Merced County (Merced)
MERCED -- Judge Steven Slocum's arraignment courtroom includes the usual cast and crew -- a long list of defendants, his clerk, and the bailiff. But there's one key party that's missing -- attorneys.
Public defenders no longer appear for arraignments in the Merced County courtroom mainly because of staffing and resource allocation issues while prosecutors tend to only show up for bail reviews, Slocum said. Without litigat... (continued)