In re Webb
In re Webb
Opinion
*271 Bettie Webb, defendant in the underlying criminal matter, was arrested and charged with two felony counts. She posted bail and was released from custody. At arraignment, the court imposed, as an additional condition of release, that she waive her Fourth Amendment right to be free of *108 warrantless or unreasonable searches. We granted review to decide whether, when a criminal defendant posts bail, the court has authority to impose additional release conditions. We conclude that the court does have authority to impose reasonable conditions related to public safety. Because the question *272 has become moot as to defendant, we do not decide whether the court properly imposed the specific condition.
I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
As the Court of Appeal summarized, defendant "was arrested and eventually charged in a felony complaint with knowingly bringing controlled substances into a state prison ( Pen. Code, § 4573 )
[
1
]
and unauthorized possession of a controlled substance in a prison (§ 4573.6). She posted a $ 50,000 bond in accordance with the bail schedule and was released. At her arraignment, Webb pleaded not guilty to the charges, but over her objection the magistrate imposed a condition that she would be subject to a Fourth Amendment waiver, finding it had inherent authority to do so." (
In re Webb
(2018)
Defendant challenged the search condition by a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the superior court, which that court denied. She then filed the instant "petition for a writ of habeas corpus contending the magistrate lacked statutory or inherent authority to impose the bail search condition, and imposition of the condition constitutes a pretrial restraint without due process protections such as notice and a hearing or any showing that she poses a heightened risk of misbehaving while on bail." (
Webb
,
supra
, 20 Cal.App.5th at pp. 47-48,
The Court of Appeal issued an order to show cause. Ultimately, the majority concluded the trial court had neither statutory nor inherent authority to condition defendant's bail on a Fourth Amendment waiver, and it ordered the condition vacated. It disagreed with language in
Gray v. Superior Court
(2005)
Acting Presiding Justice Benke authored a concurring opinion. Relying heavily on
Gray
,
supra
,
The San Diego County District Attorney petitioned for review, raising a single issue: "Do trial courts possess inherent authority to impose reasonable bail conditions related to public safety on felony defendants who are released on monetary bail?" We granted the petition to resolve the conflict between the majority opinion in the Court of Appeal and the opinions in
Gray
,
supra
,
II. DISCUSSION
The district attorney informs us that, after the petition for review was filed, the underlying matter was resolved by a guilty plea and probation disposition. Accordingly, this question is moot as to defendant. Nevertheless, the district attorney urges us to decide "the issue presented because it presents a question of statewide general public concern." We agree. "We have discretion to decide otherwise moot cases presenting important issues that are
*274
capable of repetition yet tend to evade review." (
Conservatorship of Wendland
(2001)
Regarding the merits, we note preliminarily what the issue does
not
involve. The petition for review presented only the broad question of whether trial courts have authority to impose conditions on felony defendants who are released on bail, i.e., the point on which the majority below disagreed with
Gray
,
supra
,
We are also aware that recent legislation, titled "Pretrial release or detention: pretrial services," makes major changes in California's **1132 pretrial release procedures. (§§ 1320.7 et seq.; Sen. Bill No. 10 (2017-2018 Reg. Sess.).) If and when that legislation becomes the law, the issue here will become moot, as release procedures will be *110 governed by statute. By its terms, the new legislation was to be effective October 1, 2019. (§ 1320.6; Stats. 2018, ch. 244, § 3.) Following its enactment, this legislation was suspended pursuant to a referendum petition. Now, it will only be effective if approved as a referendum measure at the November 2020 election. Accordingly, the issue before us remains important.
Finally, defendant did post bail. For this reason, the issues regarding the propriety of requiring bail as a condition of release raised in
In re Humphrey
(2018)
In
In re York
(1995)
*275
The majority below believed that
York
's distinguishing between those released on their own recognizance and those released on bail in this way was a "persuasive indication" that such a condition could not be placed on a person who, like defendant, has posted bail. (
Webb
,
supra
, 20 Cal.App.5th at p. 53,
Two cases postdating
York
, however, considered whether a court may impose release conditions on a person who has posted bail. In
McSherry
,
supra
,
In
Gray
,
supra
,
*111
In reaching this conclusion, the
Gray
court explained that "[t]here is no explicit statutory authority for the trial court to do what it did here. Penal Code section 1269c authorizes a magistrate to 'set bail on the terms and conditions that he or she, in his or her discretion, deems appropriate' in the case of a defendant arrested
without
a warrant.
[
2
]
In
**1133
addition, Penal Code section 1270, subdivision (a) authorizes a court to 'set bail and specify the conditions' after
*276
the court makes the requisite findings that a defendant charged with a
misdemeanor
is not entitled to an own recognizance (OR) release.
