The superior court properly granted the defendant’s motion to dismiss under Penal Code section 995 where the magistrate failed to grant his statutorily-mandated own recognizance release. The court scheduled the defendant’s preliminary hearing for the ninth day of the ten-day statutory period for holding an arraignment. On the day of the hearing, the court granted the prosecution’s motion for a continuance, but denied the defendant’s request for release on his own recognizance. The superior court later granted his motion to set aside the information, and the People appealed. The Court of Appeal affirmed the lower court order, noting that while the ten-day period may be extended for good cause, Penal Code section 859b requires that the defendant be released on his own recognizance if the statutory time period is exceeded.
Case Summaries