PROBABLE CAUSE REVIEW C-330 FRESNO COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
JAIL DIVISION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
TITLE: PROBABLE CAUSE REVIEW NO: C-330
FILE: PROBABLE CAUSE
EFFECTIVE DATE: 06-17-91 REVISED: 02-10-93, 12-25-94, 11-01-97, 02-01-02,
08-01-11
AUTHORITY: Sheriff M. Mims APPROVED BY: Assistant Sheriff T. Gattie
REFERENCE: County of Riverside v. McLaughlin, 500 U.S. 44 (1991).
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this policy is to establish and maintain a consistent method of
processing all warrantless charges pending judicial review for probable cause.
POLICY:
It is the policy of the Fresno County Sheriff's Office Jail Division to accept all persons
arrested on warrantless charges and hold them in custody for up to forty-eight (48)
hours after their time of arrest, pending a judicial review of the arrest for acceptable
probable cause.
It is the policy of the Fresno County Sheriff's Office Jail Division that all persons
arrested on warrantless charges and placed into custody shall, within forty-eight (48)
hours of their time of arrest, be provided judicial review of acceptable probable cause
for arrest, or be released on that charge.
It is the policy of the Fresno County Sheriff's Office Jail Division to accept Electronic
Probable Cause Declaration (EPCD) forms as notification of judicial determination of
probable cause. Remand Orders shall also be considered as approval of acceptable
probable cause for arrest.
It is the policy of the Fresno County Sheriff's Office Jail Division that if notification of
probable cause review is not received by the Jail within forty-eight (48) hours from the
time of arrest, the charge(s) shall be dispositioned as "Past Time for Probable Cause".
It is the policy of the Fresno County Sheriff's Office Jail Division that parole holds,
probation violations, warrants, PC 647F and citable charges are exempt from the
requirements of this policy.
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FRESNO COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
JAIL DIVISION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
TITLE: PROBABLE CAUSE REVIEW NO: C-330
FILE: PROBABLE CAUSE
PROCEDURES:
I. DEFINITION
WARRANTLESS CHARGE: The charge for which the person was arrested does not
have an accompanying warrant of arrest and no criminal action has yet been
commenced in any criminal court.
II. PROBABLE CAUSE REVIEW
Whenever a person is arrested on a warrantless charge, it must be followed by a
judicial determination of probable cause.
A. It is the responsibility of the arresting agency to transmit EPCD forms to the
Fresno Superior Court's Duty Judge via the Automated Regional Information
Exchange System (ARIES).
B. More than one charge may be processed for judicial review on each EPCD
form. The judicial review of the probable cause declaration and the notation
as to whether or not there was or was not sufficient probable cause for the
arrest shall apply to all charges listed on the EPCD form.
C. The EPCD's are categorized into one of four (4) classifications which are
available for viewing via the ARIES system.
1. Open Probable Cause Declarations Created by All Agencies — this
category contains probable cause forms that are pending judicial review.
2. Returned Probable Cause Declarations Created by All Agencies — the
probable cause forms in this category have been returned to the arresting
agency due to incomplete or missing information.
3. Closed Probable Cause Declarations Created by All Agencies Closed
in the Last 24 Hours — contains probable cause forms that have already
received judicial review. Forms in this category may have been denied or
approved.
4. Probable Cause Declaration for All Agencies Within 2 Hours of
Expiration — probable cause forms in this category are approaching the
48-hour time limitation. EPCD's appear in this category when they have
two (2) hours remaining prior to the expiration of the 48-hour time
requirement.
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FRESNO COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
JAIL DIVISION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
TITLE: PROBABLE CAUSE REVIEW NO: C-330
FILE: PROBABLE CAUSE
III. BOOKING RESPONSIBILITY
A. It shall be the responsibility of the Booking Officer who accepts the arrest tag
to review the arrest information and ensure that less than forty-eight (48)
hours have transpired from the time of arrest before accepting the arrestee for
booking.
B. If more than forty-eight (48) hours have passed since the time of arrest, the
Booking Officer shall search the ARIES database for the relevant EPCD form.
1. If an EPCD is found and it has been approved, the inmate shall be
accepted and booked into custody.
2. If no EPCD is found in the system (or the EPCD is found but has not been
approved), the arresting officer shall be advised that the arrestee can not
be booked on the charge without valid proof of judicial determination of
probable cause.
IV. RECORDS RESPONSIBILITY
A. At least once each hour, a designated Jail Records Officer shall review the
ARIES system for EPCD's that have been "Closed" or are "Within 2 Hours of
Expiration". Any new records found shall be printed and the appropriate
action taken. (Refer to Section VI for printing procedures.)
