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California district attorneys (DAs) have historically played a central role in driving incarceration. Although they are elected officials, DAs have not typically been held accountable by the public for policies and practices that perpetuate racial disparities and criminalize poverty, mental illness, and other social issues. This 2021 report outlines the policies and practices of the Orange County ... Read More

Tulare County jails are violating their legal and constitutional obligation to provide incarcerated people with adequate prenatal care. Read More

The plight of people who are unhoused has reached horrific proportions in California, but instead of embarking on a resurgence of affordable housing, communities have instead instituted policies and regulations that target unhoused people by harassing, citing, segregating, banishing, and even imprisoning them. Read More

Civil rights groups in California sued U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for the unlawful arrest of Brian Bukle, who has been a U.S. citizen for over 50 years. Read More

California District Attorneys (DAs) have historically used their legal discretion to prioritize aggressive “tough-on-crime” prosecution, which has caused incarceration rates to skyrocket and destroyed lives Even though they are elected officials, DAs are often not held accountable for these practices, in part, because their role is not well understood, and much of their work is hidden from the pub... Read More

We expose and stop high-tech government surveillance. We use integrated advocacy strategies – including legislative advocacy, litigation, corporate campaigns, and more -- to expose and stop high-tech government surveillance. Surveillance is not safety in our communities. High tech surveillance expands the government’s power to threaten and harm people’s lives and tries to further entrench and e... Read More

California and the United States as a whole incarcerate more people than anywhere else in the world, in both absolute and per capita terms1 District attorneys (DAs) in California can have a powerful role in curbing mass incarceration and hold tremendous discretion within the criminal legal system, but they have historically been subject to limited accountability. This report outlines the practices... Read More

Sacramento County is an important jurisdiction for reform of the laws and policies that produce mass incarceration. The county incarcerates roughly 10,000 people between county jails and state prisons. The DA, Sheriff’s Department, Probation Department, and courts consume 64 percent of the County General Fund, yet the county’s crime rate — though slightly higher than the state and federal average ... Read More

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The Court administers this additional fee known as the civil assessment without judicial review, adequate notice, or consideration for a person’s circumstances. The $300 charge is often six to eight times greater than the base fine for a traffic infraction in California. Read More