Safety.
Many Sheriffs and District Attorneys up and down the State of California have spoken out against this unwise and unjust order, including many of our own local leaders.
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