Aronson’s thoughts on:

2017-18 Grand Jury resignation: All Aronson could say is that judges don’t get to just do what they want to do. “With grand jury decisions, I just have to follow the law,” he said.

Legislation: The biggest change he saw over the years was Prop. 47, which reduced many felonies to misdemeanors.

“That really did change the dynamics – of our court system, at least,” he said. “It reduced the prison population, but whether it’s made the community safer, I’m not sure.”

Senate Bill 10, signed into law by Gov. Brown in August, will eliminate cash bail starting Oct. 1 next year. Instead, local courts will decide who stays in custody based on danger to the community, seriousness of the crime, and likeliness to show up to court. Sutter County already considers this with pretrial services reports done for most felony cases.

“I would like the people who make the laws to actually come visit our court,” Aronson said. “As far as I’m concerned, I think we do a pretty good job and I don’t think we really need to change anything.”

Sentencing: Aronson said with every sentencing he’s tasked with, he considers the person’s personal and criminal background and facts of the crime. His ultimate goal, he said, is ensuring that justice is served and that the person doesn’t offend again.

“Every sentencing I do, whether a minor or major case, I’m trying to figure out what it is I need to do to make sure they don’t do it again,” he said.