Posted on 12/01/2016 6:32:41 AM PST by mandaladon
Since were talking about California in general and San Francisco in particular its 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 Franciscos 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 couldnt 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 citys police union and some members of the public have protested, but Presiding Judge John Stewart defended the courts action Tuesday in a meeting with The Chronicles 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 thats why the generic description is so ironic here. The actual quality of life issue under discussion isnt 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 ...
The title doesn’t match the article. Throwing out warrants that will NEVER be filled is just efficient.
Welll ... the poop that follows is considered collateral damage and therefore un-chargeable.
A leisurely bicycle jaunt through Golden Gate Park is an eye-opener.
I have witnessed the entire slide from the 5th largest economy in the world that elected Reagan twice, to one third or more of this country's welfare roll.
All of it due to two things: East coast Liberals in migration and illegal immigration from the failed states to our south.
Democrats did all of it.
Aww too bad it’s not closeby. I’d prep by eating a few pounds of asparagus
The reluctant truth though is that long as San Fran and other cities have their hands tied on how to eliminate and discourage the homeless from being on their streets these quality of life laws are just a band aid. A band aid that ends up costing the city far more than any fines they can levy. The same people will be in and out of jail and court at the city’s expense. That adds up.
Remember the hell one church caught because they had sprinklers set up to wash urine off their entry area? It was seen as an attempt to dehumanize the homeless who would also get sprayed by the water. Obviously expecting human beings to use a toilet or at least a discreetly placed shrub is an insult to a person’s dignity.
Oh and if a city known for celebrating disgusting displays of public behavior in other areas forgive me if I laugh when the line gets moved.
66,000 warrants annually, there is nothing to be done. That is enough to implode the legal system. Pick your battles.
Doesn’t that violate the Clean Water Act when all that urine washes into the Bay?
They were going to have gender specific sidewalks but there weren’t enough streets in SF to cover all their gender identities
And the way to “eliminate” the homeless is provide housing. I know, I know, y’all are going to keyboard vomit all over this comment, but the cities that have simply provided minimal housing have solved their homeless problems for cheaper than tearing down tent cities, housing homeless in jail and police corralling of the homeless. Wow, makes so much sense.
If you had a son or a mom who was a hopeless alcoholic, mentally ill or an addict, wouldn’t you want him/her with a minimally acceptable roof over his/her head as opposed to getting beaten to death down by the railroad track? Thought so.
I don’t see a problem. Feces, urine, and vomit are very appropriate ground cover for Sodom by the Bay.
“...it made no sense to lock people up for fines they couldnt afford.”
So, using this judge’s logic, citations should only be issued to people who can afford to pay the fines. If so, what’s the point of having laws?
The way I see it, law enforcement in So. Cal. at least, is simply in the business of generating revenue for the cities, counties and states. If you’re an illegal alien, you have carte blanche because you don’t have any money and the cops don’t waste time issuing citations to people they know won’t pay the fine.
I have just two words, porta potty
good idea
Can I mail them a couple jars full? I can’t afford the trip.
Many years ago that was the smell of all Asian cities. Many were cleaned up about 20 years ago. Now this reversal of quality of life is what democrats have done to our country.
And you can pee in this also:
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