September 12, 2007
Overheard in court
Something I never thought I'd hear in the Ventura courthouse, told to me by a defense attorney who has practiced in other jurisdictions:
"The defendants get better deals in Ventura than I used to see in San Francisco."
When I was a new D.A., attorneys from Los Angeles lamented the tough sentences imposed by our local bench. There was a saying, popular amongst the defense bar, "Ventura County: Arrive on vacation, leave on probation."
Apparently that's no longer true -- at least when it comes to misdemeanor sentences. Although my office still asks for probation on cases where we think it appropriate, that request is often denied, with defendants getting little more than "credit time served," a slap on the wrist. I can recall a time when Ventura judges would "stack" sentences, running them consecutively. On one occasion, I saw a judge impose five one-year terms, sending the defendant to do more than fifteen-hundred days in the local jail.
The perception was that the local judges were tough on crime -- not just serious and violent felonies, but the misdemeanor, quality-of-life crimes that the public more commonly encounters, like petty theft, drunk in public, DUI, vandalism and graffiti.
Now, to be fair, this is just a comment from one defense lawyer, but it speaks to a perception amongst some of his colleagues and, after all, perception is reality.
Seems like crooks are better off committing their crimes in Ventura County -- instead of tough, law-and-order jurisdictions.
Like San Francisco.
Posted by Mike Lief at September 12, 2007 12:40 PM
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Comments
This is shocking news. It's time to throw these liberal judges out on their asses! Vote 'em out!
Posted by: Ben at September 13, 2007 08:18 PM