Countywide : Mayor Criticizes Judges’ Policy on Drunk Drivers

Thousand Oaks Mayor Frank Schillo has accused Ventura County Municipal Court judges of participating in a “revenue rip-off” of cities through their probation policy for drunk-driving offenders.

Schillo criticized the judges after receiving copies of letters by Santa Paula Police Chief Walter H. Adair that were highly critical of the way drunk-driving offenders are sentenced for probation.

Last month, Adair accused Municipal Court judges of having financial motives in their preference for sentencing drunk drivers to supervised, formal probation rather than unsupervised probation.

Under state law, a sentence to formal probation would entitle the county to receive all of the $1,255 fine that drunk-driving offenders typically pay.

But if an offender is given unsupervised “summary probation,” at least half of the fine would go to the city where the person was arrested.

In 1987, judges decided to sentence drunk-driving offenders to supervised rather than unsupervised probation.

“The cities have argued for months that the entire DUI/probation process was simply a revenue rip-off,” Schillo said in an Aug. 7 letter to Presiding Municipal Judge Herbert Curtis III and Judge Charles W. Campbell.

“The dollars are being taken from cities through what appears to be simple collusion between our county and our judiciary.”

Curtis was not available for comment Tuesday.

But in a response to Adair, the judges said the change came because drivers were not complying with the terms of their probation, such as paying fines and attending school.

City Finance Director Bob Biery said the change has resulted in a loss for Thousand Oaks of about $200,000 each year.

Schillo said he has asked the judges to attend a countywide meeting of mayors and city managers to resolve the matter, but the judges have not yet responded.