DA responds to condemnation: ACLU ‘uninformed to the situation’ in Tulare County jail

Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward is defending actions his office has taken to oppose bail reductions for more than 100 defendants under the state’s Emergency Bail Schedule.

He was responding Wednesday to the ACLU Foundatation of Northern California, which condemned actions by Ward and Stanislaus County District Attorney Birgit Fladager for what the group called “circumventing and opposing the emergency bail schedule.”

The schedule, which was established by the Judicial Council of California and took effect last month, sets bail at $0 for most misdemeanor and many felony offenses as a way of minimizing risk of COVID-19 outbreaks among jails.

Ward said that his office has been vocal in its displeasure of the implementation of the order, which he said was a “slap in the face” of victims. He has filed motions to have bail amounts attached, in certain cases, at the judge’s discretion.

“All I did was ask the bench to use their discretion to set bail in certain cases,” Ward said by phone Wednesday.

Such filings are allowed under the order, he said, and that judges agree with the DA in about 50% of the cases.

ACLU calls on Tulare, Stanislaus DAs

The ACLU in a news release called out the DA offices and asked them “to comply with the mandatory bail schedule and release as many people as possible.”

“Both of these elected District Attorneys are deliberately ignoring the advice of medical experts, choosing to flout mandatory statewide directives intended to save lives by reducing the number of people held in pretrial detention,” the news release says.

Also: “Public health experts agree that reducing jail and prison populations is a medical necessity. Incarcerated people face unsanitary conditions and cannot socially distance, making jails a hotspot for COVID-19 outbreaks.”

Ward said the ACLU was “uninformed to the situation on the ground in Tulare County.”

Ward: California ‘blanket order’ not needed

To date, there has been no positive coronavirus cases in any of Tulare County’s jail facilities and none of the facility are experiencing issues with overcrowding, he said.

In addition, Tulare County is already part of a pilot program for the pre-trail release of inmates, Ward added.

Ward said he respected the decisions of district attorneys in other counties in support of the new emergency bail structure, but said those counties are facing different issues: “I don’t think that Tulare County needed a blanket order. We already had processes in place.”

For it’s part, the ACLU points to the number of positive coronavirus cases in the county as proof that emergency bail order is needed.

“If DA Ward continues to fight to hold people on bail, it’s only a matter of time until there’s an outbreak that could easily spread throughout the county,” said the group’s Criminal Justice Program Manager Yoel Haile, in statement to The Bee.

“The pretrial pilot he cites is not responsive to COVID-19, and doesn’t reflect the urgency of the moment. The best way to protect the people of Tulare’s health is to depopulate jails as much as possible and limit the number of people coming into contact with the criminal legal system. This isn’t just a matter of policy, but a public safety necessity.”

In Fresno County, 428 prisoners were released from custody after the order went into effect last month. Those released had been charged with everything from brandishing a weapon or firearm to auto theft, burglary and failing to register as a sex offender. At the time, Sheriff Margaret Mims implored citizens not to ignore crimes because of concerns that the offenders would not be arrested.

“Eventually the offenders ... will be held accountable,” she said.

This story was originally published May 6, 2020 at 2:53 PM.