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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. Page 1 of 6 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. Page 2 of 6 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. Page 3 of 6 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. Page 4 of 6 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. Page 5 of 6 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. Page 6 of 6