Ayala v. Municipal Court

Opinion

DANIELSON, J. This appeal is from a judgment of the superior court denying Carlos Ayala’s petition for writ of prohibition.

[486]The petition sought to prohibit the Ventura County Municipal Court, and particularly Judge Frederick Jones, from taking further action on Ayala’s case.

The petition alleged as follows:

On April 4, 1980, Ayala appeared in Judge Jones’ courtroom and pleaded nolo contendere to a charge of violating Vehicle Code section 10852 (vehicle tampering). Imposition of sentence was suspended, and Ayala was placed on summary probation.

Pursuant to a Ventura County Municipal Court rule, Judge Jones had instructed the clerk to stamp on the docket sheet that pursuant to a local court rule, he should hear any motions in the future regarding Ayala’s probation.

On January 8, 1981, Ayala appeared before Judge Hadden, in another division of the Ventura County Municipal Court, for arraignment on a charge of violating former Vehicle Code section 23123.5, subdivision (a).

At the arraignment, Ayala was served with a notice of probation violation regarding the previous charge. Judge Hadden ordered the case transferred to Judge Jones’ court when he saw Judge Jones’ earlier request indorsed on the docket order.

Before Judge Jones, Ayala requested permission to file an affidavit of prejudice (Code Civ. Proc. § 170.6). Judge Jones denied that request, revoked probation, and set the probation violation matter for a hearing before himself.

In the petition, Ayala further alleged that he had been denied due process and equal protection of law because the matter was assigned to Judge Jones, who was not then sitting in a trial department, and because Judge Jones had refused to allow filing of the affidavit of prejudice. However, Ayala later withdrew his contention regarding the affidavit of prejudice and we do not address that refusal in this opinion.

Ventura County Municipal Court rule 4, provided as follows: “All cases wherein orders of probation are made by a judge sitting in a non-trial division shall remain in that division . . . unless the judge making the original order of probation requests any motions be made to him regardless of the division to which he is assigned when such application or request is made.”