Criminal Justice

Civil rights advocates who once led the charge for bail reform are now lobbying against it, saying it replaces one problem with another—and may perpetuate racial bias.

California legislators confront the question of how to pay for fire damage. Should PG&E be relieved of costs related to devastating 2017 wildfires, and should the law be changed for future fires?

Gov. Jerry Brown wants to add millions in new spending on programs to help former inmates stay out of jail—a proposal generating bipartisan praise because of concern they are returning to prison in large numbers. But some say it still isn't enough.

After an artistic career that propelled him from the south side of Chicago to poetry nights in the Obama White House, the 45-year-old rapper Common is now working to influence state policy. A resident of Los Angeles, Common is trying to change the criminal justice system in California.