Criminal Justice

Officials may call driving a privilege, but they treat it as a right — often failing to take drivers’ licenses even after they kill someone on the road.

Democratic big-money donors wait to see if former Vice President Kamala Harris will run for governor, which could thin out a crowded primary contest in June.

A coalition of civil rights groups says the offices of sheriff and coroner should be separate, so there is impartiality when investigating in-custody or jail deaths.

Flat-free contracts for public defense attorneys are barred in many states, yet 15 California counties use this format for representing defendants who can't pay for one. The problem? It creates a disincentive to spend money fighting criminal charges.

Rumors of immigration raids are changing life from Modesto to Bakersfield, with attendance down in the Fresno Diocese and some families afraid to go outside.

California’s governors and legislators have a number of irritating habits, but the worst is their tendency to enact sweeping programs or policy decrees without weighing the risks.

The California Penal Code requires officers to make an arrest in domestic violence incidents, but a well-intended law is leading to victims being wrongfully detained, as a former political staffer's experience reveals.

Ruby Marichalar couldn't get an in-person meeting after California's crime victim compensation fund denied her claim. She wasn't the only one.

After a man threatened an elementary school in her district, Assemblymember Darshana Patel wants to close a loophole in the law that makes it harder to prosecute threats against places than individuals.

A family can sue the California Highway Patrol over an incident in which an officer missed the signs of an accident victim's stroke and arrested him.