Victorville, CA – November 25, 2024 – Community leaders from the High Desert Black community have raised concerns about recent changes in the assignment of felony cases at the courthouse. On November 18, 2024, the San Bernardino Superior Court in the Victorville District began transferring 60% of its incoming pre-preliminary hearing (PPH) cases to Rancho Cucamonga. This decision aims to address the Victorville court’s capacity issues in light of its increasing caseload. Approximately 250 cases per week will now be moved to the Rancho Cucamonga Courthouse for pre-preliminary hearings, which will involve around 80 individuals in custody and 150 individuals out of custody. These changes will affect all criminal cases.
Reimagining Our Communities (ROC), a group for Black leaders under the Millionaire Mind Kids organization, is shocked that the court did not publish this proposal or allow for public comment. Many clients affected by this change come from challenging financial backgrounds, and they are now burdened by a solution to a court issue that has persisted since 2012. That year, the court closed several outlying criminal courts and consolidated all criminal cases at the Victorville Courthouse. This consolidation forced individuals from surrounding areas to travel several miles to attend court, resulting in overcrowding in the courthouse’s public hallways and holding cells. Now, they are expected to navigate the Cajon Pass for their court appearances.
To reduce the proposal’s impact on clients, the courts will permit out-of-custody clients to waive their requirement to be present for the pre-preliminary hearing calendar if they are unable to travel to the Rancho Cucamonga Courthouse. If a client wishes to accept a plea agreement or decide to proceed with a preliminary hearing, the court will transfer their case back to Victorville. For incarcerated clients, they will be transported to the Rancho Cucamonga Courthouse, where they can accept plea deals and enter their pleas. However, cases that move forward to a preliminary hearing will return to Victorville for that hearing.
This move sets a dangerous precedent where courts, in addressing their operational challenges, burden vulnerable clients with problems that should be resolved by the system. Transferring cases to distant courts may disproportionately affect individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds and creates confusion for clients and their families as cases move back and forth between different courthouses.
Ensuring equitable treatment for all clients, regardless of their financial or transportation difficulties, is essential for maintaining public trust in the justice system. Moreover, asking out-of-custody clients to waive their court appearance is problematic. For such a waiver to be valid, it must be made knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently. If clients believe that no reasonable alternative exists, they are essentially being coerced. Non-custody clients who wish to appear in court may feel compelled to waive their constitutional right to be present at all critical stages of their court proceedings due to financial pressures, inclement weather, or unreliable transportation.
ROC acknowledges that the court system is state-run and funded, serving San Bernardino County. However, despite its complexities, communities in the High Desert are being used as pawns to solve operational problems. Instead, the State of California should adequately fund a budget that protects critical services, ensures public safety, and builds courthouses that meet the population’s needs. After all, an arrest has no impact if the resources for fair litigation do not exist.
Court funding is essential for increasing access to the courts, allowing the County and local agencies to protect their public safety interests. The court should reconsider its proposal in light of the inequities that will arise from its implementation. In its wisdom, the court should recognize that such disparate and arbitrary treatment is unfair and inequitable. The proposed practice violates the principle of fundamental fairness enshrined in the Constitution. ROC stands with the High Desert communities in advocating for a more just system that ensures equal treatment for everyone.
Phyllis K Morris
Reimagining Our Communities (ROC)
