News
Criminal
May 17, 2007
Officials See Solution in a Court Tailored for Nuisance Crimes
SAN FRANCISCO - Mayor Gavin Newsom and San Francisco judges are joining forces to create a new community justice center to deal with nuisance crimes.
By Dennis J. Opatrny
Daily Journal Staff Writer
SAN FRANCISCO - Mayor Gavin Newsom and San Francisco judges are joining forces to create a new community justice center to deal with nuisance crimes.
But don't expect to see its doors open anytime soon.
Presiding Judge David Ballati said many logistical problems, such as where to place the court, must be worked out.
"I think it would very ambitious that there would be a court open and operating by the end of summer," Ballati said in an interview.
Both Ballati and Newsom recently toured courts in New York City and Philadelphia that are specially designed to address nuisance crimes that plague metropolitan areas.
They are convinced that San Francisco should follow these models.
They envision a community court presided over by a judge, along with representatives from the district attorney's office and the public defender's office, as well as social workers.
Newsom's press secretary, Nathan Ballard, said the court would be equipped to adjudicate cases on the very day that a citation is issued.
"The idea is based on the principle of immediacy, both the immediacy of consequences and the immediacy of services," Ballard said.
Mentally ill offenders might be referred to counseling, while chronic alcoholics and drug addicts would be steered into substance-abuse programs.
"The efforts are to have the person's situation changed," Ballati said.
Currently all citations for nuisance crimes are heard in traffic court, where a commissioner decides whether to levy a maximum fine of $50 or dismiss the ticket altogether. Common offenses include sleeping in storefront doorways, camping in parks and urinating on sidewalks.
Lawyers representing the homeless often get these tickets dismissed outright because police don't always complete the necessary paperwork.
In addition, the traffic court commissioners say they have no authority to order drug treatment or mental-health counseling or to provide public housing.
Ballard said the mayor recognizes that the system is broken.
"What we're doing now isn't working," Ballard said. "The time has come to break away from the status quo."
The proposed community court would aim for bringing about major life changes.
"It's an exciting form of problem solving," the presiding judge said. "It's cutting-edge justice."
Although Newsom has proposed setting up the court in the Tenderloin District, where the city's homeless population is concentrated, Ballati said there's no final consensus yet.
He said two sites are under consideration. One is the old Hibernia Bank building at Jones and Market streets, which has served the headquarters of the Police Tenderloin Task Force.
The other site is at 15 Otis Street, a building South of Market on the edge of the Mission District, near Van Ness Boulevard, where there is a parking garage and other businesses.
The presiding judge said he wants to staff the court with a bench officer, either a judge or commissioner. He wants someone capable of dealing "hands-on" with the problems the homeless face and the crimes they commit.
The New York and Philadelphia community courts require those charged with nuisance offenses to plead guilty to be eligible to receive services.
Under the New York model, the offender usually is directed to some form of community service depending on the crime. For example, someone who sprays graffiti on a wall would be required to clean it off.
San Diego has taken a somewhat different approach. The city attorney's office there first launched a community court in 2002 with the specific goal of addressing quality-of-life crimes. But the city also runs separate neighborhood courts and a designated "homeless court," which deals with alcohol-related crimes.
"We found nothing but positive results, day in and day out,' then-city attorney Casey Gwinn said in a recent interview. Gwinn now works for the district attorney's office.
San Franscisco officials say they want to direct offenders identified with mental illness or addictions to social service programs to help change their behavior. Ballard said those services exist and would be gathered under one roof at the justice center.
"We need to get them the treatment that they need," he said.
Ballati said the rule in San Francisco's community court might be that men and women can be sent to the Hall of Justice to face criminal charges if they decline an offer of help from a social worker.
Ballard said some activists have suggested the proposed community court will further criminalize homelessness. He said that is not Newsom's intention.
Attorney Oren Sellstrom, associate director of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, which represents indigents accused of quality of life crimes, said the mayor's prosposal has "troubling" aspects.
"They keep talking about citing people and then immediately taking them to some community court," Sellstrom said. "You can't do that for infractions," only misdemeanors.
He voiced concern that the city would create a "million-dollar-plus bureacracy" just to criminalize the homeless rather than provide them with voluntary services.
Veteran prosecutor Linda Klee toured the New York community courts in midtown and in Brooklyn before retiring from the district attorney's office this month. She came away impressed and said District Attorney Kamala Harris backs the mayor's approach.
"They had every kind of program you could imagine, from job training to getting a high school diploma to drug counseling to how to take care of your kids," Klee recalled.
Ballati said he and Judge Harold Kahn, who is the court's liaison with the mayor's office, will report Tuesday to the bench's executive committee on the progress made toward establishing the community court.
