Article 1.7. Sacramento County Sheriff-marshal Consolidation of California Government Code >> Division 2. >> Title 3. >> Part 3. >> Chapter 2. >> Article 1.7.

This article shall apply only to a county of the eighth class. It shall be known as the Sacramento County Court Services Consolidation Act of 1985.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Board of Supervisors of the County of Sacramento may, by ordinance, abolish the office of marshal of the municipal court and consolidate the services and personnel of the Sacramento County Marshal's Department into the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department. Upon the effective date of such a consolidation ordinance, Sections 74194 and 74195 shall cease to be operative, and Sections 26638.3 to 26638.11, inclusive, shall become operative and shall continue in full force and effect during the period of consolidation.

All persons who, immediately preceding the effective date of abolition of the marshal's office and department, are assigned to the marshal's department in management, administrative, supervisory, peace officer, clerical, and other positions shall, on the effective date of the abolition, be assigned to the sheriff's department in the same class, or if such classes are not within the department, a comparable class; and no probationary or permanent employee shall be laid off as a result of implementation of the abolition and consolidation. The discretion of the board of supervisors to lay off as a result of the elimination or reduction in level of any service delivered by the sheriff, whether caused by the board's decision to underfund existing staffing or otherwise, shall not be impaired. Marshal's lieutenants shall be assigned to the class of sheriff's lieutenant, and shall not be eligible to participate in a promotional examination for the class of sheriff's captain for a period of one year following the effective date of the abolition and consolidation. Marshal's deputies performing bailiffing functions shall be assigned to bailiffing functions for the superior and municipal courts for five years following the effective date of the abolition and consolidation. No provision of this section shall be deemed to restrict the authority of the sheriff to discipline any employee in accordance with county standards, procedures and limitations otherwise applicable, and except as otherwise expressly provided herein the discretion of the sheriff to assign, promote, direct, and control employees formerly assigned to the marshal's department shall not be deemed to be in any manner restricted by virtue of the abolition or consolidation.

Notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 26603, 26608, and 26665, or any other provision of law, the sheriff shall provide to the superior court within the County of Sacramento all of the following:
  (a) Notice and process services, including the service of summons, subpoenas, warrants, and other civil and criminal process.
  (b) Court security services, including prisoner transportation services, prisoner escort services, bailiff services, courthouse and other court security services, and the execution of court orders and bench warrants requiring the immediate presence in court of a defendant or witness.

The sheriff shall provide, within the limits of the resources at his or her disposal, notice and process and court security services to the superior court of at least as high a quality as were provided preceding the abolition and consolidation. The sheriff shall designate a position assigned to the administration of notice and process service as a court liaison officer whose duty it shall be to advise and confer with the court respecting the quality of notice and process services.

There is hereby created as a separate unit within the sheriff's department a court security services unit, the functions of which shall be to provide to the superior court within Sacramento County prisoner transportation services, prisoner escort services, court control, courthouse and other court building security, bailiff services, and the execution of court orders and bench warrants requiring the immediate presence in court of a defendant or witness. All sheriff's personnel responsible for the delivery of these services shall be assigned to the court security services unit. The sheriff shall provide all security services to the court through that unit.

The court security services unit shall be headed by a chief deputy who reports directly to the sheriff through the undersheriff, and whose administrative offices are situated at such location as the presiding judge of the superior court may direct. The chief deputy shall be exempt from civil service, and shall not be a member of the county's classified service. The chief deputy shall be appointed by the sheriff from among Sacramento County employees who are assigned to the sheriff's department, and who are qualified peace officers. The person appointed chief deputy shall serve in that office at the individual pleasures of the sheriff and judges of the superior court. The chief deputy shall be subject to release from that office at the will of either the sheriff, or the judges of the superior court, as reflected by a majority vote of the judges. A person released from the office of chief deputy shall be returned to the highest salaried county class which that person occupied preceding his or her appointment to the office of chief deputy. The chief deputy, during the period he or she occupies that office, shall be subject to suspension or dismissal from county employment at the sole discretion of the sheriff, subject to those county standards, procedures, and limitations as are applicable to county employees within the classified service. Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the first occupant of the office of chief deputy shall be the person who occupied the office of Sacramento County Marshal immediately preceding the effective date of the abolition of that office and consolidation. The first occupant shall be subject to release from that office and suspension or dismissal from county employment in accordance with the same terms, conditions, and procedures as are prescribed above. In the event the first occupant of the office of chief deputy is released from that office, he or she shall be assigned, at the discretion of the sheriff, to any existing vacancy in the classes of sheriff's captain, sheriff's lieutenant, sheriff's sergeant or deputy sheriff, at a salary equal to that which he or she was receiving immediately preceding the effective date of release from the chief deputy office. Upon assignment to such a class, the first occupant shall immediately acquire permanent civil service status, and shall thereafter be subject to discipline or other adverse employment action subject to the same regulations and procedures as are applicable to other classified personnel occupying the same class. The office of chief deputy, court security services, is created as one whose principal function is to serve the superior court, and is assigned solely for organizational purposes to the sheriff's department in order to promote the efficient utilization of personnel resources and preserve unity of command in the delivery of peace officer services. The chief deputy is an employee of Sacramento County for all purposes.

