Topic: Racial Justice

Would have mandated inmate visits in state prisons to strengthen family and community connections, and required that three days of in-person visits be allowed per week.

Would have prohibited a writ of habeas corpus (a challenge to the legality of a person’s detainment) filed for wrongful conviction from being dismissed on procedural grounds, and requires the court to consider it on merit if new evidence is presented.

Would have required detectives and prosecutors investigating a police-related death to follow clear identification and declaration procedures when speaking to the family of the deceased, to provide any requested information about the status of their loved one, and to be transparent about whether the conversation was being recorded.

Would limit traffic stops — for minor violations like car registration issues or broken tail lights — that are often the starting point for violent and fatal police interactions. Passed by the Senate; held in the Assembly.

Would allow resentencing for individuals who have been subject to firearm sentence enhancements, which overly target people of color. Passed by the Assembly; held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Would prohibit the use of face surveillance on body cameras worn by law enforcement officers for three years. Passed by Assembly; held in the Senate.

Expands the Racial Justice Act to allow individuals convicted before January 1, 2021, to petition the court on instances of racial bias in their cases

An act to amend Section 52.1 of the Civil Code, to amend Section 1029 of the Government Code, and to amend Sections 832.7, 13503, 13506, 13510, 13510.1, and 13512 of, to amend the heading of Article 2 (commencing with Section 13510) of Chapter 1 of Title 4 of Part 4 of, and to add Sections … Continued

An act to add and repeal Section 1385.2 of the Penal Code, relating to criminal procedure.

An act to add, repeal, and add Section 231.7 of the Code of Civil Procedure, relating to juries.

An act to amend Sections 1473 and 1473.7 of, and to add Section 745 to, the Penal Code, relating to criminal procedure.

An act to add Article 1.4 (commencing with Section 3007.5) to Chapter 8 of Title 1 of Part 3 of the Penal Code, relating to parole.

Authors: Skinner, Anderson Co-authors: Gipson, Bonta, Burke, Medina, Wiener   Current California law states that someone can be held criminally liable for murder if it occurs during a felony they committed, even if they were not present for the actual death. This results in hundreds of people being jailed for murders they didn’t commit. SB … Continued

Authors: Mitchell, Lara Co-authors: Kalra, Beall, Bradford, Carrillo, Jones-Sawyer, Quirk, Skinner, Weber   California’s severe sentence enhancements for prior convictions keeps inmates imprisoned for much longer than they should have to serve time. SB 1393 would restore the court’s discretion to slash the five-year sentence enhancements for prior serious felony convictions.

Author: Bonta Co-authors: Skinner, Wiener, Fletcher, Quirk   Although the passage of Proposition 64 legalized recreational cannabis use and allowed for the “resentencing and destruction of records for prior convictions,” it did not specify a process for the retroactive erasure of non-violent cannabis convictions. AB 1793 mandates the California Department of Justice to search its … Continued

Author: Skinner Co-authors: Lara, Bradford, Glazer, Hill, Jones-Sawyer, McCarty, Mitchell, Moorlach, M. Stone, Weber, Wieckowski   Police departments across the state have traditionally acted with little accountability and transparency, especially in cases of sexual assault, planting evidence and lying, and racist uses of lethal force. SB 1421 provides the public access to records regarding police … Continued

Authors: Mitchell, Lara Co-authors: Kalra, Beall, Bradford, Skinner, Carrillo, Jones-Sawyer, Quirk, Weber   California has some of the most severe sentence enhancements for prior convictions in the entire country. SB 1392 would repeal California’s one-year sentencing enhancement for each prior prison or felony jail term.

authors: Mitchell, Lara co-authors: Bradford, Skinner, Wieckowski, Wiener   One of the many legacies of the War on Drugs was that a person convicted of drug possession (or a similar offense) is sentenced to an additional three years for each prior conviction, leading to exorbitantly long jail sentences. The prosecution of these cases disproportionately impacts … Continued

author: Weber co-author: Mendoza   CalGang is a database that holds information on over 150,000 individuals — mostly Latinos and blacks — who may or may not be connected to a gang in California. This system had many flaws, including not requiring law enforcement to notify those who had been added to the database. Transparency … Continued

authors: Bonta, Bloom, Chiu, Jones-Sawyer, Quirk, M. Stone co-authors: Allen, Hertzberg, Mitchell, Wiener, Eggman, Friedman, Gloria   California’s mandatory bail system is broken. By setting exorbitantly high dollar amounts which, if paid, allow someone accused of a crime to temporarily return to their life, the current bail system unfairly creates two standards of justice — … Continued

(Mitchell) Public Safety: 4-3-0 (Mitchell) Floor: 42-29-9   co-authors: C. Garcia, Lackey, Wieckowski   Victims of sex trafficking are often treated as criminals by law enforcement. SB1322 helps to protect them by decriminalizing prostitution for minors. Under SB1322, law enforcement officials are permitted to take the children into temporary custody, but only if necessary for … Continued

(Monning) Floor: 24-14-1 According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, there were over 1,000 reported cases of sex trafficking in California last year. Prior to the passing of SB 1129, prostituted minors were charged with minimum sentences despite the fact that many of them were victims of sex trafficking. SB 1129 showcases California’s recent focus … Continued

(Monning) Floor: 41-29-10 According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, there were over 1,000 reported cases of sex trafficking in California last year. Prior to the passing of SB 1129, prostituted minors were charged with minimum sentences despite the fact that many of them were victims of sex trafficking. SB 1129 showcases California’s recent focus … Continued

(Mitchell) Floor: 22-14-4 (Mitchell) Public Safety: 3-2-2   co-authors: Leno, Wieckowski   When drug offenders are convicted of an offense, they currently are up against laws that require an additional three year sentence for every prior drug conviction. This law was created to lessen drug use and sales, despite no evidence that it would actually … Continued

(Mitchell) Floor: 18-16-6   co-authors: Leno, Wieckowski   When drug offenders are convicted of an offense, they currently are up against laws that require an additional three year sentence for every prior drug conviction. This law was created to lessen drug use and sales, despite no evidence that it would actually accomplish that goal. Instead, … Continued

Appropriations: 12-6-2 Floor: 41-31-8 authors: Anderson, Hancock co-authors: Jones-Sawyer, Leno, Liu, Mitchell, Quirk   California has one of the harshest solitary confinement laws in the country, leading prisoners in Security Housing Units (SHUs) to be confined for an average of six years in a 2-by-10 foot cell. SB759 allows prisoners in SHUs to earn credits … Continued

(Weber) Floor: 42-29-9   co-authors: Leno, Mitchell   No proof was necessary to include people in CalGang — a database that holds information on individuals who may or may not be connected to a gang in California. Over 150,000 people — mostly Latinos and blacks — are currently listed in CalGang. Many of them are … Continued

(Weber) Floor: 42-34-4   co-authors: Leno, Mitchell   No proof was necessary to include people in CalGang — a database that holds information on individuals who may or may not be connected to a gang in California. Over 150,000 people — mostly Latinos and blacks — are currently listed in CalGang. Many of them are … Continued