Monday, September 17, 2001
Page 5
Los Angeles Superior Court Official Clarifies Scope of Judicial Emergency
By a MetNews Staff Writer
The Los Angeles Superior Court has requested the broadest possible judicial emergency authority allowed by Chief Justice Ronald M. George’s order of last Tuesday, an official clarified Friday.
Presiding Judge James A. Bascue sought the authority last Wednesday under Government Code Secs. 68115(a)-(c) and (f)-(j), Deputy Executive Officer Peggy Shuttleworth noted.
A report in Friday’s MetNews erroneously suggested that the authority was more limited.
George acted last Tuesday, within hours of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. The order by the chief justice, who spoke Friday at a memorial service at the Federal Building in San Francisco attended by about 3,000 court employees and others, permits the courts to:
•Extend the deadline for bringing adult suspects before a judicial officer following arrest from two days to five days;
•Extend the deadline for bringing juvenile suspects before a judicial officer, normally one to three days, depending on circumstances, to four days, applicable solely to juveniles taken into custody by today; and
•Extend the speedy adjudicatory hearing deadline for accused juveniles, normally 15 days for minors in custody and 30 days for those not in custody, by three days, applicable only in cases where the 15- or 30-day period begins to run no later than today.
•Hold defendants in custody to be held for preliminary hearing up to 15 days after arrest, rather than the usual 10, and extend speedy-trial deadlines in both misdemeanor and felony cases by 30 days.
•Hold court sessions anywhere in the county, including juvenile and adult correctional facilities.
Copyright 2001, Metropolitan News Company