HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolutions - No. 84-008RESOLUTION NO. 84-008
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF LODI ENDORSING THE COURT REFORM
INITIATIVE
WHEREAS, the administration of criminal justice has become
increasingly cumbersome in California under the weight of unnecessary
delays and prohibitive costs caused by court inefficiency; and
WHEREAS, the California court system is hampered by the search
for technical imperfections in criminal cases which permit guilty
criminals to obtain reversals of convictions to cormit new crimes and
create new victims; and
WHEREAS, the federal judicial system already employs a jury
selection process which streamlines the search for a fair and
impartial jury without permitting the unlimited questioning of jurors
permitted by California courts; and
W=AS, reforms in the preliminary hearing process, grand jury
indictments and less -than -unanimous verdicts will save both time and
taxpayer costs while protecting the fairness and equality of criminal
justice; and
WHEREAS, technical delays in the trial process escalate the cost
of court cases and reinforce the principle that justice delayed is
justice denied; and
WHEREAS, denial of parole or probation can be an effective
deterrent to further criminal activity if denial is made prouptly; and
W M EAS, the criminal court initiative would permi..t judges to
revoke probation, allow the Board of Prison Terms to order paroles
revoked, restore the Grand Jury in indictments, adopt the federal jury
selection process, permit less -than -unanimous jury verdicts in most
cases, make continuances difficult to obtain, reduce the number of
technical defense motions during prelim xiary hearings, and curtail
time-consuming private questioning of jurors in death penalty cases;
and
WHEREAS, the initiative does not impair the civil rights of any
defendant; and
WHEREAS, the City Council Legislative Advocacy Committee, on
January 6, 1984, recommended endorsement of the "criminal court
initiative";
NOW, =REFDRE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL of the City of
Lodi that the city endorse the goals of the Court Reform Initiative;
and
FURTHER, that the City Council urge Lodi residents to read the
criminal court initiative and beccane better informed about its goals
and positive effects.
Dated: February 1, 1984
I hereby certify that Resolution No. 84-008 was passed
and adopted by the City Council of the City of Lodi in a
regular meeting held February 1, 1984 by the following vote:
Ayes: Council Members - Pinkerton, Murphy, Reid, Snider,
and Olson (Mayor)
Noes: Council Members - None
Absent: Council Members - None
Alice M. Reirrche
City Clerk
84-008