ACLU sues over records on training policies
The American Civil Liberties Union sued the Kern County Probation Department after it refused to release information under a California Public Records Act request about probation officers’ training when advising suspects about their cases, a move that a First Amendment lawyer said questions if defendants’ constitutional rights are protected.
A probation court hearing officer helps process hundreds of criminal misdemeanor cases daily by reviewing the allegations and the defendant’s criminal history and recommending whether suspects should take a plea deal, enter not guilty pleas or plead guilty during an arraignment. ACLU lawyers sought material outlining what training probation officers receive in regard to this process, specifically when advising people on their immigration rights, mental health concerns or their competency to understand charges brought against them.
An assistant probation division director said “there are no records responsive to this request” because records “were not maintained,” not held by their agency or relevant communications were “handled verbally,” according to the lawsuit, listed on the Kern County Board of Supervisors’ Tuesday agenda.
“It boggles the mind to say that a county agency, county department that has been engaging in this practice for years, simply doesn’t have any records at all,” said David Loy, the legal director of the First Amendment Coalition. “It just boggles the mind.”
County Counsel Margo
Raison wrote in an email her office doesn’t discuss pending litigation, but confirmed attorneys are reviewing the petition and complaint.
The ACLU cited a 2008 Bakersfield Californian article written about the process probation court hearing officers undertake with misdemeanor cases in Division G. It’s the same process underway currently, a probation division director confirmed Friday.
Two or three deputy probation officers and a Spanish language interpreter explain the law to defendants and what deal they could cut for misdemeanors. Often, these cases are resolved without a deputy district attorney or a deputy public defender, previous reporting said, which streamlines the hefty load Division G