Category: Courts

Chico man in detention seeks asylum, relief

Immigrant detention swells to record high
by Leslie Layton | Posted December 29, 2025
Paradise resident Virginia Hauer works relentlessly for Ozan’s release. Photo by Leslie Layton.

Chico criminal defense attorney Kevin Sears remembers that day in late July in Butte County Superior Court when he heard what he describes as “awful screaming” outside the courtroom.

The bailiff told him that agents from Immigration, Customs & Enforcement (ICE) were outside. “I just about fainted,” Sears said. “I just had no clue they were there. It was the first time they had come.”

Sears acts as public defender for Butte County DUI cases, so on any given day he may have up to 50 clients in court. When he learned what was happening outside the courtroom, he thought immediately of one client in particular who had been anxious about ICE courthouse arrests around the state. read more

Should Mental Health Diversion expand?

Fewer than a third of defendants seeking Mental Health Diversion were admitted in Butte County
by Yucheng Tang | Posted December 27, 2025
Deputy District Attorney Mark Murphy represents the DA’s office in the monthly Mental Health Diversion hearings. Photo by Yucheng Tang.

This story is second in a series on the Mental Health Diversion program and is supported by a USC fellowship.

Seven years ago, a 48-year-old Paradise area man was charged with misdemeanor assault with a vehicle. A medical report issued a few days after the incident stated that he was diagnosed with “bipolar disorder, mixed episode, with psychotic features.”

A year later, his attorney told him about the newly launched Mental Health Diversion program (MHD), which allows some mentally ill defendants to receive court-ordered mental health treatment instead of serving jail time. Successful completion of the program can lead to dismissal of charges. The man, who identified only as “John” in order to protect his privacy, applied. read more