Public Defender Jeff Adachi got a chance to tell his side of the story in the SF Chronicle about the "chronic inebriates" special arrest campaign. It's as I thought: unusually heavy sentences for contempt of court based on past failures to appear -- all without adjudication on the underlying charges.
The program is supposedly to force public drinkers into treatment for their own good. But Adachi has a story of a man who was in early-stage recovery and all set to enter rehab on his own initiative when one of these arrests derailed his plans.
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