[
3
]
Here, because Gray surrendered voluntarily pursuant to a warrant setting bail and because he is charged with felony counts, the statutes expressly authorizing bail conditions do not apply. Nevertheless, although the statutory authority is limited, there is a general understanding that the trial court possesses inherent authority to impose conditions associated with release on bail. [Citing, inter alia,
McSherry
,
supra
,
The
Gray
court also explained that "[b]efore legislative amendments to the Penal Code in 1987, the only permissible purpose of bail was to ensure the defendant's presence in court. (
McSherry
,
supra
, 112 Cal.App.4th at p. 860 [
The concurring justice below agreed with
Gray
and
McSherry
in this respect. She believed that "we must recognize the
*112
practical necessity that in particular cases, in order to assure a defendant's appearance and
protect the public from harm
, a trial court has the power to impose conditions which restrain the behavior or provide monitoring of a defendant while criminal proceedings are pending - even where as here, the defendant has the ability to post cash bail." (
Webb
,
supra
, 20 Cal.App.5th at p. 58,
We agree with
McSherry
,
Gray
, and the concurring opinion below that the trial court does have authority to impose reasonable release conditions even when the person has posted bail. Several statutes provide for release conditions on bail. In addition to the two statutes cited in
Gray
and the majority below ( §§ 1269c, 1270 ), others include sections 646.93, subdivision (c), and 1506. None of these statutes govern this precise situation. But nothing in them suggests that bail conditions were unique to the situations they governed. As
McSherry
and
Gray
indicated, it would be illogical for the Legislature to authorize conditions of release on bail for those charged with a misdemeanor but prohibit such conditions for those charged with a felony. (
Gray
,
supra
, 125 Cal.App.4th at p. 642,
Moreover, after McSherry and Gray were decided, the voters amended California's Constitution to make clear that trial courts do have authority to impose reasonable release conditions on persons who post bail. California Constitution, article I, section 28, subdivision (b)(3), as amended in November 2008 by an initiative measure, provides that a victim has the right "[t]o have the safety of the victim and the victim's family considered in fixing the amount of bail and release conditions for the defendant." (Italics added.)
In
Townsel v. Superior Court
(1999)
The same is true for bail: reasonable conditions generally further, rather than undermine, the important legislative purpose of protecting public safety. (See § 1275, subd. (a)(1) ["In setting, reducing, or denying bail, a judge or magistrate shall take into consideration the protection of the public , the seriousness of the offense charged, the previous criminal record of the defendant, and the probability of his or her appearing at trial or at a hearing of the case. The public safety shall be the primary consideration ." (Italics added.) ].) Authorizing courts to impose reasonable conditions of release on bail is fully consistent with this legislative policy.
Accordingly, we conclude that trial courts have authority to impose reasonable conditions related to public safety on persons released on bail. We need not here consider in detail the exact contours of this authority. We stress, however, that, as the concurring justice noted below, this authority is "fairly narrow." (
Webb
,
III. CONCLUSION
We disagree with the reasoning of the Court of Appeal majority to the extent it held that trial courts have no authority to impose release conditions on persons who post bail. Because the question is moot as to defendant, we need not decide whether the specific condition was valid. Instead, we reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeal and remand the matter to that court with directions to discharge the order to show cause and deny the petition for writ of habeas corpus as moot.
We Concur:
CANTIL-SAKAUYE, C. J.
CORRIGAN, J.
LIU, J.
CUÉLLAR, J.
KRUGER, J.
GROBAN, J.
All further statutory citations are to the Penal Code.
Section 1269c permits a peace officer to seek higher bail than that set forth in the bail schedule when the defendant is arrested without a warrant and permits a defendant to apply for lower bail or own recognizance release. It also provides: "The magistrate or commissioner to whom the application is made is authorized to set bail in an amount that he or she deems sufficient to ensure the defendant's appearance or to ensure the protection of a victim, or family member of a victim, of domestic violence, and to set bail on the terms and conditions that he or she, in his or her discretion, deems appropriate, or he or she may authorize the defendant's release on his or her own recognizance."
Section 1270, subdivision (a), provides, as relevant: "A defendant who is in custody and is arraigned on a complaint alleging an offense which is a misdemeanor, and a defendant who appears before a court or magistrate upon an out-of-county warrant arising out of a case involving only misdemeanors, shall be entitled to an own recognizance release unless the court makes a finding on the record ... that an own recognizance release will compromise public safety or will not reasonably assure the appearance of the defendant as required. Public safety shall be the primary consideration. If the court makes one of those findings, the court shall then set bail and specify the conditions, if any, whereunder the defendant shall be released."
Reference
- Full Case Name
- In RE Bettie WEBB on Habeas Corpus
- Cited By
- 18 cases
- Status
- Published