Archive

San Francisco – The Blue Ribbon Commission on Marijuana Policy released an extensive report detailing the complexities of marijuana legalization in California today. The report includes fifty-eight recommendations for policy makers and the public to consider before California decides to legalize recreational marijuana for production, sale and adult use.The panel of leading legal, academic, law enf... Read More

Executive summary The question of whether or not California should legalize adult use of marijuana beyond medical purposes is gaining increased attention by voters and policymakers in California. Four states and the District of Columbia have voted to legalize recreational marijuana use, and each offers important lessons for California. But there are circumstances that are unique to our state th... Read More

While the criminal justice system’s primary aim is to further public safety, all too often it is co-opted to perpetuate the history of racial inequality and economic injustice in the United States. Conscious and unconscious racial bias can impact every part of the criminal justice system, from initial stops and arrests, to bail decisions, charging practices, plea bargaining, sentencing, and time i... Read More

The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, the ACLU’s Criminal Law Reform Project, and the law firm Paul Hastings LLP filed a lawsuit against Fresno County and the state of California, seeking an overhaul of the county’s deficient public defense system. Because public defenders do not receive the resources necessary to represent their clients, thousands of Fresno County residents a... Read More

The tragic shooting of Kate Steinle in San Francisco has focused national attention on why her accused assailant, Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, was released from the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department’s custody in April and not deported. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and others have rushed to cast blame on the sheriff’s department for Ms. Steinle’s death. But this horrible and apparently ran... Read More

San Francisco, like many local communities, is considering the use of police body worn cameras, and the Board of Supervisors recently allocated $6.6 million for their purchase pending approval of a use policy. But for body cameras to deliver on their promise of accountability and promote public trust, there must be transparency and public trust in both the process that leads to a decision to adopt... Read More

Today Assembly Bill 953, Law Enforcement: Racial Profiling, made it out of the Senate Committee on Public Safety. AB 953, one of over 20 police reform laws proposed this year, was introduced by Assemblymember Shirley Weber (D-San Diego) to curb racial and identity profiling in California. Read More

Brutality takes many forms. One kind takes your life away, another leaves your body broken. Perhaps the most insidious kind seeks you out and makes you feel terrified, harassed, unsafe, unprotected, as though people see you as a threat through no fault of your own. Read More

The demise of the death penalty is upon us. While the Supreme Court ruled this week to allow the continued use of a controversial lethal injection drug, Justice Stephen Breyer’s sweeping dissent invited the nation to question capital punishment’s constitutionality. If you have any doubt about the answer, just ask Henry McCollum or Paul House. Read More

Tomorrow, the Board of State and County Corrections will vote to approve the guidelines for counties seeking state funding for housing, rehabilitation, and treatment services. This decision will largely shape the type of criminal justice system we will have in California. Read More