The sheriff, through the chief deputy, court security services, shall prepare and present for approval by the superior court, as expressed by a majority vote of the judges, written policies prescribing procedures and methods for the adequate and prompt delivery of court security services. The policies shall contain such elements as the court may prescribe, including, but not limited to:
  (a) The transportation of prisoners in a manner which assures timely production at court hearings, within the limits of personnel resources at the disposal of the chief deputy, court security services.
  (b) The approval by individual superior court judges of the identity of bailiffs assigned on a regular or continuing basis to the courtrooms of those judges.
  (c) The organizational plan for the court security services unit in relation to the allocation of staffing levels to various functions of the court security services unit, within the limits of personnel resources at the disposal of the chief deputy, court security services, including the regular assignment of one bailiff to each permanent sitting judge, commissioner and referee.
  (d) The filling with reasonable dispatch of positions which become vacant due to employment termination, leave or incapacity; and, in the event of vacancies caused by the long-term incapacity of a sworn officer, that the sheriff make his or her best effort to assign the vacant position elsewhere within the department in a manner which makes available another sworn officer for court duties.
  (e) With the foregoing exceptions, the reservation of discretion to the chief deputy, court security services, to assign, direct, and control the personnel of his or her unit. Amendments of the policies shall be subject to advance approval by the court in the same manner as the court approves the original policies.

The superior court shall bring any complaints regarding the sheriff's performance under this article and any written policies adopted pursuant hereto to the attention of the sheriff, and shall cooperate with the sheriff to resolve them. The court shall also actively participate and cooperate in the preparation and presentation of all budget requests for the court security services unit. The budget for the unit shall be prescribed from year to year by the board of supervisors through adoption of the annual budget. During any budget year, the staffing for the unit may be adjusted within budgeted resources and personnel classifications only with the approval of the court under policies adopted pursuant to subdivisions (c) and (d) of Section 26638.8. The sheriff shall not transfer or otherwise divert from the court security services unit personnel or other resources allocated to that unit by the annual final budget approved by the board of supervisors, except on a temporary basis in the event of a sudden and unforeseen emergency requiring the immediate commitment of significant resources in relation to other functions performed by the sheriff. That organization plan for the court security services unit and the level of staffing and hours of staffing services prescribed therein set forth in that document entitled "Sacramento County Court Security Services Unit, Organization Plan," dated June 1, 1985, on file with the clerk of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Sacramento, shall, at minimum, be maintained during the 1985-86 fiscal year from and after the effective date of the abolition and consolidation authorized by this article; and the levels of staffing and hours of staffing services shall be subject to modification, increase, or decrease by the board of supervisors in future fiscal years.

In the event that the superior court concludes by majority vote of its members that the sheriff has substantially failed to comply with any term of this article or written policies adopted hereunder, the court may request that the board of supervisors form and fund an independent review team to review the sheriff's compliance with this article or policies and report thereon. The board shall form and fund such review. The review team shall be selected by four persons who are the presiding judge of the court, county executive, sheriff, and a disinterested member of the public selected by the board.
  (a) The sheriff shall take all necessary reasonable steps to remedy any violation of this article or policies adopted hereunder found by the review team. The failure of the sheriff to take such steps and violations of this article or policies adopted hereunder shall be reviewable in an action brought by the court requesting formation of the team under Section 1085 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
  (b) Any findings by the review team relating to understaffing, insufficient or inadequate facilities, insufficient or inadequate equipment or appliances, or any other matter requiring as a remedy the appropriation or expenditure of public funds by the board of supervisors shall be advisory only, and shall not be enforceable by mandate or any other judicial proceeding against the county or board of supervisors. The provisions of this section shall not be deemed to constitute an exclusive remedy, an administrative remedy which must be exhausted or to otherwise bar any other remedy which may be available to the court under this article or any other laws for a violation of the provisions of this article or written policies adopted hereunder.

Neither this article nor any provision hereof, including Section 26638.10, shall be deemed in any manner to limit or otherwise impair the legal power vested by other laws in the superior court within Sacramento County to secure proper provision of court-related services.

(a) This article shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2018, and as of that date is repealed unless a later enacted statute, which is enacted before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends that date.
  (b) The repeal of this article does not affect any right or benefit to which a person was entitled on the date of repeal.