"I would like to see one opened by the first of the year, but I'm not in a position to put a timetable on it," the presiding judge said.
Daily Journal Staff Writer
SAN FRANCISCO - Mayor Gavin Newsom and San Francisco judges are joining forces to create a new community justice center to deal with nuisance crimes.
But don't expect to see its doors open anytime soon.
Presiding Judge David Ballati said many logistical problems, such as where to place the court, must be worked out.
"I think it would very ambitious that there would be a court open and operating by the end of summer," Ballati said in an interview.
Both Ballati and Newsom recently toured courts in New York City and Philadelphia that are specially designed to address nuisance crimes that plague metropolitan areas.
They are convinced that San Francisco should follow these models.
They envision a community court presided over by a judge, along with representatives from the district attorney's office and the public defender's office, as well as social workers.
Newsom's press secretary, Nathan Ballard, said the court would be equipped to adjudicate cases on the very day that a citation is issued.
"The idea is based on the principle of immediacy, both the immediacy of consequences and the immediacy of services," Ballard said.
Mentally ill offenders might be referred to counseling, while chronic alcoholics and drug addicts would be steered into substance-abuse programs.
"The efforts are to have the person's situation changed," Ballati said.
Currently all citations for nuisance crimes are heard in traffic court, where a commissioner decides whether to levy a maximum fine of $50 or dismiss the ticket altogether. Common offenses include sleeping in storefront doorways, camping in parks and urinating on sidewalks.
Lawyers representing the homeless often get these tickets dismissed outright because police don't always complete the necessary paperwork.
In addition, the traffic court commissioners say they have no authority to order drug treatment or mental-health counseling or to provide public housing.
Ballard said the mayor recognizes that the system is broken.
"What we're doing now isn't working," Ballard said. "The time has come to break away from the status quo."
The proposed community court would aim for bringing about major life changes.
"It's an exciting form of problem solving," the presiding judge said. "It's cutting-edge justice."
Although Newsom has proposed setting up the court in the Tenderloin District, where the city's homeless population is concentrated, Ballati said there's no final consensus yet.
He said two sites are under consideration. One is the old Hibernia Bank building at Jones and Market streets, which has served the headquarters of the Police Tenderloin Task Force.
The other site is at 15 Otis Street, a building South of Market on the edge of the Mission District, near Van Ness Boulevard, where there is a parking garage and other businesses.
The presiding judge said he wants to staff the court with a bench officer, either a judge or commissioner. He wants someone capable of dealing "hands-on" with the problems the homeless face and the crimes they commit.
The New York and Philadelphia community courts require those charged with nuisance offenses to plead guilty to be eligible to receive services.
Under the New York model, the offender usually is directed to some form of community service depending on the crime. For example, someone who sprays graffiti on a wall would be required to clean it off.
San Diego has taken a somewhat different approach. The city attorney's office there first launched a community court in 2002 with the specific goal of addressing quality-of-life crimes. But the city also runs separate neighborhood courts and a designated "homeless court," which deals with alcohol-related crimes.
"We found nothing but positive results, day in and day out,' then-city attorney Casey Gwinn said in a recent interview. Gwinn now works for the district attorney's office.
San Franscisco officials say they want to direct offenders identified with mental illness or addictions to social service programs to help change their behavior. Ballard said those services exist and would be gathered under one roof at the justice center.
"We need to get them the treatment that they need," he said.
Ballati said the rule in San Francisco's community court might be that men and women can be sent to the Hall of Justice to face criminal charges if they decline an offer of help from a social worker.
Ballard said some activists have suggested the proposed community court will further criminalize homelessness. He said that is not Newsom's intention.
Attorney Oren Sellstrom, associate director of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, which represents indigents accused of quality of life crimes, said the mayor's prosposal has "troubling" aspects.
"They keep talking about citing people and then immediately taking them to some community court," Sellstrom said. "You can't do that for infractions," only misdemeanors.
He voiced concern that the city would create a "million-dollar-plus bureacracy" just to criminalize the homeless rather than provide them with voluntary services.
Veteran prosecutor Linda Klee toured the New York community courts in midtown and in Brooklyn before retiring from the district attorney's office this month. She came away impressed and said District Attorney Kamala Harris backs the mayor's approach.
"They had every kind of program you could imagine, from job training to getting a high school diploma to drug counseling to how to take care of your kids," Klee recalled.
Ballati said he and Judge Harold Kahn, who is the court's liaison with the mayor's office, will report Tuesday to the bench's executive committee on the progress made toward establishing the community court.
"I would like to see one opened by the first of the year, but I'm not in a position to put a timetable on it," the presiding judge said.
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Dennis Opatrny
Daily Journal Staff Writer
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