B. If probable cause has been approved:
1. The AUTHORITY of the corresponding charge shall be changed from
"PC836" to "OPEN" in Offendertrak. This action will complete the internal
probable cause reminder.
2. A copy of the EPCD shall be scanned into the inmate's records file.
C. If probable cause has been denied:
1. The corresponding charge shall be dispositioned as "NO PROBABLE
CAUSE FOUND".
2. A copy of the EPCD shall be scanned into the inmate's records file.
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FRESNO COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
JAIL DIVISION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
TITLE: PROBABLE CAUSE REVIEW NO: C-330
FILE: PROBABLE CAUSE
3. If the document causes the disposition of the last local charge, the inmate
shall be processed for release (or transfer) according to current policies
and procedures. If the inmate has a hold, detainer or out-of-county
warrant, the appropriate agency shall be notified.
V. PROBABLE CAUSE REVIEW— NOT RECEIVED
A. Charges that have only two (2) hours remaining prior to the expiration of the
48-hour time requirement will appear under the Probable Cause Declaration
for All Agencies Within 2 Hours of Expiration category in the ARIES
system. If it appears that there may have been an oversight and an EPCD
form has not been approved, denied or submitted on a violent felony or
high-profile case, the Records Supervisor shall:
1. Search the ARIES database to confirm that the probable cause
declaration was submitted by the arresting agency.
a. If the probable cause declaration was submitted by the arresting
agency, and no action has been taken by the reviewing judge, the
Records Supervisor shall contact the Court Master Calendar Manager
(457-1736, or after-hours at 243-6526).
b. If the probable cause declaration was not submitted by the arresting
agency, or if it was submitted and either retrieved by the officer or
returned for further information, the Records Supervisor shall contact
the arresting agency's on-duty Watch Commander.
2. The on-duty Jail Watch Commander shall be notified prior to the
disposition of the charge (Past Time for Probable Cause) and release of
the inmate.
B. If a Probable Cause Declaration was never submitted by the arresting
agency, it will not appear on the 2-hour expiration list, nor will it be found in
the ARIES database. However, the Offendertrak system will "nag" the Jail
Records printer.
1. If the missing PCD involves a violent felony or high-profile case, the
Records Supervisor shall contact the arresting agency's on-duty Watch
Commander.
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FRESNO COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
JAIL DIVISION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
TITLE: PROBABLE CAUSE REVIEW NO: C-330
FILE: PROBABLE CAUSE
2. The on-duty Jail Watch Commander shall be notified prior to the
disposition of the charge (Past Time for Probable Cause) and release of
the inmate.
C. If it appears that there may be a problem with the system (e.g., the system is
unavailable), the Records Supervisor shall:
1. Notify the Records Sergeant.
2. Contact the system operator's help desk (1-925-709-6111).
4. The system operator will be responsible to contact the court's Technical
Administrator and the Master Calendar Manager.
5. Arresting agencies will need to use the backup template and fax their
probable cause declaration forms to the Court's Master Calendar office
(457-1705).
6. The Duty Judge will be responsible to review the declarations.
7. The reviewed declarations will be hand-delivered or faxed to Jail Records.
8. The Records Sergeant shall notify the Watch Commander for direction
prior to releasing any inmate Past Time for Probable Cause.
D. If an EPCD has not received judicial review within forty-eight (48) hours from
the time of arrest, the charge shall be dispositioned "PAST TIME FOR
PROBABLE CAUSE". Unless the charge is a violent felony or high-profile
case, it is not necessary to notify the Watch Commander.
VI. THE ARIES SYSTEM
A. Jail Records shall print all approved and denied EPCD forms.
1. Select VIEW to open the EPCD.
2. Print the EPCD. Close the screen and repeat for each declaration.
3. Perform the necessary transaction(s) in Offendertrak (refer to Section IV).
4. Scan the printed declaration into Laserfiche (under "Warrantless Arrest
Declaration").
B. After the EPCD's have been printed and scanned, it will be necessary to clear
the EPCD from the ARIES system.
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FRESNO COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
JAIL DIVISION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
TITLE: PROBABLE CAUSE REVIEW NO: C-330
FILE: PROBABLE CAUSE
1. To clear an approved EPCD, select PRINTED.
2. To clear a denied EPCD, select PRINTED.
C. To search for an EPCD, select SEARCH FOR DECLARATIONS. The system
may be searched using any of the following criteria:
1. Agency
2. Arrest Date (range)
3. Last and First Name (must be an exact match; there is no way to search
by a partial name)
4. Case Number
D. The CREATE NEW DECLARATION option shall not be used by Jail staff
under any circumstances.
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