Posted on 12/01/2016 6:32:41 AM PST by mandaladon
Since we’re talking about California in general and San Francisco in particular it’s probably difficult to surprise us anymore when some crazytown news crops up, but this item from the San Francisco Gate should still raise a few eyebrows. A Superior Court judge out there found himself explaining why he had tossed out more than 66,000 arrest warrants last year and essentially stopped issuing new ones for what are frequently described as “quality of life crimes.”
San Francisco’s chief judge says he and his colleagues discarded 66,000 arrest warrants issued over five years for quality-of-life crimes, like sleeping on the sidewalk, because it made no sense to lock people up for fines they couldn’t afford.
The crimes, which also include urinating on sidewalks and being drunk in public, are infractions punishable only by fines. But when those who were cited failed to show up in court, judges in the past have issued bench warrants ordering them to appear, with a sentence of five days in jail for failing to show up.
But San Francisco Superior Court judges stopped issuing the warrants a year ago and recently disposed of about 66,000 bench warrants issued since January 2011. The city’s police union and some members of the public have protested, but Presiding Judge John Stewart defended the court’s action Tuesday in a meeting with The Chronicle’s editorial board.
These are primarily crimes involving vagrancy, public intoxication and other low level crimes which nonetheless tend to detract from the quality of life in the community. And that’s why the generic description is so ironic here. The actual “quality of life” issue under discussion isn’t that of the defendants who were found to be urinating in front of the diner or sleeping on a park bench.
(Excerpt) Read more at hotair.com ...
Nothing like the advance of civilization!
So, how does this change anything?
Great! Now I am planning a trip there.
Yes SF is the pioneer in urine-proof paints ...
Don’t let them catch you smoking, though!
They should make sure that they add that to the marketing information they give out for the tourist industry.
That’s a relief..
[It’s the expectations of the rest of the voters and taxpayers in the community who wanted those activities outlawed in the first place]
You get what you vote for.
Here is how you fix panhandling.
You make it illegal to give money to a panhandler. You fine people for giving them money because, obviously, they can afford it. It’s like arresting the john and the prostitute.
If I visit San Francisco in the future, I will make sure to drink plenty of coffee.
And eat plenty of asparagus.
The streets are paved with running, liquid gold!
Maybe they like the smell of hobo pee in the morning. If you ever smell it you know what it is and it's disgusting
That’s a relief..
*************
Awwwwww the feeling.....
Logical in San Fransicko, the toilet of America.
In SF, pissing on a wall is considered “performance art.”
“Don’t let them catch you smoking, though!”
Or asking for a paper OR plastic bag at the grocery store when you should be using your own cloth/recycled bags!
*SMIRK*
I would like to pee on the California State House.
Ever get a whiff of the subway in NYC?
You cannot escape the ammonia like pee odor :-(
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