Banning Justice Center Judges Nix 111 Cases Over 2 Months

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — The Riverside County District Attorney's Office has lodged an awareness campaign about the number of misdemeanor and felony criminal cases being dismissed countywide.

On Monday, the agency released a breakdown of where the case dismissals are occurring.

Since the start of mass case dismissals on Oct. 10, a total of 612 cases were booted. Of those, 550 involved misdemeanors while 62 were more serious felony cases, according to the D.A. spokesperson Amy McKenzie.

The Larson Justice Center in Indio so far accounts for 351 dismissals (326 misdemeanor cases and 25 felony cases), more than all the other courthouses in the county hearing criminal matters combined, according to the D.A.'s office.

Judges at the Banning Justice Center have disposed of 111 cases (98 misdemeanor and 13 felony), while those at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta have dismissed 92 (90 misdemeanor and two felony), the Riverside Hall of Justice total 51 (32 misdemeanor and 19 felony), and Blythe Courthouse judicial officers have vacated seven cases (four misdemeanor and three felony), the D.A. report showed.

"Many of the cases include a victim of crime," according to a statement from the D.A.'s office. "The office is taking every available action to safeguard our community, such as arguing the dismissals in court, immediately re-filing felony cases that are being dismissed and filing appeals when appropriate."

A lack of courtroom space, lack of judges and a backlog of cases due to the COVID-19 shutdown are cited as reasons for the dismissals. The state constitution entitles defendants to receive a speedy disposition of their cases at trial.

"I share others' frustration when a case is not resolved on the merits, or due process is impaired, due to a lack of available judicial resources," Superior Court Presiding Judge John Monterosso said in a released Oct. 25 statement. "The genesis of the current set of circumstances is the chronic and generational lack of judges allocated to serve Riverside County."

Monterosso emphasized that the county has 90 authorized and funded judicial positions, but a 2020 Judicial Needs Assessment Study noted that 115 judicial officers are needed to ensure efficient operations throughout the local court system and prevent logjams.

"The dispensing of statutory timelines for criminal trials under the emergency orders delayed the 'day in court' for numerous criminal defendants and those impacted by the alleged crimes," Monterosso said. "While the law allows a court to continue a case beyond the statutory deadline for 'good cause,' the decision on whether `good cause' exists is an individualized decision made by the trial judge based on the law and the facts of the case."

Hestrin questioned the legitimacy of basing dismissals on a deficit of judicial resources, given that "this has been the case as far back as anyone can remember."

"If we have an emergency in our courts that justifies a dismissal of a felony, then it should be an emergency in every courtroom across the county and should justify an all-hands-on-deck approach to trying cases," the county's top prosecutor said.

—City News Service and Patch Editor Toni McAllister contributed to this report.