Bill on Governor’s Desk could Reduce Penalties for Gun Use During a Crime
California has imposed multiple restrictions on guns in recent years, including restrictions on gun capacity, possession and even purchase of ammunition. Yet SB 620, which has been sent to the Governor for his approval or veto, would loosen penalties for those convicted of using a gun in a crime. Multiple shots fired during a drive-by […]
Deputy District Attorneys Applaud Supreme Court’s Prop 66 Ruling
We are pleased with the Courts decision to uphold the will of the voters. Prop. 66 preserves the death penalty for the most heinous criminals by enacting critically needed reforms to the system. The court recognized that Californians not only voted to keep the death penalty but also to reform the appellate court system and […]
California Supreme Court ruling limits harmful effects of Prop. 47
Gov. Jerry Brown and the state Legislature steadfastly refuse to address even the most egregious flaws in their beloved soft-on-crime initiative, Proposition 47. But despite their obstinacy, a droplet of positive news has trickled out of Sacramento. The California Supreme Court has ruled that judges have wide discretion to refuse to shorten the sentences of third-strike […]
Gun Enhancements Should Not Be Rolled Back Because Victims Are Lucky Enough to Survive
Last month, the Association of Deputy District Attorneys exposed how a key witness told outright lies to a state Senate committee while advocating for SB 620, which would eliminate mandatory enhancements for gun crimes. The ADDA showed that the story told about the young criminal whose case supposedly spotlighted the unfairness of enhancements was untrue. So the bill’s […]
Prop. 57: Criminals far and wide love it
The ADDA and prosecutors throughout California have grown hoarse warning about the public safety disaster known as Prop. 57. But even we didn’t envision that it would actually incentivize crime by luring criminals here from other states. Yet that’s exactly what appears to be happening. As Torrance police arrested two suspects from Colorado late last month in […]
AB 359: A Quietly Lurking Threat to Prosecutors Throughout California
Some threats to public safety are obvious, such as Prop. 47 and Prop. 57. They were high-profile initiatives that received plenty of public attention and debate. Other efforts to change the criminal justice system appear to be well meaning, but contain consequences that reveal both a misunderstanding of how the system operates and are ill […]
What Is the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Hiding?
Trust us, they said. We know what’s good for you and the state of California. That was the message hawked by Gov. Jerry Brown and the state Legislature when they pushed and passed a variety of initiatives that gutted the criminal justice system. They did so by weakening parole (AB 109), downgrading a host of […]
The LA County “Most Wanted List” and AB 109
Controversy swirls around AB 109, with the recent murder of Whittier Officer Keith Boyer by a parolee whose multiple parole violations resulted in nothing more than 10-day “flash incarcerations” being the most recent and tragic example of AB 109’s failures. No definitive study has been done on the fallout from AB 109, but anecdotal evidence […]