Dant

Summary

Edward P. Dant (defendant) seeks to compel a ruling on his motion for release on his own recognizance (OR). (Pen. Code, § 1270, subd. (a); Cal. Const., art. I, § 12.) Defendant was charged with a misdemeanor violation of section 273.5 (battery on a cohabitant) and was placed in custody early Saturday morning June 28, 1997. At his arraignment on Wednesday, July 2, 1997, he made a motion to be released on OR. (§§ 825, 849.) The court declined to then rule on the motion declaring itself bound by section 1270.1 to give the prosecutor two court days’ notice prior to considering an OR request. Over defendant’s objection, the court continued the motion until the following Monday, July 7, 1997. Defendant petitions for relief here following denial of his petition for writ of mandate in the superior court. (Code Civ. Proc., § 904.1, subd. (a); Davis v. Municipal Court (1988) 46 Cal.3d 64, 72, fn. 4 [ 249 Cal.Rptr. 300 , 757 P.2d 11 ].)

Although defendant has been released from custody, we choose to address the merits of the petition. Where, as here, a case “poses an issue of broad public interest that is likely to recur, the court may exercise an inherent discretion to…