Justice

California has its own Civil War history, but it also has a painful colonization history—one academics believe ought to be told more in schools. It’s a tale of a state founded by white colonists who wiped out much of the Native American population by bringing disease, forcing relocation, imposing starvation, and carrying out what its more severe critics describe as a forgotten, state-sanctioned genocide of a people.

California medical marijuana users can breathe a sigh of relief—the Trump administration can't crack down on them for at least a few more months.

At the Trump administration's urging, Congress has rattled California's medical marijuana industry by at least temporarily endangering a key protection against federal prosecution of medicinal pot.

A Democratic legislator has introduced a state resolution opposing Trump-backed federal legislation that would allow out-of-state gun owners to pack concealed firearms in public places throughout California.

California would allow residents to opt for a “nonbinary” gender marker on all forms of state identification—"M" and "F" would likely be followed by “X" —under advancing legislation. That would make California the first state in the nation to fully depart from the rigid either/or categorization of gender, embracing a more fluid understanding of the term—at least on paper.

It’s rare that a California lawmaker seeking a policy model to follow would turn to Kentucky. But with the Legislature on summer recess, that’s precisely what Sen. Bob Hertzberg is doing. The mission: travel to the Bluegrass state to investigate how Kentucky gets its defendants awaiting trial to show up for court dates and keep […]

To the relief of California's infant recreational cannabis industry, a federal task force convened by Attorney General—and marijuana foe—Jeff Sessions fails to justify a crackdown on states that have legalized marijuana.

Zawadi Namagazuzyo was about 12 when she was forced to flee her native Congo. Her mother and many family members were dead. Her father wanted her to live. “There was fighting, a lot of fighting,” she said, recalling how the two of them ended up at a refugee camp in Zambia. She grew up there […]

After a man held a knife to her throat, forced her into her car and repeatedly raped her, Helena Lazaro underwent a painful and humiliating medical forensic examination. The 17 year old wanted her attacker caught. She never imagined the evidence collected in what is known as a rape kit would sit untouched for years […]

Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law today a new gun control measure that restricts firearms access for Californians accused of crimes—countermanding recent Trump administration rules expanding who can and cannot own a gun.