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(tlj 08- 10 -15) <br />ORDINANCE NO. NS -2882 <br />AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA <br />AMENDING CHAPTER 1, SECTION 1 -8 OF THE SANTA <br />ANA MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO VIOLATIONS AND <br />GENERAL PENALTIES <br />THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA DOES ORDAIN AS <br />FOLLOWS: <br />SECTION 1. The City Council of the City of Santa Ana hereby finds, determines, <br />and declares as follows: <br />A. The City Council is authorized pursuant to section 420 of the City Charter to <br />make any violation of its ordinances a misdemeanor or infraction, which may be <br />prosecuted in the name of the People of the State of California; and <br />B. Section 1 -8 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code ( "Code ") provides that, unless <br />otherwise specifically stated in the Code, any violation of or failure to comply <br />with any provision of the Code shall be a misdemeanor and, where no <br />specific penalty is provided in the Code, the violation shall be punished by a <br />fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) or imprisonment for a <br />term not to exceed six (6) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment; <br />and <br />C. Section 1 -8 of the Code provides the City Attorney's Office with discretion to <br />prosecute any violation constituting a misdemeanor as an infraction. <br />However, where officers issue criminal citations, the Code does not provide <br />the officer with discretion to determine whether such violations should be <br />charged as infractions; and <br />D. The citing officer is often in the better position to determine whether the <br />observed criminal conduct rises to the level of an infraction or a misdemeanor <br />violation; and <br />E. Where an officer mistakenly issues a citation as an infraction but the violation <br />constitutes a misdemeanor, or where the City Attorney may desire to file a <br />misdemeanor citation as an infraction based on the nature of the violation, the <br />Police Department Court Liaison staff must incur additional work in preparing <br />and serving the cited person with an amendment before filing the citation with <br />the court; and <br />F. Violations routinely filed as misdemeanors also result in an increased <br />administrative burden for the court in processing these matters; and <br />Ordinance No. NS -2882 <br />Page 1 of 3 <br />