San Francisco Hall of Justice – Photo by David M. Greenwald
SAN FRANCISCO — A man appeared in court Monday, Aug. 17, after his lawyer, conflict attorney Alexander Golovets, told Judge Matthew S. Kahn that the accused had been “lost in the system,” resulting in a bench warrant that remained outstanding for four months and disrupted services he had reportedly been receiving as ordered.
Before this, the accused was receiving the services he was ordered to seek out at the Eleanor Fagan Center. However, the system experienced an error, resulting in the court inferring that the accused was refusing to comply.
Because of this, a bench warrant was issued for the arrest of the accused and remained outstanding for four months.
The accused appeared in custody despite reportedly complying with the conditions of his probation and release.
Upon being taken into custody, the services the accused was receiving were disrupted, requiring him to seek out new services.
Golovets then asked the court who was responsible for searching for the accused’s new services and who would be providing them. The clerk informed the court that the Adult Probation Department would be able to make an assessment for the accused in 60 days.
Assistant District Attorney Sarah Quiñones asked the clerk when the accused’s probation for a different offense ended. Quiñones asked because it would be more disruptive to assign services while the accused was out of probation.
Quiñones was unsure, as the accused’s prior programs could potentially have substantially accelerated the probation.
Ultimately, Judge Kahn recalled the bench warrant for the accused, in addition to scheduling both a preliminary hearing and a restitution hearing.
Judge Kahn decided the accused should be released to return on his own recognizance. Meanwhile, despite inquiring through several different avenues, the soonest APD says it can see the accused is in 60 days, during which time he would be receiving services were it not for the system error.
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Categories: Breaking News Court Watch Northern California Court Watch San Francisco Court Watch Vanguard Court Watch Tags: Adult Probation Department bench warrant court-ordered services Criminal Justice System Own Recognizance San Francisco Superior Court