Criminal Justice

WhatMatters

California at crossroads over district attorney role

Good morning, California. It’s Thursday, October 29. (Yes, I know I said it was September in yesterday’s newsletter; the pandemic has warped my sense of time.) Traditional vs. progressive Beyond the criminal justice propositions on California’s November ballot, the upcoming election will also serve as a barometer for the role Californians think district attorneys should […]

By Emily Hoeven • October 29, 2020

Commentary

How should California support prisoners released amid COVID-19?

California lacks a comprehensive strategy to assist prisoners released during the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving them and their communities vulnerable.

By Guest Commentary • October 23, 2020

WhatMatters

A close race for Prop. 15

Good morning, California. It’s Thursday, October 22. Affirmative action unlikely to pass Will Californians decide to raise taxes on commercial properties — approving the biggest change to the state’s property tax structure in more than 40 years — or won’t they? With less than two weeks before the election, the Prop. 15 race is shaping […]

By Emily Hoeven • October 22, 2020

Commentary

Prop. 25 will help build a justice system based on fairness

I know how the predatory bail system works, because I am a victim of it. Its outcomes are predictably unfair, but Prop. 25 will change that.

By Guest Commentary • October 22, 2020

Justice

Juvenile justice overhaul: How the governor’s plan shifts care of serious offenders to counties

The state’s Division of Juvenile Justice will no longer accept newly convicted young people after July 2021 in a shutdown quickly signed off on by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

By Elizabeth Aguilera • October 22, 2020

Commentary

Prop. 25 is dangerous for victims and communities

Prop. 25 would eliminate cash bail or pretrial release programs with a new, unproven automated computer system.

By Guest Commentary • October 22, 2020

Commentary

Fake online review fraud: California agencies are not protecting consumers

District attorneys, the State Bar and the Medical Board should protect Californians, but they seem uninterested in deterring fraud against consumers.

By Guest Commentary • October 20, 2020

Justice

Prop. 20: Should California’s DNA bank expand to shoplifters, opioid offenders?

Tens of thousands of people convicted of misdemeanors would have their DNA stored. District attorneys disagree about whether it would help solve violent crimes.

By Byrhonda Lyons • October 19, 2020

Justice

Newsom’s Supreme Court pick confirmed as state’s first openly gay justice

Updated on November 10, 2020 Martin Jenkins was unanimously confirmed today to the California Supreme Court, making him the first openly gay justice on the state’s highest court. Jenkins, who was born and raised in the Bay Area, is also the third Black man to serve as a justice in the court’s history — and […]

By Byrhonda Lyons • October 5, 2020

Commentary

Three measures test attitudes on crime

Three ballot measures test whether California voters endorse criminal justice reforms or believe they've gone too far.

By Dan Walters • September 29, 2020