High Dismissal Rates at S.F. Community Court Lead Critics to Call for its Closure
A new study of a local diversion court in the Bay Area is causing a bit of a stir and unwelcome attention onto the court.
The report by University of California, Berkeley public policy doctoral student Melissa Sills finds that more than half the cases brought to San Francisco’s new Community Justice Center are discharged.
Dismissals primarily involve low-level crimes such as sleeping outside, blocking sidewalks and creating a public nuisance, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Critics have pounced on the report as proof that the court is a waste of time and an expensive one to boot.
John Avalos, budget committee chairman for the Board of Supervisors, told the Chronicle that he’d like to get rid of the court because it doesn’t seem to be accomplishing much.
But supporters note that the court is doing what it’s supposed to do—speeding up the disposition of cases and directing defendants to social services.
Modeled after a similar program in New York, the court opened in March at a cost of $2.7 million, with funding coming equally from the city and grants.
Sills studied public defender stats to come up with her findings. From its opening in March until early June, Sills found that 235 cases out of 431 were dismissed by prosecutors.
Sill also found a high rate of dismissals for more serious crimes, including 62 percent of assault and battery cases and 54 percent of vandalism cases, the paper reports.
Court officials added this bit of perspective to Sills’ report when it noted that many individuals are charged with multiple offenses when arrested, causing prosecutors to drop all but the more serious charges before moving forward.
Paul Henderson, the chief administrator for the district attorney’s office, told the Chronicle that it’s also a common practice for a prosecutor to discharge a case if a defendant shows up and voluntarily enrolls in services to address an underlying problem.
“There’s still a hammer and an accountability that’s taking place,” Henderson said.
