Gilroy Municipal Code Art. I Citation Procedure for Violations

This chapter shall be known as the “Gilroy Citation Ordinance.”

(Ord. No. 734, § 2)

For the purposes of this chapter the terms “arresting officer” and “officer” shall mean any policeman of the city, the chief of police or any official of the city, including the building inspector, who is charged with the enforcement of the ordinance in question or the city administrator.

(Ord. No. 734, § 2)

Whenever any person is arrested for the violation of any ordinance of this city and such person is not immediately taken before a magistrate, as is more fully set forth in the Penal Code of the state, the arresting officer shall prepare in quadruplicate a written notice to appear in court, containing the name and address of such person, the offense charged and the time and place when and where such person shall appear in court.

(Ord. No. 734, § 2)

(a) The time specified in the notice to appear shall be not less than ten days after such arrest.

(b) The place specified in the notice to appear shall be the court of the magistrate before whom the person would be taken if the requirement of taking an arrested person before a magistrate were complied with or shall be before an officer authorized by such court to receive a deposit of bail.

(Ord. No. 734, § 2)

(a) The arresting officer shall deliver one copy of the notice to appear to the arrested person, and the arrested person, in order to secure release, must give his written promise so to appear in court by signing the duplicate notice, which shall be retained by the officer. Thereupon, the arresting officer shall forthwith release the person arrested from custody.

(b) The officer shall, as soon as practicable, file the duplicate notice with the magistrate specified in the notice. Thereupon the magistrate will fix the amount of bail in accordance with law. The defendant may, prior to the date upon which he promised to appear in court, deposit with the magistrate the amount of bail set by such magistrate. Thereafter, at the time when the case is called for arraignment before the magistrate, if the defendant does not appear either in person or by counsel, the magistrate may declare the bail forfeited and may, in his discretion, order that no further proceedings be had in such case. Upon the making of such order that no further proceedings be had, all sums deposited as bail shall forthwith be paid into the county treasury for distribution pursuant to section 1463 of the Penal Code of the state.

(Ord. No. 734, § 2)

A warrant shall not be issued on such charge for the arrest of a person who, pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, has given such written promise to appear in court unless and until he has violated such promise or has failed to deposit bail or to appear for arraignment, trial or judgment or to comply with the terms and provisions of the judgment as required by law.

(Ord. No. 734, § 2)

When a person signs a written promise to appear at the time and place specified in the written promise to appear and has not posted bail as provided in section 6A.5(b), the magistrate shall issue and have delivered for execution a warrant for his arrest within twenty days after his failure to appear as promised. If a person promises to appear before an officer authorized to accept bail other than a magistrate and fails to do so on or before the date on which he promised to appear, then within twenty days after the delivery of the written promise to appear by the officer to a magistrate having jurisdiction over the offense, such magistrate shall issue and have delivered for execution a warrant for his arrest. When such person violates his promise to appear before an officer authorized to receive bail other than a magistrate, the officer shall immediately deliver to the magistrate having jurisdiction over the offense charged the written promise to appear and the complaint, if any, filed by the arresting officer.

(Ord. No. 734, § 2)

Any person wilfully violating his written promise to appear in court is guilty of a misdemeanor, regardless of the disposition of the charge upon which he was originally arrested. Such violation is punishable by a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars or by imprisonment in the county or city jail for not to exceed six months or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(Ord. No. 734, § 2)

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Editor’s note—Ord. No. 77-15, § 1, adopted April 18, 1977, specifically amended the Code by repealing § 6A.9, which had provided a penalty for violation of the chapter. Said section had been derived from Ord. No. 734, § 2.

The provisions of this chapter have been enacted pursuant to the provisions of chapter 5b of the Penal Code of the state.

(Ord. No. 734, § 2; Ord. No. 77-15, § 5, 4-18-1977)