Despite the ongoing efforts by California’s leaders to improve the State’s criminal justice system and to make it fairer, California still has some of the most severe sentence enhancements in the United States. One of the main principles of the criminal justice system is that the punishment has to fit…
The United States of America has the largest prison population in the world. Not only does the US have more incarcerated people than even China, but the United States account for roughly 25 percent of the world’s total prison population, and within the country, California ranks second behind only Texas.…
In 1987, California passed the Street Terrorism Enforcement and Prevention Act (STEP Act). The California legislature’s goal was to address the increasing criminal activities by street gangs and through the STEP Act it imposed a three-year sentencing enhancement for gang related crimes. Proponents of the law claimed that it would…
Non-citizens, including lawful permanent residents, can experience profound immigration consequences for even minor or very old criminal convictions. Prior to 2017, California law only allowed defendants to challenge their conviction while they were in actual or constructive custody, i.e. parole or probation. As a result, countless people were left with…
Until 2019, countless of inmates in California had been serving unjustly long sentences for murder convictions, even though they never killed, attempted to kill, or intended for a person to die. Fortunately, as part of the ongoing criminal justice reform in California, in 2017, the state legislature acknowledged the need…
On September 30, 2020, Governor Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 3234, which was codified as Penal Code §§1001.95-1001.97, and became effective on January 1, 2021. AB 3234 is a product of the continuing criminal justice reforms in California. The Court Initiated Misdemeanor Diversion is essentially a “get out of…
A criminal conviction can have a life changing and potentially devastating impact on anyone. However, under federal law, certain offenses are considered deportable, including controlled substance offenses, crimes of moral turpitude, and aggravated felonies. So, for noncitizens, a criminal conviction brings with it potentially very grave collateral immigration consequences. In…
Gun Law Enhancements Can Result in Lengthy Sentences. LET’S TALK CRIMINAL GUN ENHANCEMENTS (AB1509) Under California gun laws, a sentence for a felony case can be “enhanced” if a gun was possessed or used during the commission of a crime. These laws can extend sentences well beyond the maximum punishment…
CDC Prisoners seeking early release via the granting of parole. LA DA GEORGE GASCON CONTINUES TO MAKE WAVES WITH PAROLE CHANGES Since being sworn in as Los Angeles County District Attorney in December 2020, George Gascon has hardly been out of the headlines. From eliminating sentence enhancements for hate crimes…
NEW LA COUNTY DA PROMOTING SWEEPING CHANGES (GEORGE GASCON) On December 7, 2020, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon was sworn in as the County’s 43rd District Attorney. Following his defeat of Jackie Lacey, a DA who had built a reputation for a “tough-on-crime” approach, Gascon went straight to…