Criminal Justice

A 2021 state law took investigations into California police shootings out of the hands of local cops. Now, some families say the new system is agonizing in its own way.

A legislative proposal, Senate Bill 545, would prevent victimized children in foster care or the child welfare system from being tried as an adult if they commit a violent crime against their abuser. Two survivors say the bill provides overdue recognition of a systemic failure to protect vulnerable youth.

The reparations task force meets Saturday in Oakland. It may vote to recommend a state apology and payments to African Americans based on years living in state.

As Gov. Gavin Newsom moves to close at least four California prisons, local officials and state legislators are trying to convince the governor to keep Chuckawalla Valley State Prison open and instead shutter the California Rehabilitation Center in Riverside County.

Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to transform San Quentin State Prison by modeling the prison system in Norway. But changing one facility will not accomplish the sort of wholesale reforms required to mirror the Norwegian criminal justice system.

California law requires law enforcement agencies to release body cam footage of police shootings. Many departments shape those images into stories they want to tell.

In response to calls for greater police accountability, California passed laws to make police misconduct records more accessible to the public and placed the state Attorney General’s office in charge of investigating police killings of unarmed civilians. Following the 2018 Sacramento police shooting of Stephon Clark, who was unarmed, lawmakers now require law enforcement agencies […]

The state already pays some legal bills in immigration court – but not for those with serious or violent felony records. If they can’t afford a lawyer, they face deportation alone. Assembly member Reggie Jones-Sawyer says that’s not due process.

From CalMatters politics reporter Alexei Koseff: At long last, a resolution to the fall standoff between Gov. Gavin Newsom and local officials over their plans to decrease street homelessness. That’s the first takeaway from Newsom’s four-day statewide tour to launch his 2023 policy agenda, which kicks off this afternoon in Sacramento, before heading to the […]

He couldn’t find a parking spot for his specialized van at a San Diego lobster shop. The lawsuit that followed is a test of how California upholds disabled rights.