Criminal Justice

Criminal Justice Reform

The LWVC Criminal Justice Reform Interest Group is an outgrowth of the efforts of the LWVC Taskforce on Criminal Justice Reform, which developed a Criminal Justice Position. Research included review of State and Local Leagues across the country. The position was adopted by concurrence at the 2019 LWVC Convention.

Join the LWVC Criminal Justice Reform Interest Group using this link, then Ask to join group. You will be sent a confirmation email.

Join the LWVC Sheriff Oversight Interest Sub-Group using this link, then Ask to join group. You will be sent a confirmation email.

Some past Meetings 2024:
December 16th - Guest speaker, Dr. Aili Malm, Professor of Criminal Justice, CSU Long Beach, who was the lead for the NYU Policing Project’s SAJE Assessment (Sound Accountable Just Effective Policing).

March 26th - Guest Speaker: Marilyn Armour, Emeritus Professor, University of Texas at Austin, who conducted studies on the effectiveness of restorative justice interventions for violent crime, in the prison system, in schools, for domestic violence and community restoration as well as the mechanisms of action in the interventions that lead to change.
Other agenda item: Pretext Stops and CA Task Force on Reparations “Policy Recommendations to Address an Unjust Legal System.”

Jan. 23rd - guest speaker Dante King, addresses racial disparities in our criminal legal system, as well as the backlash we have been experiencing to justice reform.

At the 11/28/23 meeting, we discussed Danielle Sered’s book, Until We Reckon. See the notes for a link to an interview with Danielle Sered. Click here for the book discussion notes.

Excessive Punishment: How the Justice System Creates Mass Incarceration
New book by Lauren-Brooke Eisen, senior director at the Brennan Center - Columbia University Press - https://cup.columbia.edu/book/excessive-punishment/9780231559249

The United States has by far the world’s largest population of incarcerated people. More than a million Americans are imprisoned; hundreds of thousands more are held in jails. This vast system has doled out punishment—particularly to people from marginalized groups—on an unfathomable scale. At the same time, it has manifestly failed to secure public safety, instead perpetuating inequalities and recidivism. Why does the United States see punishment as the main response to social harm, and what are the alternatives?

This book brings together essays by scholars, practitioners, activists, and writers, including incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people, to explore the harms of this punitive approach. The chapters address a range of issues, from policing to prosecution, and from how people are treated in prison to the consequences of a criminal conviction. Together, they consider a common theme: We cannot reduce our dependence on mass incarceration until we confront our impulse to punish in ways that are excessive, often wildly disproportionate to the harm caused. Essays trace how a maze of local, state, and federal agencies have contributed to mass incarceration and deterred attempts at reform. They shed light on how the excesses of America’s criminal legal system are entwined with poverty, racism, and the legacy of slavery. A wide-ranging and powerful look at the failures of the status quo, Excessive Punishment also considers how to reimagine the justice system to support restoration instead of retribution.

‘California’s next chapter in youth justice must hold county systems accountable, put an end to the transfer of youth into adult criminal court, and invest in communities.’

Read the complete article here.

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Closing California juvenile facilities

In 2020, California enacted SB 823 / AB 1868, which phases the closure of California’s Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) and instead provides resources to counties for supervision and service delivery to youth in conflict with the law. SB 823/ AB 1868:

Ends intake into DJJ on July 1, 2020, except for cases where the youth may be tried in adult court
Creates a new state agency to provide oversight and accountability of the realigned system
Allocates $209 million in block grant funding to counties with reporting requirements
Raises the age of local jurisdiction and confinement to age 25 for serious cases
Requires the legislature to establish a new sentencing track for realigned population by March 2021

AB 901 (Gipson) would delete the authority of County Probation Departments and Juvenile Courts from dealing with 601’s, that is status offenders: juveniles who are truant, or have discipline problems at school or at home. SIGNED

AB 1235 The California Community Care Facilities Act, provided for the licensing and regulation of runaway and homeless youth shelters by the State Department of Social Services. SIGNED

SB 150: Improving Access to the Chafee Education and Training Voucher will speed up the distribution of Chafee awards by authorizing the California Student Aid Commission to “over award” the grant at the beginning of the school year, enabling students to
receive additional funds when funds are needed most. SIGNED

SB 716 requires that county probation department ensure that juveniles with a high school diploma or California high school equivalency certificate who are in, a juvenile hall, ranch,
camp, or forestry camp have access to, and can choose to participate in, public postsecondary academic and career technical courses and programs offered online, for which they are eligible. SIGNED

Racially Charged: America’s Misdemeanor Problem

America’s Misdemeanor Problem exposes how our country’s history of racial injustice evolved into an enormous abuse of criminal justice power. 13 million people a year – most of them poor and people of color – are abused by this system of profits and racial inequality.

Please watch this thought-provoking 35-minute film.

watch the movie here

5 New Criminal Justice Laws In CA To Know

Wed, Oct 13, 2021 Kat Schuster, Los Angeles Patch

CALIFORNIA — Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a suite of criminal justice laws that were a direct response to last year's sweeping social justice movement, which was spurred by George Floyd's death at the hands of a police officer.

A flurry of new laws in California related to policing will make changes to how officers are certified, fortify an officer's duty to intercept his or her peers using excessive force, require agencies to get the approval of local municipalities before acquiring military equipment, restrict the use of nonlethal bullets and more.
Many of the new laws are also meant to stamp out racial profiling and safeguard historically marginalized communities.

READ THE ARTICLE