SHERIFF BAXTER DUNN SLIGHTS YET ANOTHER DUTY
(c) 2003, Mike Barkley
Government Code:
26733.5. The fee for serving a writ of possession of real property
on an occupant or the occupants or for posting and serving a copy on
the judgment debtor including the putting of a person in possession
of the premises and removing the occupant or occupants is
seventy-five dollars ($75). The fee for reposting of a notice to
vacate shall be pursuant to Section 26721.
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From:
Mike Barkley
161 N. Sheridan Ave. #1
Manteca, CA 95336
mjbarkl@inreach.com
209/823-4817
January 19, 2003
To:
Assemblyman Greg Aghazarian
Assemblymember.aghazarian@assembly.ca.gov
Dear Assemblyman Aghazarian,
Please introduce a bill "...to add the following wording to
Government Code Section 26733.5 following the existing word '($75)':
', except that if the writ is served on the same day it is received
and the person is put in possession of the premises and the occupant
or occupants are removed on the sixth day after that service (even
if the sixth day falls on a holiday) the fee shall be five hundred
dollars ($500).'"
For those of us who own and/or operate rental property, evictions
are dangerous and expensive and place us, the property, other tenants,
and neighbors at serious risk of death or injury, and escalating property
and financial damage. The sheriff in San Joaquin County scheduled
return of possession some 21 days later for the latest writ I delivered
to him instead of the 5 days specified in the code, a rather outrageous
dereliction of duty for the sole power authorized by law to halt what is
in essence the theft of real property valued at $50,000 or more. With
the continuing erosion of the code time lines by the actual actions of
the courts and the sheriffs, a return period that is specified as 13
days in the code now runs some 30 to 90 days, with frightening consequences
to our persons, properties, other tenants and neighbors. The existing
$75 fee is so low the Sheriff has no incentive to comply with and
enforce the 5-day provision in California Code of Civil Procedure
Sections 715.010 and 715.020, and instead performs the service and
evictions whenever he chooses, leaving the public in great peril, a
peril the sheriff obliquely acknowledges in his "Eviction Information
for Property Owners/Managers/Counsel" in his mention of "an officer
safety issue". Even at $500 the property owners, managers, other
tenants, and neighbors would be far better off financially (as well
as physically) than under the present lax law enforcement environment,
one of indifference to the requirements of this code and other codes
and indifference towards the continuing injuries even if chargeable
as crimes for which crimes they will not accept complaints or charge
the perpetrators. This may seem strange to you unless you are in the
rental business: for those of us who are, we know it's useless to
attempt to report identity theft, embezzlement, drug dealing, drug
labs, trespass, fraud, theft of services, auto tampering, vandalism,
or most any other crime we witness
( see http://www.mjbarkl.com/mantecapolice.htm ).
As a class of victims, we have been removed from the
protections of the law by actions of law enforcement, prosecutors, and
the courts. The sheriff's scofflaw attitude towards the 5-day serve
and evict procedures is illustrative of our reduction to second class
citizenship in California. At least, please help us recover our
property in the time prescribed by law.
Thank you.
/s/ Michael J. Barkley
cc: San Joaquin County Sheriff Baxter Dunn
http://www.mjbarkl.com/baxterdunn.htm
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--Mike Barkley, 161 N. Sheridan Ave. #1, Manteca, CA 95336 (H) 209/823-4817
mjbarkl@inreach.com
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